Data Protection Policy

Introduction

The purpose of this document is to provide a concise policy statement regarding the Data Protection obligations of Centred Mums. This includes obligations in dealing with personal data, in order to ensure that the organisation complies with the requirements of the relevant legislation, namely the Data Protection Act (1988) and the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (2018).

Rationale

Centred Mums must comply with the Data Protection principles set out in the relevant legislation and regulation. This Policy applies to all Personal Data collected, processed and stored by Centred Mums in relation to its service providers and clients in the course of its activities.

Scope

The policy covers both personal and sensitive personal data held in relation to data subjects by Centred Mums. The policy applies equally to personal data held in manual and automated form. All Personal and Sensitive Personal Data will be treated with equal care by Centred Mums. Both categories will be equally referred-to as Personal Data in this policy, unless specifically stated otherwise.

Centred Mums as a Data Controller

In the course of its daily organisational activities, Centred Mums acquires, processes and stores personal data in relation to:

• Clients of Centred Mums
• Third party service providers engaged by Centred Mums

Due to the nature of the services provided by Centred Mums, there is regular and active exchange of personal data between Centred Mums and its Data Subjects. This policy provides the guidelines for this exchange of information.

The Data Protection Principles

The following key principles are enshrined in the Irish legislation and EU Regulation and are fundamental to the Centred Mums’ Data Protection policy.

In its capacity as Data Controller, Centred Mums ensures that all data shall:

1. … be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully.

For data to be obtained fairly, the data subject will, at the time the data are being collected, be made aware of:

• The identity of the Data Controller (Centred Mums)
• The purpose(s) for which the data is being collected
• The person(s) to whom the data may be disclosed by the Data Controller
• Any other information that is necessary so that the processing may be fair.

Centred Mums will meet this obligation in the following way.

• Where possible, the informed consent of the Data Subject will be sought before their data is processed;
• Where it is not possible to seek consent, Centred Mums will ensure that collection of the data is justified under one of the other lawful processing conditions – legal obligation, contractual necessity, etc.;
• Processing of the personal data will be carried out only as part of Centred Mums’ lawful activities, and Centred Mums will safeguard the rights and freedoms of the Data Subject;
• The Data Subject’s data will not be disclosed to a third party other than to a party contracted to Centred Mums and operating on its behalf.

2. … be obtained only for one or more specified, legitimate purposes.

Centred Mums will obtain data for purposes which are specific, lawful and clearly stated. A Data Subject will have the right to question the purpose(s) for which Centred Mums holds their data, and Centred Mums will be able to clearly state that purpose or purposes.

3. … not be further processed in a manner incompatible with the specified purpose(s).

Any use of the data by Centred Mums will be compatible with the purposes for which the data was acquired.

4. … be kept safe and secure.

Centred Mums will employ high standards of security in order to protect the personal data under its care. Appropriate security measures will be taken to protect against unauthorised access to, or alteration, destruction or disclosure of any personal data held by Centred Mums in its capacity as Data Controller. Access to and management of customer records is limited to those who have appropriate authorisation and password access.

5. … be kept accurate, complete and up-to-date where necessary.

Centred Mums will:

• ensure that administrative and IT validation processes are in place to conduct regular assessments of data accuracy;
• conduct regular assessments in order to establish the need to keep certain Personal Data.

6. … be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose(s) for which the data were collected and processed.

Centred Mums will ensure that the data it processes in relation to Data Subjects are relevant to the purposes for which those data are collected. Data which are not relevant to such processing will not be acquired or maintained.

7. … not be kept for longer than is necessary to satisfy the specified purpose(s).

Centred Mums keeps personal data for 7 years due to the requirements by Balens Insurance. Once the period has elapsed, Centred Mums undertakes to destroy, erase or otherwise put this data beyond use.

8. … be managed and stored in such a manner that, in the event a Data Subject submits a valid Subject Access Request seeking a copy of their Personal Data, this data can be readily retrieved and provided to them.

Centred Mums has implemented a Subject Access Request procedure by which to manage such requests in an efficient and timely manner, within the timelines stipulated in the legislation.

Data Subject Requests

Subject Access Requests

Any formal, written request by a Data Subject for a copy of their personal data will be processed as soon as possible, with the maximum response time being one month as per GDPR.

Portability Requests

Any formal, written request by a Data Subject for a copy of their personal data to be transferred to another therapy/medical service will be carried out within one month.

Rectification Requests

Any formal, written request by a Data Subject for the update of their personal data to rectify incorrect or out-of-date information will be carried out within one month.

Erasure Requests

Any formal, written request by a Data Subject for the erasure or ‘right to be forgotten’ of their personal data will be carried out within one month.

Third Party Contractors

Any third parties contracted will be given documented instructions, covering areas including confidentiality obligations, security practices, processing, storage and transfer of data and the return or destruction of the personal data at the end of the relationships.

As a Data Controller, Centred Mums ensures that any entity which processes Personal Data on its behalf (a Data Processor) does so in a manner compliant with the Data Protection legislation. Failure of a Data Processor to manage Centred Mums’ data in a compliant manner will be viewed as a breach of contract, and will be pursued through the courts.

Data Breach Reporting

A breach is a loss of control, compromise, unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized acquisition, unauthorized access, or any similar term referring to situations where persons other than authorized users, for an authorized purpose, have access or potential access to personal data in usable form, whether manual or automated.

All incidents (a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed) will be reported to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner within 72 hours. Where devices or equipment containing personal or sensitive personal data are lost or stolen, the Data Protection Commissioner is notified only where the data on such devices is not encrypted. The affected data subjects will also be informed.

Data Breach Logging

All data breaches will be recorded in an incident log as required by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. The log will maintain a summary record of each incident which has given rise to a risk of unauthorised disclosure, loss, destruction or alteration of personal data. The record will include a brief description of the nature of the incident and an explanation of why the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner was not informed. Such records will be provided to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner upon request.