Consent and Information Sharing Policy

Belong OT is a private occupational therapy service based in Ardnacrusha, Co. Clare, Ireland.

• Owner and Data Controller: Belong OT Limited
• Website: www.belongot.ie
• Contact route: Contact Belong OT

Déarbhla O’Reilly Malone is a CORU-registered Occupational Therapist.

Consent helps make sure clients, parents, carers and families understand:

• what service is being provided
• what information is collected
• how information is used
• who information is shared with
• the limits of confidentiality
• how digital tools support clinical records

For children and young people, consent will usually be provided by a parent or legal guardian.

Where appropriate, Belong OT will also seek the child or young person’s assent. This means the child or young person is included in a way that suits their age, communication style and understanding.

If a child or young person is distressed or does not wish to take part, Belong OT may pause, adapt or stop the session and discuss next steps with the parent or carer.

Where parents are separated, care is shared, or there are guardianship, access, custody, court order, foster care, relative care, voluntary care, residential care or other care arrangements, Belong OT may need to clarify who has authority to consent.

Belong OT may need to pause, clarify or seek further information before providing occupational therapy input or sharing reports if there is:

• disagreement between parents or guardians
• uncertainty about who has authority to consent
• a court order or legal arrangement
• a safeguarding concern
• a safety, confidentiality or communication concern

The person completing the intake form will be asked to confirm their relationship to the child and whether they have authority to consent, or to provide details where consent arrangements need to be clarified.

Adults provide their own consent where they have capacity to do so.

Belong OT will aim to support adults to understand information, ask questions, make choices and communicate their decision in a way that suits their needs.

Where a supporter, parent, family member, college, workplace or other person is involved, Belong OT will clarify what information may be shared with them.

Where a formal decision-support arrangement, legal arrangement or capacity-related concern is relevant, Belong OT may request further information before agreeing consent, sharing information or sending reports.

Where a college, workplace, school, insurer, organisation or other third party requests, funds or takes part in occupational therapy input, Belong OT will clarify the purpose of the service and what information is needed.

This may include clarifying:

• who the occupational therapy service is for
• who requested or funded the service
• who will receive written information, recommendations or reports
• what information will remain confidential
• what consent is needed before contact with another person or setting

Only relevant information will be shared. Personal clinical details will not be shared with a college, workplace or organisation unless this has been agreed or is required for a legal, safeguarding, professional or serious safety reason.

Belong OT may ask for consent for:

• occupational therapy consultation, assessment, coaching or intervention
• online or phone appointments
• school, preschool, college or workplace contact
• sharing reports or recommendations
• receiving information from another professional
• use of WriteUpp for forms, records and invoicing
• use of AI-assisted note-taking, such as Heidi
• photographs, video or clinical media, where clinically needed
• email or digital communication

Belong OT uses WriteUpp as the main practice management system.

WriteUpp may be used for:

• bookings
• appointment administration
• consent forms
• intake forms
• clinical notes
• reports and documents
• client records
• invoices
• secure document storage

Information stored in WriteUpp forms part of the client record.

Belong OT routinely offers the use of secure AI-assisted note-taking software, such as Heidi, to support clinical documentation.

This may involve audio from an appointment, online consultation, clinic session or professional meeting being processed to help create a draft clinical note, summary, report, programme or letter.

AI-assisted note-taking helps reduce administration time and supports accurate record keeping. It does not replace clinical judgement.

Déarbhla O’Reilly Malone will review and edit any AI-generated note before it is saved to the clinical record or used in a report, letter, programme or recommendation.

AI-generated notes will not be used for marketing, training, social media or public sharing.

Belong OT will only use AI-assisted note-taking systems that provide appropriate privacy and data protection safeguards.

AI-assisted note-taking may involve temporary audio processing to support clinical documentation.

Belong OT does not routinely keep full audio or video recordings of appointments unless this has been clearly explained and separate consent has been given.

Clients, parents, carers, family members, schools or other attendees should not audio record, video record, screenshot or transcribe appointments without prior agreement from Belong OT and everyone involved.

Belong OT will usually ask for consent before sharing information with others.

This may include sharing relevant information with:

• parents or carers
• schools, preschools, colleges or education settings
• GPs or healthcare professionals
• psychologists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists or other therapists
• public services
• workplace or education support services
• insurers or professional advisers, where required

Only relevant information will be shared.

Belong OT may need to share information without consent where:

• there is a child protection or welfare concern
• there is a concern about risk to an adult or vulnerable person
• there is serious risk of harm to the client or another person
• Belong OT is legally required to share information
• information is needed for an insurance, legal, regulatory or professional matter
• emergency services need information to protect safety

Where possible and appropriate, Belong OT will explain this before information is shared.

Report recipients are agreed with the adult client or the person with authority to consent for a child, taking account of the young person’s rights and involvement in decisions. Requesting or paying for a service does not automatically give someone access to the report.

For children and young people, Belong OT clarifies who is entitled to receive the report, taking account of guardianship, consent arrangements and any relevant legal restrictions. A carer or school does not automatically receive a copy.

For adults, reports are usually shared with the adult client unless another arrangement has been agreed.

Before sharing a report with a school, college, workplace or another professional, Belong OT agrees the recipient, purpose and information to be shared and records the appropriate consent. Disclosure without consent is limited to circumstances with an applicable lawful basis and relevant confidentiality safeguards, as outlined above.

Reports may be sent by secure email or another agreed secure method.

Belong OT may sometimes use photographs or short videos for clinical purposes, such as observing posture, movement, handwriting, equipment use or functional skills.

Consent will be requested before clinical photographs or videos are used.

Clinical photographs or videos will not be used for marketing, training, social media or public sharing without separate written consent.

Consent can be changed or withdrawn at any time.

Withdrawing consent may affect what service Belong OT provides.

Some records may still need to be kept for legal, professional, safeguarding, insurance or clinical reasons.

Consent may be reviewed if the service changes, if new information sharing is needed, or if a client, parent, carer or young person asks to review consent.