Touchstone is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy and keeping your information secure. By providing us with your information and agreeing to this privacy notice, you are giving us your consent to process your information. If you do not consent, we will not be able to provide you with the service you have requested.

How we get your information

We may obtain your personal data from a referrer, such as GP or support worker. This could include your name, address, contact information, date of birth, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disabilities, relationship status, residency status, diagnoses, history of mental and physical health, employment history, offending history, GP’s details and NHS number. We will always check directly with you that the information provided by a third-party referrer is correct.

We may be required to collect additional information from third parties e.g. background check agencies and may elect to conduct an online search of your name, for example on Google, in order to consider your suitability for the service you are being referred to.

How we look after your information

So that Touchstone can provide you with support we need to know about your health and needs. We must follow the rules of the law about how we look after your information and keep it safe.

We will keep your information while we are supporting you, and for a time after you leave our care, according to service rules. Touchstone will keep your information for 3-years from when you stop receiving support from us.

Sharing your information

Access to your personal information will be restricted to those who have a need to access it to
carry out their duties within Touchstone. We may share your date with:

  •  Commissioners and funders of the Service you receive.
  • Partner organisations. If the service you are accessing is run in partnership, we will share your personal information on a need-to-know basis only
  • Third-party organisations.

If we have concerns for your safety or the safety of others, we withhold the right to pass these concerns and any related relevant data to third parties. For example, a mental health crisis team or the police. We will follow our Safeguarding Policy (available on request) in relation to any concerns surrounding child safety or adults at risks.

Your rights

You have the right to be informed about how your information is looked after and used by Touchstone.

You have the right to request a copy of any personal information that Touchstone holds about you. However, we will check the information to ensure that any information that could cause harm or upset to you or anyone else is removed.

You have the right to ratification. If there are any mistakes in your personal information these will be corrected.

You have the right to erasure. You can withdraw your consent to Touchstone holding your personal data at any time.

Data Complaints

You have the right to make a complaint at any time if you believe that Touchstone has infringed GDPR legislation because of the way your personal information has been handled.

Data complaints can be received in writing or verbally and must be sent to Information Governance. Touchstone reserves the right to verify the identity of the person making the complaint before processing the request or disclosing any information.

Complainants are expected to have exhausted organisational complaints processes prior to escalating matters to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues.

Contact

The Data Protection Officer has responsibility for overseeing compliance with this privacy notice. If you have any questions about this privacy notice or how we handle your personal information, please contact the below.

  • Phone: 0113 271 8277
  • Email: InformationGovernance@touchstonesupport.org.uk
  • Post: Touchstone House, 2-4 Middleton Crescent, Leeds, LS11 6JU

We reserve the right to update this privacy notice at any time, and we will provide you with a new privacy notice when we make any substantial updates. We may also notify you in other ways from time to time about the processing of your personal information.

If you would like to download the privacy notice, please download below: