Legal
All information continued in this document is correct as of the date of the document but are subject to change and will be reviewed annually.
Initial Full Assessment
This will take place in a clinic setting on a one-to-one basis, unless otherwise agreed. The assessment will be undertaken by a qualified physiotherapist, registered with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and Health Professions Council, or a certified structural body worker. Early in the assessment you will be asked to sign a consent form, which is necessary for the continuation of that session and any future sessions. It will last between one hour to one and a half hours in length. During this time, you will be asked about relevant medical and personal history (some of this may be emailed to you to fill in prior to the assessment to allow greater time for the physical examination). An assessment of your physical and functional needs will also be carried out, which will require removal of some items of clothing and appropriate physical contact by the clinician. At the end of the assessment the clinician will agree with you a treatment approach, including any risks involved, to address your identified needs. If able, the clinician will give you an estimate of the number of treatment sessions proposed. It cannot be guaranteed that the service received will result in any particular outcome, but it will be provided with care and skill.
Treatments sessions
Therapy sessions can last from 30 minutes to 90 minutes and are tailored to meet the specific needs of each client. During the treatment session you may be asked if photographs/videos can be taken to record exercises you need to do at home or to record your movements/posture. These are for your personal use only and will not be shown to or shared with other parties. Clients are asked to respect the clinician during the treatment sessions. Any abusive, aggressive behaviour or conflict of interests will result in early termination of the session and may lead to a refusal by the clinician to provide further sessions. You will be given a written explanation of the reason for service termination and refunded any advanced payments. You are also free to withdraw from therapy at any time without any explanation (see cancellation policy). If therapy is proving to be ineffective or is inappropriate to continue with, termination of said therapy will be discussed with you, the client.
Chaperone or attending with children
If you wish to be accompanied by a chaperone, please feel free to do so however be aware you will be asked to remove some of your clothing, to be assessed and treated, while in their presence. Children are welcome to attend with you, but you are asked that they bring something to entertain themselves with for the duration of the session. All children receiving treatment, under the age of 18, must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Cancellation policy
You have the right to cancel or reschedule your appointment and can do so by contacting the clinician on 07368 151268 or info@reigatephysio.co.uk.
Cancellations within 24 hours of the appointment time, or appointments not attended without notice, will be charged at 100% of the session fee to cover losses.
If you arrive late for a session, the session will commence on your arrival up until the time it was originally scheduled to end.
Costs/fees
Charges are correct as of the date of this document and will be reviewed six monthly. Service fees may be subject to variation, in which event existing clients undergoing treatment will be notified in writing.
Other chargeable activities – any letters or reports requested, beyond referrals to other professionals, will be charged in respect of the total time taken to prepare them based on the above costs. Referrals to other professionals, e.g. for imaging, further treatment or a different assessment, will be free of charge. You will be given a copy of the letter sent, after which it will become your responsibility to arrange an appointment with the new service. Once under their care, you will be bound by the terms and conditions of that third party, for which the clinician will not be liable. Any telephone conversations that last beyond 15 minutes may be charged at £1.00 per minute at the discretion of the clinician. Meetings or appointments attended with yourself, or as your representative, will be charged at the rates set above plus travel. Any other ‘out of pocket’ expenses purchased on your behalf, e.g. orthoses, electrode pads, equipment, are asked to be paid, within 7days, on submission of a receipt.
Payment is due at the end of each session and can be made by Card, Cash, Cheque or Bank Transfer.
Consent
At the first assessment you will be asked to sign a form to consent to the booked assessment, future treatment and for inter-communication between your clinician and other health care professionals. This could be social services, the General Practitioner, any consultants involved in caring for you, previous therapists or the NHS (this is not an exhaustive list). Additional permission will be sort for email communication and for any photos/videos requested. You can withdraw your consent at any time without giving a reason. The only occasion when information regarding you the client is shared without your permission is when the clinician is required to by law and their professional standards, e.g. safeguarding around children or vulnerable adults.
Disputes
If you are dissatisfied with the services received, please contact your treating clinician in first instance. If this does not result in resolution, then the associations to write to are listed below.
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP): 4, Bedford Row, Holborn, London. WC1R 4ED. Tel: 020 703 6666.
The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC): 184-186, Kennington Park Road, London. SE11 4BU. Tel: 0300 500 6184
You will need the membership number of the clinician, which will be different with each of the Associations.
The 2018 Data Protection Act sets out how your personal data is handled and managed by organisations, businesses or the government in the United Kingdom and the European Union. It is the United Kingdom’s implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into effect on the 25th May 2018.
By providing your personal data, or by using this service, you are consenting to the practices as referred to in this Privacy Notice. For the purpose of GDPR, the data controller is Vicky Gale at info@reigatephysio.co.uk.
What information is held about each client?
Information is gathered to maintain accurate records about each client. It can be gathered electronically via the website, email or on paper forms, with your consent. It is data by which you can potentially be identified. It will be name, date of birth, contact details (address, phone numbers and email address), GP and, if appropriate, Consultant contact details. If your treatment is being funded by another party, e.g. private medical cover, a record of these details will be kept also. It could be details of correspondence between us, treatment notes from a third party, notes/reports about your health and any treatment you received or information about complaints or incidents. Any letters or reports written by the clinician will form part of your records, as will notes made by the clinician following a booked session.
Where you have named a person as your next of kin, so providing the service with personal information about this individual, it is your responsibility to ensure that they are aware of, and accept, the terms of this Privacy Notice.
You will not be asked about race/ethnic origin, political opinions, religious/philosophical beliefs, sex life or sexual orientation.
Electronic information is protected by password and paper forms are stored in a locked cabinet. If making a home visit, only the relevant data will be taken on the visit.
What is the information used for?
By law there is a requirement to maintain accurate records when providing health care. The keeping of this data, in this instance, would come under ‘Consent’, one of the six lawful bases for holding and processing personal data. Therefore, you are required to sign a consent form at your initial assessment. Your data will be used to contact you regarding appointment dates/times, exercise programs agreed, checking on your progress, provide you with information, products or services you have requested and to communicate with other professionals involved in your care. If your data changes at any time, please let your clinician know so your records can be accurately updated.
The law states that, if a client is an adult (over the age of 18), any records must be kept for a period of 8 years. If the client is a minor (under the age of 18), the records must be kept until that client’s 25th birthday. After this all electronic records will be permanently deleted, and any paper forms shredded.
The information is not used for profiling or making automated decisions nor will it be shared outside of the EU without your permission.
Who is the information shared with?
Your information will not be shared with third parties or for marketing purposes. It may be used to complete reports asked for by the referrer or private medical company funding the treatment. It may be used in communication with your GP or parts of the NHS involved in your care who may have referred you. It will not be disclosed to anyone other than health professionals involved in your care without further consent, this includes to your partner/relatives.
The only situations that the information can be shared without permission is:
- in the case where it is a legal duty to do so, for example in safe-guarding situations involving children or vulnerable adults or to prevent/report a crime.
- In an emergency and you are incapacitated, and it is necessary to protect your ‘vital interests’ (i.e. your life or your health).
What are your rights?
- You have a right to be informed about the data held regarding yourself and what is done with it.
- You have the right to be able to request a copy of your data in writing, by email, over the phone or face-to-face. If you wish a different party to collect your records on your behalf, you will need to sign an authority form (compliant with GDPR 2018) that authorizes the release of your records to that specific party. The signature on that form will need to match the one on your consent form. Any doubts as to the authenticity of the authority form may mean that you must attend to confirm your identity (driver’s license, passport). When dealing with a request, the clinician has a response time of 20 days, as directed by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Alternatively, you can view the requested information during your appointment time.
- You have the right to rectify any data that is inaccurate – please email info@reigatephysio.co.uk if any of your data changes. The ICO states that mistakes have to be rectified within one calendar month, although under ordinary circumstances this is likely to be corrected within a working week.
- You have the right to ask for your data to be deleted/destroyed if the data held is no longer necessary for ongoing treatment or you are no longer being treated. You can also ask for it to be erased (often referred to as ‘the right to be forgotten’) if you withdraw your original consent. This must be done within one calendar month of the receival of the request.
- You can ask for your data to be sent electronically to a third party. If your request is refused you will be provided with a reason why, which you can challenge. This must be completed within one calendar month of receiving the request.
- You have a right to object to certain types of information processing. Your data will not be used in marketing but could be used to enable text/email communications. If you do not wish to be communicated with in this way please let your clinician know, including how you would like to be contacted in in the future.
Loss, unlawful destruction, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data, whether accidental or deliberate constitutes a security breach. Under such circumstances that the above is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedom, you would be informed immediately, and the clinician must inform the ICO within 72 hours.
If you have any questions around data protection, please ask your clinician. If you haven’t heard back from them within 30 days you can complain to the ICO (Information Commissioners Office) on +44 (0) 303 123 1113 or email: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email.
Duty of Candour Policy
In the unexpected and unintended event of harm occurring during a treatment session, that meets the criteria of a notable safety incident, set by the CQC Regulation 20 in The Duty of Candour 2014, the treating clinician will:
- Tell the relevant person, to whom the harm has occurred or a representative (please see below) face-to-face, that a notifiable safety incident has taken place.
- Apologise.
- Provide a true account of what happened, explaining whatever they know at that point.
- Explain to the relevant person what further enquiries or investigations they believe to be appropriate.
- Follow up by providing this information, and the apology, in writing, and providing an update on any enquiries.
- Keep a secure written record of all meetings and communications with the relevant person.
Relevant person
The person to whom the harm has occurred. If this person is under 16 or suffers from mental health issues, then they will be told in the presence of an advocate/family member. Reasonable support will be given to allow meetings to go ahead, for example disability access, signposting to mental health services, allowing time for the relevant person to find an advocate or interpreter if needed. With the relevant person’s consent, family members and carers will also be involved in any meetings/discussions following the event.
Criteria of harm
MODERATE HARM – harm requiring moderate increase in treatment due to significant increases in symptoms that are not permanent.
SEVERE HARM – permanent injuries directly related to the treatment/care given.
Criteria of injuries
- Sensory, motor or intellectual impairment lasting longer than 28 days.
- Changes in structure to the person’s body.
- Prolonged pain and/or psychological harm lasting more than 28 days.
- A decreased life expectancy as a direct result of the treatment or care given.
- Definition of notifiable safety incident
Please see flow chart below:
