Cookie Policy

The Edinburgh Practice Privacy Policy
Updated December 2021

The Edinburgh Practice is committed to the protection of client data. We are registered with
the ICO and all handling of client’s personal data is done so in line with the terms of the
General Data Protection Regulation, known as GDPR. This recently revised Privacy Policy
aims to give you more information on the data we hold on you, what we do with that data,
whom we share your data with and your rights under GDPR.

The Edinburgh Practice uses the information we collect in accordance with all laws
concerning the protection of personal data, including the Data Protection Act 1998 and the
GDPR 2018. As per these laws, The Edinburgh Practice is the data controller; if another party
has access to your data, we will tell you if they are acting as a data controller or a data
processor, who they are, what they are doing with your data and why we need to provide
them with the information.

Introduction

The Edinburgh Practice needs to gather and use certain information about clients and
prospective clients in line with the information contained in our referral forms. This policy
describes how this personal data is collected, handled and stored to meet the company’s data
protection standards – and to comply with the law.

What data we gather

We may collect the following information to enable us to work with you safely and
effectively, and to enable the efficient dissemination of appointment reminders and invoicing:
 Name and address (postal and email)
 Date of birth
 Phone number
 Email correspondence
 GP details
 Details of private health insurance policies (where relevant)
 Bank details

Dr Franciske Evans
The Edinburgh Practice
35a Northumberland Street
Edinburgh
EH3 6LR
Date Issued: 18th March 2020
Admin: CS

Dear Dr Simmers,
Re: Alexander McColville
DOB: 27/03/2013
Address: 14 Hillpark Wood, Edinburgh, EH4 7TA
Diagnosis: ADHD

Following a comprehensive assessment in my opinion Alexander meets DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This
is in the context of a wider neurodevelopmental picture including DCD.

Recently, Alexander has struggled significantly with the core symptoms of ADHD which have made his place at school unsustainable. Parents are
in the process of liaising with a new primary school and are very keen for Alexander to commence on a trial of methylphenidate. Whilst a report is
being prepared I have commenced Alexander on Methylphenidate 5mg in the morning. Mum, Emma, has liaised with me that Alexander tolerated
this dose well and that he seems calmer. We agreed to continue with this medication and add a lunchtime dose.

I will review Alexander again in the near future but meantime I would be very grateful if you could kindly issue him with a prescription as below.
Baseline recordings were:
Blood pressure: 98/62
Heart rate: 101
Height: 130cm
Weight: 28.1kg

Medication Dosage Frequency Duration
Methylphenidate immediate release 5mg 8 am and 12 pm 1 month

With kind regards,

Yours sincerely,

Dr Franciske Evans
Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
MBChB, MRCPsych
GMC: 4387879

During the course of initial contact and then subsequent treatment and therapy, we will
inevitably also collect a significant amount of other personal data relevant to assessing
and treating your presenting psychological and psychiatric difficulties. This is to enable
us to offer you the service you have sought from us.

How we use this data
Collecting this data helps us:
 Contact you to set up assessment and therapy appointments
 Link you up with an appropriate clinician
 Conduct a thorough psychological or psychiatric assessment
 Devise and implement an effective treatment plan (therapy)
 Invoice for the services rendered
 Communicate (when necessary and agreed with you) with relevant third parties to
support your treatment and manage risks
 
Controlling information about you
Any personal information we hold about you is stored and processed under our data
protection policy, in line with The Data Protection Act 1998 (in force on the date this
statement became operational) and the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU)
2016/679) adopted on 27th April 2016 and enforceable from the 25th May 2018.

Your data will be kept for the lifetime of your status as a client with us. When you cease to be
a client with us, your data will be kept for a minimum period of seven years, and a maximum
period of ten years in accordance with General Medical Council guidelines. If you are a child,
your data will be retained until 7 years after your 18 th birthday.

You have the right to ask for your data to be deleted but The Edinburgh Practice does not
have to comply with this request if there is a legitimate reason for continuing to retain this
data, for example possible future legal requests.

The Edinburgh Practice has the right to retain your data for the minimum seven-year period
so that it can respond effectively to any questions or complaints that may later be raised by
you and/or your representatives. This is in line with best practice guidance.

The Edinburgh Practice keep electronic invoices for seven years as this is the required length
to comply with HMRC requirements. After seven years we delete the invoices. Our
accountant is based in the UK and all their computer systems are in the UK.

Security

Dr Franciske Evans
The Edinburgh Practice
35a Northumberland Street
Edinburgh
EH3 6LR
Date Issued: 18th March 2020
Admin: CS

Dear Dr Simmers,
Re: Alexander McColville
DOB: 27/03/2013
Address: 14 Hillpark Wood, Edinburgh, EH4 7TA
Diagnosis: ADHD

Following a comprehensive assessment in my opinion Alexander meets DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This
is in the context of a wider neurodevelopmental picture including DCD.

Recently, Alexander has struggled significantly with the core symptoms of ADHD which have made his place at school unsustainable. Parents are
in the process of liaising with a new primary school and are very keen for Alexander to commence on a trial of methylphenidate. Whilst a report is
being prepared I have commenced Alexander on Methylphenidate 5mg in the morning. Mum, Emma, has liaised with me that Alexander tolerated
this dose well and that he seems calmer. We agreed to continue with this medication and add a lunchtime dose.

I will review Alexander again in the near future but meantime I would be very grateful if you could kindly issue him with a prescription as below.
Baseline recordings were:
Blood pressure: 98/62
Heart rate: 101
Height: 130cm
Weight: 28.1kg

Medication Dosage Frequency Duration
Methylphenidate immediate release 5mg 8 am and 12 pm 1 month

With kind regards,

Yours sincerely,

Dr Franciske Evans
Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
MBChB, MRCPsych
GMC: 4387879

We will always hold your information securely:

 All client files and therapy notes are uploaded and kept securely in our practice
management software systems.

 Access to your personal information is restricted on a ‘need-to-know’ basis only i.e.
for those concerned directly with your care and with your account. A non-disclosure
agreement is in place with our accountants who have access to The Clarify Group Ltd
Bank Statements and therefore bank account details and personally identifiable
information.

 Data is backed up daily

 We use personal computers that are located on our business premises. The computers
are password protected and the hard drives are encrypted. Passwords are changed
every 90 days and it is company policy that passwords are not shared.

To prevent unauthorised disclosure or access to your information, we have implemented
strong physical and electronic security safeguards. In the unlikely event of a data protection
breach we will notify the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) so that their procedures
can be followed. We will also notify all individuals whose data may have been accessed to
alert them to the breach and any potential risks.

Data accuracy

Should, during the course of your contact with us, any personal data be subject to change for
example if you move, change GP practice, change your name, we would be grateful if you
could notify us at the earliest opportunity so we can ensure our records are up to date.
Please contact our Data Protection Officer, Dr Fiona Wilson, if you wish to update the
accuracy of the personal data we hold about you. We may require additional verification that
you are who you say you are to process this request. If you wish to have your information
corrected, you must provide us with the correct data and after we have corrected the data in
our systems we will send you a copy of the updated information.

Subject access requests
All individuals who are the subject of personal data held by The Edinburgh Practice are
entitled to:

 Ask what information the company holds about them and why.

 Ask how to gain access to it.

 Be informed of how to keep their data up to date.

 Be informed of how the company is meeting its data protection obligations.
If you would like to request a copy of the data we hold about you, this is called a subject
access request. Subject access requests should be made in writing or email to the Data
Protection Lead, Dr Fiona Wilson. We will aim to provide the relevant data within 30 days.

Dr Franciske Evans
The Edinburgh Practice
35a Northumberland Street
Edinburgh
EH3 6LR
Date Issued: 18th March 2020
Admin: CS

Dear Dr Simmers,
Re: Alexander McColville
DOB: 27/03/2013
Address: 14 Hillpark Wood, Edinburgh, EH4 7TA
Diagnosis: ADHD

Following a comprehensive assessment in my opinion Alexander meets DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This
is in the context of a wider neurodevelopmental picture including DCD.

Recently, Alexander has struggled significantly with the core symptoms of ADHD which have made his place at school unsustainable. Parents are
in the process of liaising with a new primary school and are very keen for Alexander to commence on a trial of methylphenidate. Whilst a report is
being prepared I have commenced Alexander on Methylphenidate 5mg in the morning. Mum, Emma, has liaised with me that Alexander tolerated
this dose well and that he seems calmer. We agreed to continue with this medication and add a lunchtime dose.

I will review Alexander again in the near future but meantime I would be very grateful if you could kindly issue him with a prescription as below.

Baseline recordings were:
Blood pressure: 98/62
Heart rate: 101
Height: 130cm
Weight: 28.1kg

Medication Dosage Frequency Duration
Methylphenidate immediate release 5mg 8 am and 12 pm 1 month

With kind regards,

Yours sincerely,

Dr Franciske Evans
Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
MBChB, MRCPsych
GMC: 4387879

We will always verify the identity of anyone making a subject access request before handing
over any information. We may withhold such personal information to the extent permitted by
law. In practice, this means that we may not provide information if we consider that
providing the information will violate your vital interests.

Disclosing data for other reasons

In certain circumstances the Data Protection Act allows The Edinburgh Practice to disclose
data (including sensitive data) without the data subject’s consent.

These circumstances include:

 Carrying out a legal duty

 Protecting vital interests (for example safety) of a Data Subject or other person

 If the data subject has already made the information public

 Conducting any legal proceedings, obtaining legal advice or defending any legal
rights

 Providing a confidential service where the data subject’s consent cannot be obtained
or where it is reasonable to proceed without consent: e.g. where we would wish to
avoid forcing stressed or ill data subjects to provide consent signatures.

Under these circumstances, The Edinburgh Practice will disclose relevant data. However, we
will take all reasonable steps to notify the individual whose data is being disclosed about the
disclosure. We will also ensure that any such data request is legitimate, reasonable and
necessary.

Risk Issues
 
Anything discussed during a consultation is strictly confidential and will not be passed on to
third parties without the explicit permission of the client. Please note that due to the nature of
psychological and psychiatric assessment, therapy, and treatment, there are two exceptions to
this rule: (1) under the professional’s Duty of Care we are obliged to contact the relevant
services if we believe that the client is an immediate danger of harming themselves or others
(the clinician will aim to inform the client of this prior to the disclosure); (2) mental health
professionals are required by their accrediting bodies to undertake regular professional
supervision. This involves the discussion of the professional’s caseload with a supervisor and
ensures standards and best practice are being met.

Receiving communications from The Edinburgh Practice

Dr Franciske Evans
The Edinburgh Practice
35a Northumberland Street
Edinburgh
EH3 6LR
Date Issued: 18th March 2020
Admin: CS

Dear Dr Simmers,
Re: Alexander McColville
DOB: 27/03/2013
Address: 14 Hillpark Wood, Edinburgh, EH4 7TA
Diagnosis: ADHD
Following a comprehensive assessment in my opinion Alexander meets DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This
is in the context of a wider neurodevelopmental picture including DCD.

Recently, Alexander has struggled significantly with the core symptoms of ADHD which have made his place at school unsustainable. Parents are
in the process of liaising with a new primary school and are very keen for Alexander to commence on a trial of methylphenidate. Whilst a report is
being prepared I have commenced Alexander on Methylphenidate 5mg in the morning. Mum, Emma, has liaised with me that Alexander tolerated
this dose well and that he seems calmer. We agreed to continue with this medication and add a lunchtime dose.

I will review Alexander again in the near future but meantime I would be very grateful if you could kindly issue him with a prescription as below.
Baseline recordings were:
Blood pressure: 98/62
Heart rate: 101
Height: 130cm
Weight: 28.1kg

Medication Dosage Frequency Duration
Methylphenidate immediate release 5mg 8 am and 12 pm 1 month

With kind regards,

Yours sincerely,

Dr Franciske Evans
Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
MBChB, MRCPsych
GMC: 4387879

The Edinburgh Practice will not send you any marketing emails. We will only contact you for
administrative or clinical reasons relating to the care which you are receiving or have
received at the practice.

When submitting your completed referral form to access our services, you will be asked on
the form to indicate your preference for contact which will be duly noted and you have the
opportunity when completing this form to opt in to receive appointment reminders via email.

Inbound related Correspondence

The Edinburgh Practice has a strict policy of maintaining confidentiality for all inbound
information received via email, telephone or writing from third parties. Communication
between The Edinburgh Practice employees or self-employed clinicians to third parties is
held in accordance with GDPR guidelines. More information on how we hold this
information can be found here.

For Further Information

If your questions are not fully answered by this policy, please contact our Data Protection
Officer (Dr Fiona Wilson). If you are not satisfied with the answers from the Data Protection
Officer, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) https://ico.org.uk.
This statement is updated annually and was last updated on the 6th of December 2021.

If you have any questions about this policy, please email
[email protected]