Loreto Centre  Privacy Notice for Clients

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Welcome to the Loreto Centre

 

When you become a client of our services, we need to collect data about you.  We keep this data securely.  Except where required by law, or health and safety requirements, we will not share your data with anyone else. When you have finished with our services, we will delete your data after a certain period of time.  The following pages set out the legal and contractual arrangement in place relating to data protection and privacy. You have also received the “Client Contract”.  You must sign the Client Contract and return same to the Loreto Centre in order to avail of our services.

 

Thank you

 

_______________

The Manager

Loreto Centre

 

  

Privacy Notice

 

This Privacy Notice gives you some helpful information about who we are, what personal data we collect about you, why, who we share it with and why, how long we keep it, and your rights. 

 

1.Who we are: The Loreto Centre, Crumlin offers a high quality, low-cost counselling/psychotherapy service and certain educational services. Counselling is available to those who are over eighteen years. The Loreto Centre is a registered charity (CRA 20042011, CHY13464). 

 

2.What personal data we collect and why

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2.1 Counselling: We collect and use your personal data in order to deliver counselling services:

 

(a)  Contact details:  Name, surname, address, date of birth, telephone number, email address. This is            so that we can identify you, contact you to arrange or change appointments, locate your file,                        manage your file and your records confidentially.  Your telephone number is given to the therapist              to whom you have been allocated so that the therapist can make contact with you and set up an                appointment etc. We process this personal data on the basis of your contract with the Loreto                      Centre (or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract). 

 

(b)  Personal details, health data: We collect personal data about you and your health where same                will assist in your therapy. This may include your relationship status, employment status, next-of-                kin/emergency contact details, type of counselling required or circumstances leading to                              counselling, name of your GP, name of any other Doctors or medical practitioners under whose                  care you are or have been, details of any medication you are on, medical history, details of any                    prior counselling, etc.  We will ask you to disclose whether you are or were previously misusing                  harmful or mood-altering substances and if so whether you have participated in a suitable                         recovery programme for an appropriate period. The Director of Counselling will be the person who            will seek this during your first consultation. This is so the Director of Counselling can assess your                needs and prepare an “intake report” to determine if you are suitable for counselling. We process              this on the lawful basis of the provision of health or social care (Article 9(2)(h) as our counsellors                and psychotherapists are designated as health and social care professionals under Statutory                       Instrument 170/2018. We also use this data to compile statistics about our service, and these                       statistics are returned to TUSLA (see further (4.3) below for more information). 

 

(c)   Counselling Notes: Counselling is a safe and confidential space. Your counsellor will make brief                 notes during your therapy. At the commencement of the counselling session, you will be assigned             a client code. The notes will use your client code (never your real name) to enhance your privacy.               Counsellors/psychotherapists are required to have their work supervised for regulatory                                requirements, quality control, and to ensure the counsellor/psychotherapist is meeting best                        practice. This means that supervision notes are shared with the counsellor/psychotherapist’s                      supervisor. Each supervisor is external to the Loreto Centre, and is a qualified                                                    counsellor/psychotherapist accredited by either IACP and/or IAHIP, is designated as a health and              social care professional under S.I.170/2018 and is bound by a strict duty of confidentiality in their                supervisory work. We process this on the lawful basis of the provision of health or social care                     (Article 9(2)(h) as our counsellors and psychotherapists are designated as health and social care                  professionals under S.I.170/2018. 

 

(d)  Counselling appointment details: We record the date of attendance of a counselling session,                    details of non-attendance if relevant (eg. cancellation, excused, no-show etc). We process this                    personal data on the basis of your contract with the Loreto Centre (or to take steps at your request             prior to entering into a contract).

 

(e)  Payment data: Where you make a contribution towards your counselling costs, we issue a receipt.            We record details of fee paid and any receipts issued to comply with our legal requirements as a                registered charity.  Cash receipts and donation details are shared with our accountants and                          auditors to prepare audited financial statements for us to comply with our legal obligations as a                  registered charity. Appointment dates and fees are shared with our accountants and auditors for                that purpose, however our accountants and auditors do not see client names or counselling notes:            attendance notes and fee payments/receipts data are held under the client code. We process this            personal data because it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation (Charities Act 2009,                Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 etc).    

 

(f)   End of counselling: At the end of the counselling relationship, the therapist prepares an exit                        document for the file. In the event that a client wishes to return for additional counselling in future,             the Director of Counselling will consult the Intake Report and the exit document in order to reach a           decision regarding any future counselling.

 

(g)  Events: Where you are or were a learner undertaking a further education and training course with              us, we may use your contact details to invite you to further events that may be of interest to you.                We process this personal data on the basis of your Consent. Where you have given us Consent to              contact you about events, you can withdraw that consent at any time.

 

2.2  Further Education and Training courses: The Loreto Centre provides access to certain further                   education and training courses.

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(a)  We offer courses under the auspices of the City of Dublin Education and Training Board                                 (“CDETB”). We will collect any data relevant to delivering the course to you: name, contact                           details, timetable, examinations etc. When you apply to attend a FET programme funded                             through SOLAS your data are collected through the CDETB’s Programme Learner Support                           Service (“PLSS”). The PLSS system then shares that data with ““PLSS Participants”), including the                 Department of Education and Skills,Revenue Commissioners, Department of Social Protection,                   Quality and Qualifications Ireland,Higher Education Authority, Education and Training Boards etc.                 For further privacy-related information about PLSS and CDETB, please see                                                       www.cityofdublin.etb.ie/data-protection/ 

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(b)  The Loreto Centre also offers courses under the auspices of Dublin South City Partnership                           (Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme, “SICAP”). The Loreto Centre is an                             outreach partner of UCD School of Social Policy, Social Work, and Social Justice in relation to                     this SICAP programme. Where these partner organisations request personal data in order to                       deliver their courses, that information is collected by the Centre for transmission to SICAP, and                   the SICAP individual consent form is used for that purpose.  The applicant completes the SICAP                 consent form and fills in the IRIS individual beneficiary template form. The information provided                  in the IRIS form is processed on the basis of consent. Further information is available from                            SICAP on 01-4732196.  

 

2.3 CCTV: The Loreto Centre is located in the grounds of the Loreto Secondary School, Crumlin. When             you attend at the Loreto Centre for counselling sessions, your image may be captured on the                     school’s CCTV system operational on the premises. CCTV signs are displayed in and around the                 premises. CCTV is used by the School for security purposes, to protect premises and assets, to                   deter  crime and anti-social behaviour; to assist in the investigation, detection, and prosecution of               offences, to provide a safe environment for all using the Loreto Centre and the school premises. In             appropriate circumstances, the school may share CCTV footage with the Loreto Centre for                           verification purposes and for dispute-resolution, particularly in circumstances where there is a                     dispute as to facts and the recordings may be capable of resolving that dispute; for sharing with our          insurance company and solicitors/barristers, and for the taking and defence of litigation. Where the          CCTV footage is processed by the Loreto Centre, it is on the basis of our legitimate interests and for          the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.

 

2.4  Other data: depending on various issues, we may hold additional data relating to you.  For example,         if you ask your solicitor to write to us about matters, we may hold data relating to correspondence             with your solicitor, documents relating to court proceedings, discovery or subpoena                                       documentation etc.  We use personal data for purposes including: delivering the counselling                       service; office administration; billing and accounts; running the Centre efficiently, complying with our         legal  obligations; allocating resources effectively across the Centre; complying with regulatory                   requirements (supervision, registration etc); to manage risk; for resolving disputes and                                   taking/defending litigation etc. We process this personal data on the basis of our legitimate                        interests in running an efficient counselling service, and on the lawful basis of the processing being           necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims. 

 

3.    How long we keep it: In general we retain counselling files for at least 10 years after the counselling         relationship has ended in order for our counsellors/psychotherapists to comply with their                             professional indemnity insurance requirements. That period may be extended if some issue has                 arisen, eg if there are any particular issues relating to client care and/or regulatory standards, the               records may be retained for engagement with the counsellor’s accrediting body (IACP and/or IAHIP)         and for appropriate follow-up action.  If any investigation/inquiry is under way by any statutory                   authorities (eg. An Garda Síochána, TUSLA, HSE, etc.) or by any regulatory bodies (eg CORU, the                 Health and Social Care Professionals Council) in relation to any matter in respect of which the data             held by the Loreto Centre are required, those data will be retained so that the Loreto Centre can                 fully cooperate with all such investigations/inquiries and the data will be retained until all such                   matters are fully concluded.If proceedings are ongoing or are threatened the data will be retained             in“legal hold”to ensure they are available to assist the administration of justice and pending the                   conclusion of all litigation matters. In relation to personal data gathered when a person undertakes           any education and training programme, the Loreto Centre follows any record retention schedule set         down by CDETB in respect of that data. 

 

4.    Who we share it with: The Centre provides a safe counselling space, and counselling is confidential.         However confidential does not mean “absolute secrecy”: we share personal data with third parties in         certain situations to protect you and to protect others. In certain situations, we will share your                       personal data without your consent. For example, we share personal data where we are required to           do so to comply with our legal obligations (eg. mandatory reporting, duty of care), or where it is

       in our legitimate interests to do so. For the avoidance of any doubt, our reporting/disclosing your               personal data in this manner does not constitute a breach of confidence.

 

4.1  Doctors/other health professionals etc:

(a)   If in the therapist’s opinion you are at risk of harming yourself or someone else, the Centre                           reserves the right to contact your doctor(s) and/or other health professionals, and/or contact                     your family, and/or contact any other appropriate person or body (eg. An Garda Síochána,                           TUSLA etc) so that steps can be taken to ensure your safety or the safety of others.  In such                         circumstances, we will share your personal data with them where in our professional opinion it                    is necessary to protect your health or wellbeing (or to protect the vital interests of you or                              another person).  In appropriate cases we will notify you that this is being done.  We reserve the                  right not to notify you this is being done if that would put another person at risk. 

(b)    If in the therapist’s opinion you are in need of immediate assistance from your GP, psychiatrist or                any other clinical/health professional, a referral shall be made by the Loreto Centre/therapist                    so that steps can be taken to ensure your safety and wellbeing. Where possible, this will be                        done with your knowledge and agreement. We reserve the right not to notify you this is being                    done if that would put another person at risk. 

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        Your therapist reserves the right to discuss these matters with the Director of Counselling and/or

         the Manager of the Loreto Centre. If in the therapist’s opinion you are in need of medical assistance           (which is not immediately urgent or life-threatening to you or another person) and where you are               not willing to attend your Doctor and object to the therapist contacting your doctor, the Loreto

        Centre reserves the right to discontinue your therapeutic treatment and terminate its counselling               contract with you. See the Client Contract for further details. 

 

4.2   Mandatory reporting: psychotherapists and counsellors are under a legal obligation to report child           abuse, child sexual abuse, historical abuse, abuse of vulnerable persons, and to report where a                   child is at risk of harm.  Reporting is made to An Garda Síochána (Criminal Justice (Withholding of               Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012) and to

         TUSLA (Children First Act 2015).  In the event that your therapist/the Loreto Centre makes such

         a mandatory report we will not seek your consent. In appropriate cases we may notify you that this           is being done unless to do so would put a child at risk.  We reserve the right to consult with the                  Centre’s  Designated Liaison Person to ensure full and proper reporting is made to TUSLA and An              Garda Síochána.  We rely on all the protections within the Protection for Persons Reporting Child                Abuse  Act 1998. We comply with the following statutory guidance and professional codes:

•   Children First’: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children: Department of                  Children and Youth Affairs 2017,

•   Code of Ethics and Practice: Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (“IACP”), and

•   Code of Ethics and Practice for Psychotherapists: Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative          Psychotherapy (“IAHIP”). 

 

4.3    TUSLA: The Loreto Centre receives funding from TUSLA, and as a condition of our funding                           agreement we are required to provide statistical returns to TUSLA about the counselling services               delivered.  This means that TUSLA receives the following statistics:

         (a) Number of client sessions attended

         (b) Number of client sessions cancelled

         (c) Gender

         (d) Funder of session

         (e) Presenting issues

         (f)  Relationship status

         (g) Age category

         (h) Referral source

         (i)  Employment status

         (j)  Risk assessment re self-harm, suicide, and risk to others.

         (k) Child protection issues, cases reported by agency or referred to Social Department.

         (l)  Length of waiting list.

         (m) Nationality 

 

TUSLA does not obtain individualised client data. The above statistics are provided in numerical form only, and no client names/addresses/PPS numbers/date of birth are disclosed to TUSLA. 

 

4.4   Counsellor’s supervisor: as discussed above, your counsellor’s notes are shared with his/her                     professional supervisor. The notes will use your client code (never your real name) to enhance your           privacy.  The supervisor is external to and not part of the Loreto Centre. Each supervisor is a                         qualified counsellor/psychotherapist accredited by either IACP and/or IAHIP, designated as health           and social care professional under S.I.170/2018, and is bound by a strict duty of confidentiality in                  their supervisory work.

 

4.5   Therapists in training and their accrediting bodies: where therapists-in-training are undertaking              certain academic courses they will be required to share some of their work with their

        accrediting university. Your therapist will inform you if he/she is in training.  Where the sharing

        of work involves client case studies, sharing will only occur where it is ethical to do so and where              the client has Consented to same. This will be discussed in advance with the client, and sharing will          only occur where the client has confirmed it is OK to do so and has signed a Consent Form for that             purpose.

 

4.6   New counsellors/therapists: if you decide to retain the services of a new counsellor or therapist,            and you want us to release your old records to you so that you can give them to your new                            counsellor, you can submit a data access request to us. We will release your records to you directly.           It is then your responsibility to give them to your new counsellor. 

 

4.7   Your solicitor: You can make a data access request to obtain a copy of your personal data at any                time.  If you instruct your solicitor to make a data access request to us, and where they furnish us                with a copy of your written authority for us to do so, we will send data access request documents              to your solicitor.

 

4.8   Court proceedings and/or administration of justice: Loreto Centre complies with court orders,                    discovery orders, subpoenas, etc. 

 

4.9  Accountants, Auditors, Revenue, CRA: Appointment dates, cash receipts and donation details are             shared with our accountants and auditors for us to comply with our legal obligations as a registered         charity to prepare audit financial statements.  Information is also returned to the Revenue                             Commissioners for audit and verification purposes. Our financial records and donations information           can be audited by the Charities Section of the Revenue Commissioners and/or the Charities                       Regulatory Authority at any time for regulatory compliance.  The statutory bodies to which we                     transfer your personal data will use it for their own purposes (including: to verify other information             they already hold about you, for fraud prevention measures, etc).

 

4.10 Insurance company and our legal advisers: We may share your information with our insurance                company, our legal advisers, and other service providers (including IT providers, security providers,            etc) to enforce our legal rights, and to resolve disputes and defend litigation.

 

4.11  An Garda Síochána: We will share your personal data with law enforcement bodies including An               Garda Síochána where it is necessary for the detection, investigation and prosecution of offences.               For example, if a client is threatening or abusive to any member of staff or another client, we will                 report the matter to An Garda Síochána, transfer any relevant data to them, discontinue the                         provision of therapeutic treatment to the client and terminate the counselling contract with that                 client.  

 

4.12  Funding bodies: We will share statistical information (eg. number of service users, numbers of                   counselling sessions delivered etc) with our funding body, TUSLA. Statistical information is also                  included in our annual report which is published on our website.    

          If you would like further information about who we share your data with, please contact us.

 

5.      Third country transfers: In general we do not transfer your personal data outside the EEA.                           However, we will do so if you ask us to, eg. if you ask us to send your records to a therapist or                     doctor practising outside the EEA. 

 

6.      Your rights: You have the following statutory rights that can be exercised at any time: 

         (a) Right to complain to supervisory authority.

         (b) Right of access.

         (c) Right to rectification.

         (d) Right to erasure.

         (e) Right to restrict processing.

         (f)  Right to data portability.

         (g) Right to object, and to object to automated decision making/profiling. 

 

For further information, please contact us. Please note that if your solicitor requests a copy of your counselling notes, we will require him/her to forward your written Authority and such information/documents as may be necessary to verify your identity before we will release anything to your solicitor.  Where such notes are required for a particular date, it is your obligation to ensure these are requested in reasonable time to give the Loreto Centre adequate time to facilitate your request.  Unfortunately, due to the demands on our voluntary service, we cannot facilitate last-minute requests for documents.  

 

7.   Contact us: if you need further information, please contact the Manager, Loreto Centre, Crumlin,                Dublin 12.

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