Privacy Policy for Speech and Language Therapy Services
Document last updated: 08/05/26
Your personal data
What I need
Outdoor SLT Ltd collects and stores information about the children, families and educational settings/alternative provisions I work with for the purpose of being able to provide therapy services. This includes the basic information you provide before your first appointment, such as names, email, phone numbers, address, date of birth, GP, school and any background information you provide. In addition, I keep clinical records that are written following each therapy appointment or significant liaison (e.g. meeting, extended phone call, clinically relevant emails) with my clients.
Why I need it
I need to keep clinical records in order to provide you with the best possible therapy, and to ensure continuity of care between appointments. In addition, I have a legal duty to maintain these records in order to comply with guidance on standards of care from my professional body, the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and to meet the requirements of my insurance provided through the RCSLT.
What I do with it
All the personal data I hold is processed by me and those I work within the service of providing professional therapy services to you, such as my administrative support.
I receive clinical supervision, a requirement set out by the RCSLT ethical framework. This supervision is provided by a therapist outside of my practice, so only the first names of clients will be used in order to protect confidentiality.
In exceptional circumstances, I may be legally required to break confidentiality and share information to ensure a person’s safety. For example, if I believe that a person is at risk of harm, I would break confidentiality to ensure the safety of this person. Where possible I will always try to discuss this with you first. I will share sufficient but only the minimum information that is necessary in order to do this.
What I would also like to do with it
I do not use your information for any purposes other than to provide clinical, therapeutic services to you and to understand and improve the efficacy of my practise. If I did ever need to use this for another purpose, I would contact you in advance to discuss this with you further.
How long I keep it
For children, I am required to keep clinical records and associated personal data until a child’s 25th birthday, or, until their 26th birthday, if 17 at conclusion of their treatment, and for adults, I am required to keep data for 7 years. These timescales are legally required to comply with guidance from my professional body, the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and to meet the requirements of my insurance.
Ways I keep it safe
All of my data is stored using appropriate measures to ensure it remains confidential.
For information that is stored electronically, I use mainstream software providers that meet GDPR requirements for both processing and storing data.
Any paper-based information is held in a locked filing cabinet within a secure environment.
All of my electronic equipment, such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets and recording devices, is protected using passwords.
I have been trained in the appropriate protection of data and am required to comply with confidentiality guidelines as part of my professional practise.
Legal basis
I collect and use clinical information because I have a legal duty to do so to comply with my professional body, the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and to meet the requirements of my insurance provider. It is also in the interest of the children, families and education providers/alternative provisions I work with as it means I can provide continuous care. The legal basis for this is described as being of ‘legitimate interest’, which means that it is collected for a specific purpose (providing a professional therapy service), necessary (I only collect and use data relevant to providing a professional therapy service) and balanced with a reasonable justification for collecting and using this information (is necessary to meet professional and legal requirements)
What are your rights?
You have the right to withdraw consent for me collecting and using information at any time. Information I already hold in clinical records cannot be destroyed as I have a legal duty to keep this information in line with the timescales outlined above. If you withdraw consent, I will not collect any further data. I am not able to provide further therapy services once this consent is withdrawn.
You have the right to access any personal data I hold at any time. If at any point you believe the information is incorrect, you can request for it to be corrected or deleted. If you wish to raise a complaint on how I have handled your personal data, please discuss it with me. If you are not satisfied with my response or believe I am processing your personal data not in accordance with the law you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).