AChiPPP Standards
Child Psychologists in Private Practice will need to consider the following:
- To be a member of AChiPPP you must have Chartered status with the British Psychological Society and be working in the sphere of child psychology.
- Membership of AChiPPP represents a commitment to the agreed standards of professional conduct laid down by the BPS. Matters regarding conduct are a prime consideration of AChiPPP as one of our objectives is to promote high standards of professional conduct and expertise.
In time it is anticipated that AChiPPP will canvass the views of members in order to produce some specific guidance on conduct of members in private practice. Members wishing to contribute to this discussion should send comments.
In the future the AChiPPP website may be able to offer members some advice on the topics such as:
- Premises and problems of long term record keeping
- Legal and business protection
- Advertising and marketing
- Terms and conditions of service for service users
- Complaints procedures.
However, we are a fledgling organisation and are dependent on our members offer suggestions about the information they need and want to be displayed on the website. We are keen for members to contribute and hope that we can be a supportive forum for new ideas and the exchange of varying views.
In the meantime it is important to note that AChiPPP is not able to deal with queries and complaints against psychologists working in private practice. These should be directed to the BPS in the usual manner.
Data Protection
It is important that all members working in private practice are aware of the Data Protection Legislation. This is designed to safeguard the rights of people using your services where you store their data on computer or manually on paper files. This might include personal data about children or their parents as well as your own opinions and assessment information.
Every data user must register with the Office of Data Protection. A fee is payable and registered data users must comply with strict guidelines about the use of such data. It would be possible for clients to seek compensation from you if they feel you have infringed the Data Protection Legislation. However, there are exceptions relating to medical data.
All people about whom data is held are entitled to be supplied with a copy of that data when they apply to you for it. However some medical data must not be disclosed if it could cause harm to the individual. If you are not sure about releasing such data please take advice from the Data Protection Agency.
Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you are required to provide the Information Commissioner with details about the processing of personal data. This notification is a statutory requirement and failure to notify is a criminal offence. Penalties carry up to £5000 plus legal costs. Please contact the Information Commissioners Office for further information or consult the website www.ico.gov.uk.