Clinical Directors and Registered Independent Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapists: Victoria Allanson and Sophia Riozzi
Email: office@speechmatters.uk
Website: https://speechmatters.uk/
Terms and conditions set out the expectations for the service user and the allocated therapist. They govern the contract between us and ensure that both parties are protected in the unlikely event that a disagreement occurs. Please read and sign the terms and conditions and contact your clinician if you have any questions. Thank you.
FREE CONSULTATION
We provide a free 15 minute consultation (if any further consultation is required this will be charged at the hourly rate). The purpose of the consultation is to discuss your specific needs and goals and describe the services available. The consultation is available via email or telephone. Following this consultation, you will be advised if an assessment is appropriate, and if/when a therapist is available to you and which therapist would best meet your needs.
SERVICES
Specialist Speech and Language Therapy - Assessment, ongoing intervention, reports, and training provided by dynamic, specialist Speech and Language Therapists.
1. The services provided will be of high quality and provided by people experienced in their roles. A client centred approach will be followed at all times.
2. Appointments will be offered in the client’s home, educational or work setting, Day Centres, or community as appropriate. Clinic appointments are available with an agreed upon surcharge to cover room booking.
3. Services will be offered Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.30pm. Appointments may be offered outside of these times and will be agreed in advance with the relevant person(s).
4. In exceptional circumstances services may be offered on Saturday or Sunday, which would be agreed in advance with the relevant person(s) prior to completion over a finite period.
5. Therapy services are generally offered face to face, but input can also take place via telecommunication, and will be agreed with the appropriate parties beforehand.
6. Appointments typically last at least an hour. Exceptions to this can be made in some circumstances and will be discussed on a client specific basis.
INITIAL ASSESSMENT
1. At referral and prior to initial assessment, detailed information regarding the client and their medical condition should be provided. This should include any possible risks which could impact on the therapist’s health and safety.
2. A thorough initial assessment of communication and dysphagia needs will be completed, as required. The duration of the assessment depends on the complex nature of the case, including, but not limited to, the addition of clinical observation required for dysphagia, and any requirements of assessment in two or more settings. Notification of the duration of the assessment will be clearly defined prior to initial assessment.
3. Following the initial assessment, a detailed report will be provided (as agreed) indicating future recommendations, costs of intervention, and any equipment recommendations.
CHARGES AND PAYMENT
1. Detailed invoices will be sent at the end of each calendar month, clearly outlining support provided. Session time, travel time, mileage, expenses etc will be detailed. Invoices should be paid in full within 14 days.
2. A signed copy of the terms and conditions must be received prior to the commencement of treatment.
3. Travel costs are calculated by google maps route planner from the treating therapist’s home address.
4. Additional charges such as tunnel and bridge tolls, and any paid parking, required in order to attend the session, will also be charged to the client.
5. Therapy sessions cancelled with more than 24 hours’ notice will not incur a charge. Sessions cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice will be charged in full for the session.
6. Should the agreed date of payment be exceeded, Speech Matters Speech Therapy Ltd reserves the right to suspend the service until payment is received.
7. Late payment charges are subject to a 5% increase if not paid within 14 days, unless late payment is agreed with Speech Matters Speech Therapy Ltd prior to the invoice being issued. Each subsequent 30-day period of non-payment will incur a further 5% charge.
8. Speech Matters Speech Therapy Ltd will give a calendar months’ notice of any rate changes. Rates will be reviewed annually.
9. Photocopying / resource printing is charged at 15p per sheet, laminating 20p per sheet.
10. Report writing, all liaisons including other agencies, and other activities such as preparation of resources are charged at the hourly rate.
11. A £50 deposit must be paid at the time of booking your first appointment. The remainder of the fee for your first appointment will be invoiced on completion of the assessment.
Our preferred payment method is via bank transfer to:
Speech Matters Speech Therapy
Sort code: 60 83 71
Account number: 12569385
Credit or debit cards, cash and cheques are also accepted.
CONFIDENTIALITY
1. Details of therapeutic sessions will be kept in the strictest confidence, within the parameters agreed to within the signed consent form. Notes will be made of all input, as is standard practice, which will be stored securely.
2. Speech Matters Speech Therapy Ltd are compliant with GDPR regulations.
3. Speech Matters Speech Therapy Ltd are registered with the Information Commissioners Office.
4. As part of clinical supervision, details may need to be shared with an appropriate third party. At no time will any identifying information be given to anyone outside of the therapy relationship.
5. There are rare occasions where confidentiality cannot be guaranteed; when there are safeguarding concerns and risk of harm to individuals relating to serious crime, or when there is thought to be imminent risk of the named client causing serious harm to themselves or others.
6. Where information is collected or processed via an automated Virtual Assistant, all data remains subject to the same confidentiality obligations set out in this section. No identifying client information will be used to train, develop, or improve third-party artificial intelligence systems without your explicit consent. Our Data Processor agreements expressly prohibit such use.
TERMINATION
1. Speech Matters Speech Therapy Ltd reserves the right to terminate the service provision with 1 months’ notice, which will be provided in writing to the referrer.
2. The instructing party may terminate the contract at any time with 1 months written notice. All invoices outstanding must be paid immediately on termination of the contract.
INSURANCE
1. All therapists employed at Speech Matters Speech Therapy Ltd shall maintain Health Care Professional Council (HCPC) membership and this information is available on request.
2. Speech Matters Speech Therapy Ltd will maintain up to date DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) enhanced clearance checks. This information can be provided on request.
3. Speech Matters Speech Therapy Ltd will maintain adequate insurance cover. An insurance certificate can be produced on request.
4. Speech Matters Speech Therapy Ltd Speech and Language Therapists will maintain membership of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT). Information will be provided upon request.
DATA PROTECTION
This statement sets out Speech Matters Speech Therapy Ltd’s policy in relation to the holding and using of information about you (or your family member) which may be obtained from you or other sources during treatment. This information may include personal details, details relating to your family, lifestyle and social circumstances, and education and training details. This data may be shared with yourself, your relatives, and other healthcare or education professionals with your permission.
We collect certain data from you to meet mandatory requirements regarding medical notes. There is a legal requirement to keep medical notes for a minimum of 7 years. For children, all records will be kept securely until your child is 25 years old. After this time, all records will be destroyed securely.
Health information is classified as Special Category data under UK GDPR. We process this data on the lawful basis of explicit consent and/or where processing is necessary for the provision of health or social care services, in accordance with Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018. We will always make clear at the point of collection which basis we are relying upon.
We also collect data to assist in the administration of our services. We would like to use your contact details to manage your appointments and provide service-related updates.
Where information is collected via our Virtual Assistant prior to clinical involvement, the same data protection standards apply. Such data is held securely and accessible only to authorised clinical and administrative staff.
Please note that your right to be forgotten cannot override the legal requirement to keep medical notes for mandatory periods. You can submit a Subject Access Request in writing to office@speechmatters.uk. These requests will be dealt with within 30 days. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for further information.
This information is stored securely and treated confidentially in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Victoria Allanson and Sophia Riozzi are registered as Data Controllers with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
VIRTUAL ASSISTANT AND AUTOMATED PROCESSING
What the Virtual Assistant Does
Our Virtual Assistant is designed to support the following administrative functions only:
• Booking and managing appointments
• Collecting initial referral information and clinical history prior to assessment
• Answering general frequently asked questions about our services
The Virtual Assistant does not:
• Provide clinical assessment, diagnosis, or therapeutic recommendations
• Replace the professional judgement of a qualified Speech and Language Therapist
• Make decisions about your care or suitability for our services
All clinical decisions remain the responsibility of our qualified clinicians.
Your Rights in Relation to Automated Processing
1. You have the right to request human involvement at any stage of your interaction with Speech Matters Speech Therapy Ltd. If you would prefer not to use the Virtual Assistant, please contact us directly.
2. You have the right to withdraw your consent to data collected via the Virtual Assistant at any time by contacting us in writing, subject to our obligations regarding mandatory clinical records retention.
3. The Virtual Assistant does not make legally or clinically significant automated decisions. All referral and clinical history information collected is reviewed by a qualified clinician before any care decision is made.
4. If you have concerns about how your data has been processed, please contact us at office@speechmatters.uk. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk.
Third-Party Processing
The Virtual Assistant is supported by a third-party technology provider acting as a Data Processor under UK GDPR Article 28. Our Data Processing Agreement with this provider requires them to:
• Process data only on our documented instructions
• Implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures
• Not transfer data outside the UK or EEA without appropriate safeguards
• Delete or return all data upon termination of the agreement
• Not use client data for any purpose other than provision of the Virtual Assistant service
Details of our current third-party providers are available on request.
SAFEGUARDING
Our staff have a DBS and are either registered with the online update service OR checks will be made every 3 years. Service users may see our DBS enhanced disclosure at any time.
In the event of a safeguarding concern, where yourself or another person is at risk of harm, we have a legal obligation to share that information with relevant professionals in line with the Safeguarding Children’s Act 2004 and the Care Act 2014. Our staff complete regular Safeguarding training. Service users may request evidence of this at any time.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
Email is not a 100% secure method of communication. With your consent, it will be used for correspondence and to send letters, reports and other documents. Documents will be password protected and saved in Printed Document Format (PDF). Correspondence via email to other professionals will be copied to you as necessary. We will refer to you or your family member using your initials only in emails.
Virtual Assistant Communications
1. Speech Matters Speech Therapy Ltd may use an automated Virtual Assistant to support administrative functions including: booking and managing appointments, collecting initial referral and clinical history information, and responding to general enquiries about our services.
2. The Virtual Assistant is not a clinician and does not provide clinical assessment, diagnosis, or therapeutic advice. Any information collected via the Virtual Assistant will be reviewed by a qualified Speech and Language Therapist before any clinical decision is made.
3. The Virtual Assistant may be deployed via our website, a mobile application, or other digital channels. The same data protection standards apply regardless of the channel used.
4. Interactions with the Virtual Assistant may be processed by a third-party technology provider acting as a Data Processor on our behalf. This provider is contractually bound to process your data only on our instructions and in accordance with UK GDPR Article 28. Details are available on request.
5. Data collected via the Virtual Assistant will be stored securely and treated in accordance with our Data Protection and Confidentiality policies as set out in these Terms and Conditions.
6. You have the right to request that a human member of our team handles your enquiry at any point. Please contact us directly at hello@speechmatters.uk or 07988 807889.
COMPLAINTS
In the unlikely event that you are not satisfied with our service please contact us. We will make every attempt to resolve this through discussion. If it is not possible for us to resolve matters, and you wish to complain formally, please contact the Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice at www.helpwithtalking.com.
PPE
We follow Public Health England (PHE) and Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) guidance on PPE. If you have any concerns regarding the use of PPE, please do ask.
DECLARATION
Before an initial consultation, professionals, individuals, relatives or carers are asked to sign and return a declaration indicating that they have read, understood and agree to the terms and conditions and privacy policy. Please see declaration below and state whether this is being completed by the client or someone else.