Orca Occupational Therapy

Privacy Policy

This is the Privacy Policy for all clients (and their parents/legal guardians) receiving Occupational Therapy input from Orla Urquhart, Children’s Occupational Therapist at Orca Occupational Therapy. It states what I do with the information I hold about you and your child, how I keep it secure, and your rights. Orla Urquhart is an Occupational Therapist who is registered with CORU and abides by their standards of practice. Orla is also a member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists.

What I do with your information:

As a registered Healthcare Professional, I am legally required to keep a written record of all direct and indirect contact with you and your child. This is in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Data Protection Act 2018 (Ireland). This includes details of my assessment, treatment, analysis and plans for follow up sessions. I would also keep a record of significant communications and discussion (e.g. on goal setting, anxieties, concerns etc).

All electronic records are stored securely on encrypted, password-protected devices and/or within GDPR-compliant cloud storage services. Devices are protected with up-to-date antivirus software and firewalls. Only Orla Urquhart has access to these records. Emails containing sensitive information are password protected and shared only with consent. No information is stored on portable media (e.g. USB drives) unless encrypted. Regular reviews of security measures are undertaken to ensure compliance with GDPR and CORU standards.

When communicating with you or other professionals involved in your child’s care, I will only refer to your child by their initials and not include any other identifiable information. Any reports containing sensitive data will be password protected before being sent via email. This would only be done with your consent.

Consent:

Prior to the initial appointment you will be asked to read this Privacy Policy and sign a consent form to confirm you have been made aware of my data processing activities. I rely on the lawful bases of ‘legitimate interest’ and ‘legal obligation’ under Article 6 of GDPR, and the condition of ‘provision of health or social care’ under Article 9(2)(h), to process health data as part of providing occupational therapy services. Consent will be sought for specific activities such as sharing reports or liaising with other professionals. Information may be shared without consent if there are safeguarding or child protection concerns, in line with Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2017).

Security and data retention:

Health records for children are retained until the child reaches 25 years of age, or for eight years after the final contact—whichever is longer. Records relating to children with disabilities may be retained for longer if clinically appropriate. After this period, all records will be securely deleted or destroyed (paper records shredded, electronic records permanently erased).

I do not hold any payment details from you. You will be provided with an invoice in advance of assessment/sessions and asked to make payment directly.

Emails or messages containing clinical information are retained as part of the clinical record and deleted once no longer required for service delivery

Your rights:

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the right to:

  • Access a copy of your or your child’s personal information (Subject Access Request)

  • Request correction of inaccurate data

  • Request erasure of data in certain circumstances

  • Object to or restrict certain types of processing

  • Request transfer of your data to another provider

To exercise these rights, please contact Orla Urquhart at orcaoccupationaltherapy@gmail.com.

If you are dissatisfied with how your data is handled, you have the right to lodge a complaint with

the Data Protection Commission (www.dataprotection.ie)

Contact:

If you’d like to exercise one of your rights, or you have a question or a complaint about this policy, please get in touch:

Email: orcaoccupationaltherapy@gmail.com

Last updated: October 2025