The following terms and conditions outline what you can expect from us, and what we expect from you, when accessing our service.

Download terms and conditions as PDF

Our service

NHS Oxfordshire Talking Therapies offer a range of free talking therapies to over 14,000 people a year across Oxfordshire. We are part of the NHS and offer services to patients registered with an Oxfordshire GP.

Discrimination statement

Oxfordshire Talking Therapies understand that accessing services may sometimes feel overwhelming and distressing.

At Oxfordshire Talking Therapies we are committed to fostering a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for all. We take seriously any form of discrimination, abuse, harassment or aggression.

This includes discriminatory statements, verbal abuse, threats, intimidation and physical violence. Such actions will not be tolerated and may result in the withdrawal of non-emergency treatment where appropriate.

Everyone in our community accessing our services, and our staff, has the right to be treated with dignity and respect and has a responsibility to treat others the same.

Confidentiality and how we hold your personal information

We need to keep information about you to help us provide the best possible care for you.

The information you provide is kept on a secure electronic clinical recording system. This system is separate from the one used by your GP.

Only NHS Oxfordshire Talking Therapies staff will routinely have access to this information and where appropriate to other information from Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust relating to your current or past care.

How do we keep your information secure and confidential?

We work in partnership with our patients’ GPs and routinely share information regarding your engagement with our service. This may
include any concerns we have around keeping you or those around you safe.

Everyone in the NHS has a duty to keep information about you confidential and this means information must only be shared with
those who have a genuine need to know.

As well as sharing information with your GP, we may also need to include people who provide care to you from organisations as well as the NHS. They too have a duty to keep information confidential.

How can you see the information we hold about you?

The Data Protection Act 1998 gives patients the right to apply for access to their own records, held either on computer or on paper.

If you are receiving treatment you may arrange to discuss your records informally with your doctor or other healthcare professional. Otherwise you can write to the health records manager (details below).

When we receive a written request we will send you a form for you to give us further details and proof of identity.

We will process your request for access to your records and we aim to do this within 21 days of receiving your completed form.

We have a duty to make any medical or technical terms in your record understandable to you. You may wish to make an appointment to discuss anything you do not understand.

If you think there is a mistake in your records, you should write to tell us so that an amendment can be added.

How is your information used?

The main purpose is to help provide you with the appropriate healthcare and treatment. Information may be used by members of the healthcare team including doctors, nurses, therapists, shared with your family doctor or provided for research purposes.

If you do not want to be contacted about research please let a team member know.

Your information may also be used for other NHS purposes and passed on to other organisations so we can all work together for your benefit. The sharing of information is strictly controlled and we will remove details that identify you, where it is not for direct care.

It is standard practice throughout the NHS that service inform the Department of Health (NHS England) and other healthcare providers.

At NHS Oxfordshire Talking Therapies we share information to help ensure that patients are offered the best possible treatment and helps to improve patient care. This is for statistical purposes only. The information is provided confidentially and will not identify you.

You can choose if you want your information shared in this way, more information is available and how to make your choice please visit your-data-matters.service.nhs.uk

Help us to keep your information up-to-date

It is very important that the information we hold about you is accurate. Please tell us about any changes to your name, address or your doctor or if you discover anything that is wrong or missing from your record.

If you provide us with details of anyone else, such as your carer, please let them know that you have done so.

If you have any further questions, then please speak to a member of the team or you can find out more on the website:
www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/privacy

If you have any questions about how your information is used then please discuss this with your worker who will be able to answer any concerns you may have.

Please tell your worker if you do not want your information to be used in this way. This will not affect your treatment in any way.

A fuller explanation of how we use your information can be found in the leaflet ‘Your Rights and Your Health Record’. This leaflet can
be downloaded from the Trust website.

What are your rights? – Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust or ask your worker for a copy.

Transfer to another service

Some NHS Oxfordshire Talking Therapies patients need more specialised help than the service can provide.

We aim to transfer you to other services as smoothly as possible. This may involve us passing relevant information about you to services such as Adult Mental Health Teams.

Treatment agreement

You will initially be assessed by a worker, but this may not necessarily be the same worker that will provide you with treatment.

The worker who completes your assessment will make an initial plan for treatment with you which will be reviewed as treatment
progresses.

Any changes to your treatment plan will be discussed and agreed with you, to ensure you are receiving the most appropriate care.

We aim to work in partnership with you, and decisions about your treatment will take into account your views and preferences, and our knowledge of treatments and services. We are always happy to discuss and explain any decisions made to you.

Arranging appointments

We are committed to providing an accessible, flexible service. We always try to arrange appointments with you and at a time and place that is convenient.

Most of our appointments are between 9am and 5pm but we may also offer some appointments outside of this time. If you are able to be more flexible about when and where you have appointments we may be able to see you sooner.

If you are outside of the UK (holidaying, studying or working) at any time we are unable to offer you care.

Our clinicians will routinely ask about your whereabouts as part of checking you are in a confidential and safe place to be able to
proceed with the appointment, if not you will be offered the opportunity to rebook for when you are back in Oxfordshire.

Patient health questionnaires

We routinely use patient health questionnaires (mood questionnaires) to help us assess the level of difficulties you are experiencing, this can also help us agree the best treatment option.

You will be asked to complete these questionnaires before every appointment, this helps you and your worker to see how you are progressing throughout your treatment.

These questionnaires can be completed securely online through our patient portal. Once you have submitted the completed questionnaire your worker will securely download it to your clinical record.

If you are interested in completing the questionnaires in this way please inform your worker who will set up the secure link.

Attending appointments

It is important that you attend your appointments on time. If you are unable to make an appointment please telephone the NHS
Oxfordshire Talking Therapies office on 01865 901 222.

Please cancel your appointment as soon as you know that you will be unable to attend, so that we can offer your appointment to
someone else.

If you are unable to call yourself and ask someone else to ring on your behalf, we will not disclose any information to confirm you
are our patient unless you have already informed us this is okay and have provided their details to us.

Should your worker need to cancel a session, they will also try to give you as much notice as possible, so please provide them with the most convenient way of getting in touch with you.

Presence of other people during your sessions

We are a teaching service and on occasions we have trainees who observe our work to improve their skills.

We will inform you if this will be the case for your session. If you do not want this to take place, please let your worker know.

Unattended appointments

Please be aware that we have a high demand for treatment within our service. If you do not attend your first appointment we will write to you asking you to contact NHS Oxfordshire Talking Therapies within two weeks to rearrange an appointment. If we do
not hear from you we will discharge you from the service.

After treatment has started, if you do not attend for two appointments without informing us, you will be discharged from the service. If this does occur, you can self-refer back to our service, which may result in a wait to restart treatment.

SMS text reminders

If you have agreed to receive SMS Text reminders for your appointments, these will be sent automatically to your mobile approximately 48 hours before the appointment.

We will also use this facility if we need to get in contact with you. This would normally be a text message asking you to call our Admin team regarding arranging or to discuss an appointment.

Answer phone messages

If you have given your consent to voicemail messages on your land line or mobile. This will also include if another person answers your
phone we will leave a message.

This is normally to ask you to call our Admin team regarding arranging or to discuss an appointment. We would not disclose any personal information about you or your treatment.

Emails

We can send correspondence by email if you prefer, we would normally sends these securely using encryption, by doing this you would need to register with the company (Citrix) before you can open the email.

If you prefer you can request emails to be sent in the normal way, which would mean we would not be able to guarantee its security
once it has left our network.

Making a comment, or raising a concern or complaint

Should you, at any time during your treatment, feel that it is not helping or you are unhappy with your treatment, you should discuss this with your worker.

If you feel unable to talk to your worker directly then please call or email the Team Manager.

If you feel unable to discuss your concerns with the Team Manager, you can get advice and support from the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on the free phone number 0800 328 7971.

Further information regarding the PALS service is available on the Oxford Health website: www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/support-advice/pals/

Website usage

See our separate statement on the terms and conditions for use of the NHS Oxfordshire Talking Therapies website. This applies solely to this website.