Confidentiality
We uphold the current Code of Professional Conduct for IBCLC’s on confidentiality.
Any conversations, written communication, reports and recordings will be treated as confidential.
If we are asked to provide any written reports or discuss your case with anyone (e.g. GP or Health Visitor) we will discuss and agree this with you. The only exception to this rule is if we are concerned you are at risk of harm to yourself or others, or are at risk of being harmed by another individual. In such a situation we would have a duty to break confidentiality. Where possible we would still discuss this with your first.
In order to ensure we provide the best possible evidence based information and support we have regular supervison. During supervision, we may discuss your case but will ensure anonymity by not naming you unless there is a risk of serious harm. In addition the Lactation Consultants and other practitioners who provide supervision also uphold current practice guidelines regarding confidentiality and will not disclose any information from the supervision session.
Privacy Policy
We collect and hold information about you as a legitimate interest as defined under the General Data Protection Regulations. This privacy policy explains how we use any personal information we collect about you when you use my services. It also informs you of your rights and my responsibilities in the processing of your personal information under the General Data Protection Regulations.
What information do we collect about you?
We collect information about you, your current breastfeeding concerns and previous breastfeeding history during our consultation. This includes your name, date of birth, address, occupation, partner’s name, medical history (including obstetric and breastfeeding history) and consultation notes and recommendations/plan. We collect sensitive personal information defined as “Special Category Data” such as your physical or mental health or condition because we are providing assessment and information to you.
How will we use the information about you?
We collect information about you to provide you with recommendations or treatment. This information is confidential. We discuss this information in supervision with other practitioners for the purposes of ensuring that my practice is safe and effective. We do not reveal your name when we share your information in supervision. Those providing supervision do not share this information with anyone else.
Sharing your personal information with third parties.
We do not discuss your personal information with third parties. However, if my professional opinion was that there was an immediate and serious risk that you might harm yourself or someone else then we may have to share your personal information with a third party such as your GP or the emergency services without first obtaining your consent. This might be because it is not practically possible to obtain your consent or because attempting to do so might lead to a delay in accessing help and therefore endanger your life or that of another.
In situations where we did have to share your personal information with third parties to protect you or another, we will only share your personal information in so far as it is relevant and necessary to protect you or someone else. We will inform you what personal information we shared and to whom. It is possible that your personal information may be requested by a Court of Law, Coroners Office or Professional Body in which circumstances you may have limited or no rights of refusal.
Access to your information and correction.
You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. If you would like a copy of some or all of your personal information, please email sian@nomilklikemamas.co.uk. We want to make sure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. You may ask us to correct or remove information you think is inaccurate. You have the right to ask me to erase the personal information we hold about you. We can refuse the request if your personal information is needed in the defence or exercise of legal claims, or we believe there is an overriding legitimate interest to retain your information.
How do we store your information.
We keep your personal information included in my recommendations, referrals and letters in electronic records using your initial, surname and our consultation date as identifiers. This information is stored using Google Drive using encryption and password protected systems. A paper copy of our consultation summary and follow up contact, with identifying personal information i.e. name and address are kept on file in a locked cabinet by your practitioner.
Length of storage of your personal information.
We keep your personal information and the record of our work together for twenty five years. We then erase your records.
Changes to this privacy policy.
We keep my privacy policy under regular review; this privacy policy was last updated on the 1st January 2019.
How to contact us.
Please contact us if you have any questions about this privacy policy or the information we hold about you by email: sian@nomilklikemamas.co.uk or by phone: 07766466307
Right to complain.
You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioners Office without prejudice about the processing of your personal data: www.ico.org.uk