Privacy Policy

The privacy and security of your information is important to us. This statement explains who we are, the types of information we hold, how we use it, who we share it with and how long we keep it for.  It also informs you of certain rights you have regarding your personal information under current data protection law and is based on guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office. You can find out more about the ICO here: https://ico.org.uk/.

 

Data Controller

Dr Nikki Hill is registered as Data Controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office in respect of the products and services we provide to you.  You can contact us for general data protection queries by telephone on 01325 466511, by email on: enquiries@aspireps.uk or in writing to: The Data Protection Officer, Aspire Psychological Services Ltd, Enterprise House, Valley Street, Darlington, DL1 1EY. Please advise us of as much detail as possible to comply with your request.

 

What information do we collect?

To enable us to provide you with the right product or service to meet your needs we will collect personal information which may include the following;

Personal Data

This may include:

  • name, address, phone number, email
  • next of kin or emergency contact details
  • GP or healthcare provider details
  • education provider or Local Authority involvement
  • details of other professionals involved
  • payment information (e.g., bank details for invoicing)

Special Category (Sensitive) Data

This may include:

  • clinical notes
  • reports, letters, assessments, outcome measures
  • emails or messages relating to your care
  • audio or video recordings where relevant
  • safeguarding or risk information

We only collect sensitive information where it is necessary for your care.

We shall only collect this information where it is necessary for us to do so to provide to you our products and/or services.

 

The lawful basis for processing personal data

Aspire Psychological Services Ltd is required by our regulator Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) to keep records of treatments provided.

Aspire Psychological Services Ltd have a legitimate interest in using the personal data and sensitive personal data we collect to provide health treatments. It is necessary for us in order to provide psychological therapy to service users.

  • Contract – to provide psychological therapy and manage appointments.
  • Legitimate Interests – to deliver safe, effective clinical practice.
  • Legal Obligation – including professional requirements to keep clinical records.
  • Vital Interests – where information is needed to protect life or prevent serious harm.
  • Consent – for optional communications or where required.

 

How do we use your personal information?

We will use your personal information to;

  • assess and provide psychological services
  • communicate with you about appointments and service updates
  • maintain accurate clinical records
  • liaise with professionals involved in your care (with consent unless safeguarding applies)
  • process payments and manage invoices
  • improve and develop our services
  • carry out internal statistical or service‑development work (using anonymised data where possible)

 

We may also take the opportunity to

  • Contact you about services that are closely related to those you already hold with us
  • Provide additional assistance or tips about these services
  • Notify you of important functionality changes to our websites

 

Only where you have provided us with consent to do so, we may also from time to time use your information to provide you with details of marketing or promotional opportunities and offers relating to other products and services from Aspire Psychological Service Ltd.

From time to time we will need to contact you all you for a variety of reasons relating to your products or service. 

 

Securing your personal information

We follow strict security procedures to protect your information.

  • Clinical Records: Stored securely in encrypted systems accessible only to authorised clinicians.
  • Email: Sensitive information is sent using secure, password‑protected attachments.
  • Administrative Systems: Used for scheduling, invoicing, and communication.
  • Security Measures: We use a combination of electronic and paper‑based systems, all protected by appropriate technical and organisational safeguards.

Any new information you provide may be used to update your existing record.

 

When do we share your information?

We may be required to provide your Personal Data to a third party who is classed as Data Processor.  This is an entity who is required to process some or all of your Personal Data in order for us to be able to provide our service to you.

While the information you provide may be disclosed to these companies, it will only be used for the provision and administration of the service provided and will not be used for any other purpose.

Some examples of where Aspire Psychological Services Ltd may need to liaise with other parties/external organisations are:

  • If you are referred by your health insurance provider, or otherwise claiming through a health insurance policy to fund therapy, then we will share basic personal information and appointment schedules with that organisation for the purposes of billing. We may also share personal information with your health insurance provider to provide treatment updates in order for them to process your
  • If you are referred by your GP, Psychiatrist, Occupational Health Physician, or other health care provider we will share personal information with the referrer or other health care professional involved in your care/treatment in order to provide treatment updates. We will do this only with your written consent unless it is in relation to a safeguarding issue following which we can share information without consent from the client.
  • Basic personal data included in invoices is shared with our accountant (and HMRC if necessary due to tax-related queries), who is also bound by confidentiality and data protection

In most circumstances we will not disclose personal data without your consent. The exceptions to this are:

  • When it is necessary to protect you or others from harm. This is when the information concerns risk of harm to you (the data subject), or risk of harm to another person or other persons. We will discuss such disclosure with you unless we believe that to do so would increase the level of risk to you or
  • If your health is in jeopardy, and you are unable to give consent, we may share your contact information and some information about your health with an emergency healthcare service, your GP, or your next of kin/parent/person with parental responsibility.

We may of course be obliged by law to pass on your information to the police or other law enforcement body. 

We may also share your information with anyone you have authorised to deal with us on your behalf.

Whenever we share information about you, we only provide the information necessary.

Before we share any sensitive personal information, you will always be given the option to see what personal information is shared. If this is not felt to be in your best interest due to increased risk to self or others, the company will agree as a team as to whether or not you need to know what we are sharing.

 

How long do we keep your information for?

We will not keep your personal information longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it was provided unless we are required by law or have other legitimate reasons to keep it for longer (for example; if necessary, for any legal proceedings).

Basic contact information held on a clinician’s mobile phone is deleted within 6 months of the end of therapy. This allows us to provide better service to a returning client.

All other information, including the sensitive personal data defined above, is stored for a period of minimum 7 years after the end of therapy/service involvement in compliance with professional guidelines and obligations. In some cases, particularly with children, this is held for longer (until at least 18 years of age).

Data used for accounting purposes is stored in accordance with HMRC regulations, which is 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to, or longer if certain circumstances apply as defined by HMRC.

 

Your rights

Under data protection law you have the right to change or withdraw your consent and to request details of any personal data that we hold about you.

  • You have a right to access the information we hold about
  • We will usually share this with you within 30 days of receiving a written
  • We may request further evidence from you to verify your
  • You will be sent a copy of the information we hold about
  • You have a right to have your personal data corrected if it is
  • We reserve the right to refuse a request to delete your personal data where this is Health records or when the personal data is needed for accounting purposes. Please see retention periods above under “How long we store personal information”.
  • You can complain to a regulator. If you think that we have not complied with Data Protection laws, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s

Where we have no legitimate reason to continue to hold your information, you have the right to be forgotten.

If you wish to inform us of changes in consent for marketing, please contact us at the address or telephone number indicated in any recent correspondence or emails you have received from us.

Further details of your rights can be obtained by visiting the ICO website at https://ico.org.uk/.

 

Complaints

Aspire Psychological Services Ltd tries to meet the highest standards when collecting and using personal information. For this reason, we take any complaints we receive about this very seriously. We encourage people to bring it to our attention if they think that our collection or use of information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate.

If you are not satisfied with the response from Aspire Psychological Services Ltd, or believe we are not processing your personal data in accordance with the law, you have the right to raise your complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

 

Contact information for ICO:

Website: https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ Telephone: +44 (0) 303 123 1113

 

Other websites

Our website contains links to other websites. Our privacy policy only applies to this website; we would encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit.

 

Updates to this privacy policy

We keep this privacy policy under regular review, and we will place any updates on this webpage. This privacy policy was last updated on 18.5.26