Privacy Notices - On Trak Privacy Notice

On Trak is a counselling service for young people who, at the time of referral, are experiencing mental health problems that are likely to respond positively to ‘talk-based’ therapies.

We take your privacy and safety very seriously and we have written this document to explain to you:

• How we protect your personal information which is called data.
• How we work to keep you and other young people safe.

A Privacy Notice is a statement issued by an organisation which explains how personal and confidential data about people is collected, used and shared.

When you come to On Trak, which is part of Swindon Borough Council, we will need to collect information about you, this is called your ‘data’ and you are the ‘data subject’. This privacy notice tells you what information we collect about you and why. Swindon Borough Council is the ‘data controller’.

Personal data relates to information about a living person who can be identified or recognised from that data. Identification can be by the information alone or along with other information in the data controller’s possession.

The processing of data is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/6 & 9 (the “GDPR”).

The details that we would like to collect whilst counselling you include:

• Name and date of birth
• Address
• Gender
• Ethnicity
• Physical or mental health conditions
• Religious/ other beliefs
• Information relating to your family and lifestyle

This information is held on paper files and in our database. Only On Trak staff and managers who have a need to know can see this.

We need your personal information to:

• Understand your situation and to help us to support you in the best way we can
• Keep a record of when we see you and if we need to speak to other people about you. We have a responsibility to keep you and other young people safe.
• To receive feedback about our service if you give consent

If we are really worried about you and think you are at risk or in danger, we will talk to you about the need for someone outside the OnTrak team to know what has, or is happening, to you.

We only do this if:

• Your life is at risk because of something you are doing.
• You are at risk because of someone else.
• You are a risk to someone else
• Someone else is at serious risk of harm.

In these cases your On Trak counsellor will ask you to give permission to share your details so that they can ensure the right help and support service is put in place. If you do not give permission and your On Trak counsellor feels it is a safeguarding concern they may share or refer the details we have.

If this happens we will:

• Let you know who we are passing details to and why.
• Keep you up to date with any actions we intend to take.
• If possible we will work with you to agree steps taken.

On rare occasions if the situation is very serious we may have to take action without talking to you first.

We collect and use this information under Article 6 (lawful processing), and Article 9 (special categories of data), of GDPR 2018:

Article 6 of GDPR:

Public task: the processing is necessary for the local authority to perform a task in the public interest or for official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law in terms of Health and Social Care Provision.

Article 9 (2) of GDPR – Special Categories of Data and lawful processing of:

(h) processing is necessary for the purposes of preventive care, for the assessment of mental health needs, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services on the basis of Union or Member State law or pursuant to contract with a health professional and subject to the conditions and safeguards referred to in paragraph 3;

The Data Protection Act 2018 (12, Schedule 1, part 2 specifically outlines the responsibilities in relation to processing data for the purposes of safeguarding children and individuals at risk.

We may share your details with the following agencies for data monitoring purposes. Wherever possible, we will let you know that we are doing this.

We may share your details with the following agencies:

Personal data

• Targeted Mental Health Service (TAMHS) which is part of Swindon Borough Council.
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) External Organisation - not part of SBC (Swindon Borough council)

Anonymized data

• The NHS—Information is for statistics only and personal information will not be passed to other departments.
•  CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group) as our commissioners - Swindon CCG works hard to improve existing services, please visit their website if you want more information on this.

We take the security of your personal data seriously. We have internal policies and controls in place to ensure that your personal data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed to people who have no rights to know this and it is only accessed by our staff in the proper performance of their duties.

We keep your information for 7 years after your final session with us.

The law says you have the right to see the information we hold about you.

If you would like to see this information or you have any concerns about how we look after your personal information, please contact the Council’s Data Protection Officer at  DataProtection@Swindon.gov.uk or Telephone 01793 463000

For further details on how your information is used, how we maintain the security of your information, and your rights to access information we hold on you please contact DataProtection@Swindon.gov.uk or contact the Data Protection Officer at:

Swindon Borough Council
Civic Offices
Euclid Street
Swindon
SN1 2JH

You will still be able to engage with the service with minimal personal data collection but once trust has been established we still may need to collect personal data such as your name, age and that you live in Swindon. Some of this is to ensure we are able to follow all Swindon Borough Council Safeguarding policies and that you come under the age and area we are commissioned to work with. We also want to ensure that we are the right service for you.

It will be reviewed within the guidelines of current and future legislation.

The department is subject to internal and external audit ofsted to ensure our procedures.

Further guidance on the use of personal information can be found at ico.org.uk. (Information Commissioner’s Office)

You are viewing the Privacy Notice for the On Trak counselling service.

Read the main Privacy Notice