Privacy Policy

Commitment to your privacy

From the 25th May 2018 the Data Protection Act 1998 changed to the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (GDPR). The essence of this change is about bringing legislation up-to-date and making online data choices easier. We have updated our Privacy Policy in line with this requirement.

The purpose of processing client data:

We hold and use client data in order to provide you with the best possible treatment options, support and advice.

Lawful basis for holding and using client information:

The lawful basis under which we hold and use your information is for our legitimate interests i.e. our requirement to retain the information in order to provide you with the best possible treatment options and advice.

As we hold special category data (i.e. health related information), the additional condition under which we hold and use this information is: for us to fulfil our role as a health care practitioner bound under the Association of Reflexologists (AoR) Confidentiality Rules as defined in the AoR Code of Practice and Ethics.

What information we hold and what we do with it:

In order to give professional reflexology treatments, we will need to ask for and keep information about your health. We will only use this for informing reflexology treatments and any advice we give as a result of your treatment. The information to be held is:

Your contact details
Medical history and other health-related information
Treatment details and related notes

We will NOT share your information with anyone else (other than within my own practice, or as required for legal purposes) without explaining why it is necessary, and getting your explicit consent.

It may be helpful for your treatment for us to share your information with other reflexologists (all of whom are bound by this Act) for the following reasons: to provide the best possible treatment plan for yourself.

I will keep your information for 7 years in line with the lawful basis listed above or until the age of 25 years for children and young people who receive treatment under the age of 18 years.

Your data will NOT be transferred outside the EU without your consent.

Protecting your personal data:

We are committed to ensuring that your personal data is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place appropriate technical, physical and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect from you. We will contact you using the contact preferences you have given me, if any breach is made.

GDPR gives you the following rights:

The right to be informed: To know how your information will be held and used (this notice).
The right of access: To see your therapist's records of your personal information, so you know what is held about you and can verify it.
The right to rectification: To tell your therapist to make changes to your personal information if it is incorrect or incomplete.
The right to erasure (also called the 'right to be forgotten'): For you to request your therapist to erase any information they hold about you.
The right to data portability: Under certain circumstances you can request a copy of personal information held electronically so you can reuse it in other systems.
The right to object: To be able to tell your therapist you don't want them to use certain parts of your information, or only to use it for certain purposes.
Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling.
The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office: to be able to complain to the ICO if you feel your details are not correct, if they are being used in a way that you have not given permission for, or if they are being stored when they don't have to be

Full details of your rights can be found at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please email: [email protected]

If you are dissatisfied with the response, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at: www.ico.org.uk

Therapists rights:

If you do not agree to your therapist keeping records of information about you and your treatments, or if you don't allow them to use the information in the way they need to for treatments, the therapist may not be able to treat you.
Your therapist has to keep your records of treatment for a certain period as described above, which may mean that even if you ask them to erase any details about you, they might have to keep these details until after that period has passed
Your therapist can move their records between their computers and IT systems, as long as your details are protected from being seen by others without your permission.