Name: Good Balance
Tel: 07952 666 775
Email: [email protected]
ICO Reference Number: ZA519058
Date Created/Updated: 03/04/2019

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) May 2018 is the legal regulation that has been put in place to safeguard an individual’s personal information. The following privacy policy details the lawful basis for Good Balance to hold information, the type of information that Good Balance holds about clients, why that information is required, who it is shared with, how that information is used and protected, and details the rights an individual has in terms of access to that information or requests for information held to be amended or deleted.

Why the information is required

In order to provide an effective and safe massage therapy treatment, I require information about your current health and your medical history. This information is used only to provide you with the best possible course of treatment and advice. I also require your contact details to arrange appointment times with you. As a registered massage therapist with the CThA (Complementary Therapists Association), I abide by the association’s code of conduct and confidentiality requirements.

Where the information is gathered from

Good Balance may collect personal information directly via the following:

  • Email or Text messages sent from individuals to Good Balance.
  • Discussions with clients during the consultation process and during subsequent treatments.

What information is held

Good Balance may collect the following personal information:

  • Name, title and date of birth.
  • Contact information including email address, telephone number and home address.
  • Emergency contact or next of kin details.
  • Medical history and general health and lifestyle-related information provided on the consultation form and discussed during the first and subsequent treatments.
  • Treatment detail and assessment notes which will be recorded after each massage session.
  • Follow up information that may be discussed with you by phone, email or text after your treatment.
  • Records of appointment times.

What is done with the information gathered

Good Balance requires this information to assess your massage treatment requirements and provide you with a safe and effective massage therapy. Additionally, the information is used to refer to at subsequent treatments in order to assess levels of improvement. The information may be shared with another massage therapist or with another health practitioner should you be referred to one of these by Good Balance. This will only be done with your consent. Your information will not be shared with anyone else (other than required for the legal process) without explaining the reason why this is necessary and obtaining your explicit consent. The contact information you provide may be used by Good Balance to contact you in relation to appointment times or dialogue regarding your treatment plan.

How long is the information held for

Good Balance is required to keep your information for a period of 7 years after your last treatment for insurance purposes. Your data will not be transferred without your consent. Disposal of Data: Once per year, Good Balance will review all client records and destroy/delete any records that are no longer bound by the regulated legal timescale for such records to be held.

Security policy

Good Balance is committed to ensuring that your information is safe and secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures have been put in place to safeguard and secure the information that is collected both online and on paper.

The health information gathered is held on paper Consultation forms and treatment notes and is stored securely in a locked filing cabinet. None of this information other than your name, phone number and/or email address is held electronically. Contact details including telephone numbers and email addresses are held on a password protected telephone and personal computer.

Data breach

A backup document is held of client names and contact details (name, email and telephone number). In the event of a data breach which consists of a breach of security leading to destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of or access to personal data, Good Balance understands ICO has to be notified where it is likely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals. In the event of such a breach, Good Balance will notify those concerned directly and without delay. Records of personal data breaches will be maintained in any case.

Individuals rights

The GDPR May 18 gives an individual:-

  • The right to be informed as to how personal information will be both used and held. This is contained within this document.
  • The right to access your personal information so individuals know what is held about them and they can confirm it.
  • The right to rectification if there is something incorrect or incomplete.
  • The right to have information deleted
  • The right to limit how the information is used or shared
  • The right to portability. Under certain circumstances, a copy of electronically held information can be requested so it can be reused in other systems
  • The right to object if there are certain parts of an individual’s information that they do not want to be used or to be used only for certain purposes
  • Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling
  • The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

An individual can complain to the ICO if the individual feels the information held is incorrect or not being used in the permission was granted or if information is being held unnecessarily. Full details of individual’s rights can be held at: ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/

Should an individual wish to exercise these rights, the contact details at the start of the document should be used. In the event that an individual is dissatisfied with the response, then a complaint can be made to the Information Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.org.uk

Notes

If an individual does not agree to Good Balance keeping records of information about an individual and treatment records then it may not be possible to provide the therapy. Additionally, massage therapists have to keep records of treatment for a specific period of time as described above which may mean that even if you ask for information to be erased, they might be bound to keep these details until the period has elapsed.