Privacy Policy

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

Belong OT supports children, young people, adults, parents, carers, families, schools, workplaces and organisations where occupational therapy is the right fit.

Data Controller: Déarbhla O’Reilly Malone trading as Belong OT.

• Email: [insert business email]
• Phone: [insert business phone]
• Website: www.belongot.ie

Belong OT collects information needed to respond to enquiries, manage bookings, provide occupational therapy and keep appropriate records.

• name and contact details
• date of birth
• parent, carer or emergency contact details
• school, workplace or organisation details
• appointment, payment and invoice details
• information shared through forms, emails, calls or booking systems
• clinical, developmental, health or education information
• assessment information, session notes, goals, reports and recommendations
• documents shared by clients, families, schools or professionals

Health, developmental and clinical information is treated as sensitive information and handled with appropriate confidentiality.

Belong OT collects information when you send an enquiry, book an appointment, complete an intake or consent form, attend a session, use telehealth, email or phone Belong OT, share documents, or ask another person or service to share information.

Information is used to:

• respond to enquiries
• arrange appointments
• provide occupational therapy assessment, consultation, coaching or intervention
• write clinical notes, reports and recommendations
• communicate with clients, parents, carers, schools and professionals
• manage invoices and payments
• maintain clinical and business records
• meet legal, professional, insurance, safeguarding and regulatory duties
• manage complaints, concerns or service feedback
• send resources or updates where you have opted in

Belong OT does not sell personal information.

Belong OT processes personal information under one or more GDPR legal bases, including consent, contract, legal obligation, legitimate interests and vital interests.

Health-related and other special category information is processed where it is necessary for the provision of health or social care, with professional confidentiality and appropriate safeguards in place.

Where consent is used, you can withdraw consent. This will not affect processing already completed before consent was withdrawn. Some records may still need to be kept for legal, professional, safeguarding or insurance reasons.

Belong OT stores information as securely as possible. Clinical and client information is mainly stored electronically in Cliniko, a healthcare practice management system.

Belong OT may also use secure systems for email, website management, forms, documents, accounting, payment processing, clinical documentation and service administration.

Access to clinical and client information is limited to people or providers who need access for service delivery, administration, legal, professional, safeguarding, insurance or regulatory reasons.

Cliniko may be used for bookings, telehealth, intake forms, consent forms, clinical notes, appointment records, documents, reports, invoicing and secure document storage.

Online consultations should take place in a private space. Belong OT takes reasonable steps to protect privacy during telehealth, and clients and families are asked to use a private space and secure internet connection where possible.

Belong OT may use AI-assisted note-taking to support clinical documentation, where consent has been given. Any AI-generated draft is reviewed and edited by Déarbhla O’Reilly Malone before it is saved or used.

Where paper records are used, they are kept securely. Paper records may be scanned into the secure clinical record and confidentially shredded once checked, unless the original needs to be kept for legal, professional, safeguarding, insurance, regulatory or assessment publisher reasons.

Belong OT only shares personal information where there is a clear reason to do so. Consent will usually be sought before clinical information is shared with schools, workplaces or other professionals.

Information may be shared with:

• the client, where appropriate
• parents or carers, where appropriate
• schools, preschools, colleges, workplaces or organisations
• healthcare, education or other relevant professionals
• practice management, email, website, forms, payment or accounting providers
• professional advisers, insurers or legal advisers
• regulatory, statutory, safeguarding or emergency services where required

Confidentiality is not absolute. Belong OT may need to share limited information without consent where there is a concern about risk to the client or another person, an adult at risk or vulnerable person, a child protection or welfare concern, serious safety concern, legal requirement, court order, insurance matter, regulatory matter or professional duty.

This may include sharing information with safeguarding services, statutory services, emergency services, An Garda Síochána, Tusla, HSE safeguarding services, a GP or another relevant body. Belong OT will aim to share the minimum necessary information and record the reason for the decision.

Belong OT may use clinical supervision or professional consultation to support safe, ethical and effective practice.

Client information will be anonymised or minimised wherever possible. Identifiable information will only be used where needed for care, safeguarding, consent, capacity, confidentiality, complaint, legal, insurance or professional decision-making reasons.

Urgent safeguarding or safety action will not wait for supervision.

Belong OT keeps records only for as long as needed for clinical, legal, professional, regulatory, insurance, safeguarding, complaint, claim or business reasons.

• Adult clinical records: normally kept for 8 years after last contact, unless a longer period is needed.
• Child and young person clinical records: normally kept until at least the young person’s 25th birthday, or 26th birthday if they were 17 when the service ended, unless a longer period is needed.
• Safeguarding records: normally kept for at least the same period as the relevant clinical record, and longer where safeguarding, legal, professional, insurance, complaint or claim-related reasons apply.
• Enquiries that do not become a service: normally kept for up to 12 months unless there is a valid reason to keep them longer.
• Newsletter or resource sign-up information: kept until the person unsubscribes or asks for removal, unless another lawful reason applies.

The Belong OT website may use cookies and analytics tools where enabled, such as Google Analytics or Google Search Console, to understand website use and improve the website.

This may include pages visited, device type, browser type, general location data and how visitors found the website. Belong OT does not use website analytics to identify individual clients.

If you sign up for free resources, newsletters or updates, your email address will be used for that purpose. You do not need to sign up for marketing to access occupational therapy services, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

More information is available in the Cookie Policy.

Under GDPR, you have rights in relation to your personal information. These include the right to:

• ask for a copy of your personal information
• ask for inaccurate information to be corrected
• ask for information to be deleted in certain circumstances
• ask for processing to be restricted in certain circumstances
• object to processing in certain circumstances
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• ask for your information to be transferred where this applies
• make a complaint to the Data Protection Commission

These rights are not absolute. Belong OT may need to keep some records to meet legal, professional, safeguarding, insurance, complaint or claim-related requirements.

Some service providers used by Belong OT may process or store information outside the European Economic Area. Where this happens, Belong OT will take reasonable steps to check that appropriate safeguards are in place.

The Belong OT website may link to other websites or resources. This Privacy Policy applies only to Belong OT. If you use an external website, read that website’s own privacy information before sharing personal information.

Belong OT may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The most recent version will be available on the Belong OT website or by request.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how your information is used, contact Belong OT.

• Email: [insert business email]
• Phone: [insert business phone]
• Website: www.belongot.ie

You also have the right to contact the Data Protection Commission.

Data Protection Commission: www.dataprotection.ie

Last reviewed: 23 July 2026