Clinic changes during COVID-19:
While screening will be performed and precautions are being taken, there is a small risk of contracting COVID-19 when attending an appointment in person. In order to minimise risk of infection we have implemented some changes at the clinic for your reassurance and safeguarding:
Your journey at the clinic:
As you enter the clinic you will see signage in place regarding social distancing and Covid-19 prevention measures. Furniture in the waiting areas has been reduced to cut down on capacity. All visitors are being asked to arrive just before their appointment time, and not early. There will be staggered appointment times between osteopathic appointments to avoid overlap in reception. This will lower the footprint in the building and help keep social distance in the communal areas. Clients are asked to arrive alone, with no additional family members except if requested as a chaperone. If chaperones are requested, you will need to enquire about whether this is possible in advance and any chaperones would also need to be screened.
Hand sanitiser:
All visitors need to sanitise their hands on entering and leaving the building, or alternatively you can wash your hands in the toilet area, located to the left of the main door. As you enter the building the automatic hand sanitiser dispenser is located just inside the entrance, by the toilets. Extra hand sanitiser is also available throughout the building.
Masks, cleaning and protective clothing:
All visitors are being asked to wear masks in the common areas, and at present osteopathic clients are being asked to wear masks in the treatment room. Masks are available at the entrance.
Your osteopath will be disinfecting surfaces and aerating the treatment room for around 20 minutes between each client. Your osteopath will be wearing a disposable mask and apron, changed between each client. In addition, couch linen has largely been removed or covered with wipeable protection; or will be changed with each client.
All of the building’ cleaners will be using alcohol based cleaner daily on surfaces, especially handles and will be hoovering and cleaning all communal areas, toilets and treatment area daily. The reception desk is being fitted with a screen.
If there are confirmed cases of COVID -19 amongst our staff or clients, or if you contract COVID-19:
You will need to consent to having your details passed on to NHS Track and Trace in case I am contacted by the NHS service, or I need to notify the NHS service, in the interest of safeguarding and minimising the spread of COVID-19. And if you should contract COVID-19 you will need to let me know immediately.
Pre appointment screening:
To minimise risk of infection I will speak with you on the phone before your first appointment to check that an appointment is appropriate for you.
This initial screening call will include my asking you about the following:
Whether you have had any symptoms of COVID-19 in the last 14 days
Whether you have serious underlying health conditions
Whether you have any additional respiratory symptoms such as hay fever, asthmas
Whether any member of your household had or has symptoms of COVID-19, or is in a high risk category
Whether you have been in contact with someone with suspected or confirmed COVID -19 in the last 14 days
While screening will be performed and precautions are being taken, please be aware that there is a risk of contracting COVID-19 when attending an appointment in person.
COVID-19 NHS guidance
Stress:
Stress is a normal part of life. Consider ways to balance activities you find stressful with more relaxing pursuits, for example:
get more contact with nature: take a walk in the park, a day out to the countryside, a holiday somewhere peaceful and relaxing.
'Mindfulness' has become a bit of a 'buzz word' in the last few years. At its basic level it encourages us to be aware of how our actions thoughts and emotions affect us. It encourages us to bring a meditative, aware approach to not only our symptoms, but other aspects of our lives. There are many courses now available. Why not check out the following? :
Mindfulness and evidence based research at bemindful.co.uk
Rick Hanson - mindfulness teacher, neuroscientist and mediation teacher. Sign up for his free newsletter: Mindfulness in Action - Resources for Happiness Love and Wisdom
Mindfulness courses at The North London Buddhist Centre
A retreat can help you rejuvenate and focus - there are many available - find details online
Getting enough sleep
Getting enough sleep is important for your health and allowing your body to rebalance. An old naturopathic saying states that an hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours after midnight.
If you are having difficulty sleeping, or if you wake up still feeling tired then maybe consider the following:
Are you eating too late at night? - our bodies need to recuperate at night and not be digesting food
Are you watching too much TV or on computer screen too much or too late at night? This can interfere with some people's sleep
Is your bedroom environment peaceful or cluttered and unrestful?
Are you using your mobile phone or a radio as an alarm and keeping it too near the bed, particularly near your head?
Consider turning wifi and mobile phones off at night.
Scroll down for links to scientific information about the effects on health of electro magnetic radiation, pulsed microwave radiation, wifi, and mobile phones.
Electro magnetic fields and their effects on health - click on the links below for more information :
Powerwatch
Powerwatch has been researching EMF effects on health for over 20 years, and provides information to help people understand these complex issues. Powerwatch is a small non-profit independent organisation with a central role in the UK EMF and Microwave Radiation health debate. Powerwatch works with other like-minded groups and with decision-makers in government and business, promoting policies for a safer environment..
The Guardian newspaper
Click on the link to read The Guardian's article regarding the inconvenient truth emerging over decades, about cancer, mobile phones and radiation. In that article, read about the implications of new technology which will require augmenting today’s 4G technology with 5G technology, thus “massively increasing” the general population’s exposure to radiation. Find out more about the petition against 5G, signed by 236 scientists worldwide
Barrie Trower - google him and read what he has to say about the effects of wifi and the new 5G
EMFscientist.org
Information from EMF scientists about health issues related to cell phones, wireless devices, wireless (so called 'smart') utility meters and wireless infrastructure in neighbourhoods
www.electricsense.com and www.bioprotectivesystems.com
Two more useful sites with more information and practical ways of minimising the effects of electro-magnetic fields in every day life
Google 'Burgs, energy fields and modern technology' - Burgs, a meditation teacher, talks about the effects of EMF's and demonstrates its effects .
'Traumeel' anti inflammatory ointment and gel
Traumeel is an emerging option to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the management of acute musculoskeletal injuries. Traumeel has shown comparable effectiveness to NSAIDs in terms of reducing symptoms of inflammation, accelerating recovery, and improving mobility, with a favorable safety profile.
Read what the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, has to say about 'Traumeel'
More information about Traumeel www.traumeel.com
Traumeel is available online and at various stores, including:
Helios homeopathic pharmacy
Revital, Belsize Park
Persistent pain
We all feel pain from time to time. When someone injures themselves, specific nerves recognise this as pain, which in turn triggers the body’s repair mechanism. As the problem resolves, the pain tends to improve and usually disappears within 3-6 months. This type of pain could be argued to be beneficial: if it hurts, you are likely to try and avoid doing whatever it is that has caused the pain in the future, so you are less likely to injure yourself in that way again.
Occasionally the pain continues even after tissue healing has finished. When pain continues after this point, it becomes known as persistent (or is sometimes referred to as chronic) pain. This type of pain is not beneficial and is a result of the nerves becoming over-sensitised, which means that a painful response will be triggered much more easily than normal. This can be unpleasant, but doesn’t necessarily mean that you are doing yourself any harm simply by moving. You could think of this as a sensitive car alarm that goes off in error when someone walks past.
Persistent pain is very common and effects over 14 million people in the UK alone. It often does not respond to conventional medical interventions and needs a different kind of approach, but there are many things that you can do to manage your pain yourself with the support of your osteopath, your family and loved-ones. Keeping active, performing exercises and stretches can help, learning to pace your activities so that you don’t trigger a flare-up of your pain as well as setting goals and priorities are all very important and can help you to maintain a fulfilling lifestyle.
For more information on how to manage your persistent pain, speak to your osteopath or visit www.paintoolkit.org/
please click the link for National Health Service Resources
Possible reactions to osteopathic treatment - more details
What are the known common reactions to osteopathic treatment?
Reactions to any treatment can be described as positive, negative, physiological or psychological.
Approximately half of all manual therapy patients experience some mild to moderate short-lived reaction to treatment. These can include, for example, a temporary increase in pain, aching after treatment, or post-treatment fatigue.
In a study of osteopathy patients, 10-20% patients reported an increase in pain or symptoms, however, 42% of those went on to make clinically significant improvements compared to base line9. Most muscle soreness, aching and headache post treatment resolved within 24 hours.
Many patients who attend for osteopathic treatment take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to help with their symptoms. Approximately 1 in 10 people who take NSAIDs on a daily basis experience persistent headaches (http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Anti-inflammatories-non-steroidal/Pages/Side-effects.aspx).
Who is most likely to experience these common reactions?
Mild to moderate treatment reactions are more frequently reported by females after their first appointment1.
Treatment reactions can result from a range of manual therapy techniques and an increase in intensity of symptoms does not appear to be related to high velocity thrust (HVT) techniques4. They appear to be more common after a patient’s first treatment, and in patients presenting with multiple sites of pain4.
What about other, more serious treatment reactions?
Symptoms that last for more than a few days that do not require medical treatment, such as increased pain or troublesome numbness or tingling are considered to be moderate treatment reactions. These types of reactions are uncommon and are estimated to occur in 1% of patients.
Reactions to treatment are serious if they require emergency medical care, or cause long term damage; they may be irreversible. Examples are stroke, nerve damage, muscular weakness, bowel and bladder weakness, or death. These would be described as a patient incident.
The best estimate for the frequency of patient incidents in osteopathy are 1 in 36,079 osteopathic treatments; these are not all associated with spinal manipulation4.
How often do serious treatment reactions occur?
Treatment reactions can be experienced from any form of treatment whether that is medication, surgery, or non-invasive manual therapies like osteopathy. The evidence that we have suggests that patient incidents do occur in manual therapy, including osteopathy, but they are very rare; the causal link is unclear also. The following table gives some best estimates for risk relating to spinal manipulation:
The best estimates available for serious patient incidents following manipulation are:
1 per 100,000 to 1,000,000 manipulations or
0.1 (less than one) to 1 in 100,000 manipulations1 to 10 people per 1,000,000 manipulations
1 per 50,000 to 100,000 patients
1 to 2 per 100,000 patients10 to 20 per 1,000,000 patients
Major cerebrovascular insult incidents, accidents following cervical spine manipulation:
1:120,000 – 1:1,666,666
0.06 to 0.83:100,0000.6 to 8.33:1,000,000
Lumbar disc herniation following manipulation:
1:38,013
2.63:100,00026.3:1,000,000
Cauda Equina:
<1:3.7 million – 1:100million
How does this compare to the risks associated with day-to-day activities?
Stroke can occur with accidental impacts, during sport and leisure activities.
Risks in day-to-day life that could be compared with the risk of serious events following osteopathic treatment are:
Death from surgery to the neck
1 person in around 145 operations
Death by road traffic accident
1 person per 20,000 people in any one year
Death from long-term (years) using anti-inflammatory painkillers for osteoarthritis
1 person per 1,000 people
First time stroke
1 person per 1,000 people in the general population in any one year
Spontaneous strokes
0.03-5 person per 100,000 people in the general population over one year
Estimated risk of serious adverse event (death) over 1 year for:
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs for osteoarthritis)
Course of manipulative treatment
1:4000
1:400,000
The risk of having an adverse event with manual therapy (HVT) is less than taking medication (NSAIDs, diclofenac and amitriptyline)1
What can serious treatment reaction/patient incidents include?
Information gathered from the CROaM study identified a range of different treatment reactions and incidents. These included:
Central neurological symptoms e.g. stroke.
Peripheral neurological symptoms e.g. disc prolapse and sciatic pain.
Non-specific musculoskeletal symptoms e.g. spasm.
Symptoms related to underlying pathology e.g. fracture due to undiagnosed metastases.
Fractures e.g. rib fracture.
Unallocated e.g. worsening of low back symptoms, which led to 3 days hospitalisation4.
References
1. Carnes D, Mars T, Mullinger B, Underwood M. Adverse events in manual therapy: a systematic review. 2009. Available at: https://www.ncor.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/adverse-events_in_manual_therapy_a_systematic_review_full_report.pdf
4. Vogel S, Mars T, Keeping S, Barton T, Marlin N, Froud R, Eldridge S, Underwood M, Pincus T. Clinical Risk Osteopathy and Management Scientific Report: The CROaM Study. 2013. Available at http://www.osteopathy.org.uk/uploads/croam_full_report_0313.pdf
9. Licciardone, J., S. Stoll, et al. (2003). “Osteopathic manipulative treatment for chronic low back pain: A randomized controlled trial.” Spine 28(13): 1355-62.
10. UK BEAM Trial team (2004). “United Kingdom back pain exercise and manipulation (UK BEAM) randomised trial: effectiveness of physical treatments for back pain in primary care.” Bmj 329(7479): 1377.
11. Licciardone, J., A. Brimhall, et al. (2005). “Osteopathic manipulative treatment for low back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomsied controlled trials.” BioMedCentral Musculoskeletal Disorders 6: 43.
12. Gross, A., J. Miller, et al. (2010). “Manipulation or mobilisation for neck pain: a Cochrane Review.” Man Ther 15(4): 315-33.
Privacy policy
GDPR 2018 Privacy Notice
Scope
This document refers to personal data, which is defined as information concerning any living person (a natural person who hereafter will be called the Data Subject) that is not already in the public domain.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which is EU wide and far more extensive than its predecessor the Data Protection Act, along with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), seek to protect and enhance the rights of EU data subjects. These rights cover the safeguarding of personal data, protection against the unlawful processing of personal data and the unrestricted movement of personal data within the EU and its storage within the EEA.
1 - I Sue Step, Bodymind Osteopathy, who for the purposes of this Privacy Notice will be referred to as the Osteopath(s), is pleased to provide the following information:
2 - Who we are
The Osteopath diagnoses and treats health conditions.
3 - Personal Data
a) For the purposes of providing treatment, Osteopaths may require detailed medical information. Osteopaths will only collect what is relevant and necessary for your treatment. When you visit my practice, I will make notes which may include details concerning your medication, treatment and other issues affecting your health. This data is always held securely, is not shared with anyone not involved in your treatment, although for data storage purposes it may be handled by pre-vetted staff who have all signed an integrity and confidentiality agreement. To be able to process your personal data it is a condition of any treatment that you give your explicit consent to allow Osteopaths to document and process your personal medical data. Contact details provided by you such as telephone numbers, email addresses, postal addresses may be used to remind you of future appointments and provide reports or other information concerning your treatment.
As part of my obligations as a primary healthcare practitioner there may be circumstances related to your treatment, on-going care or medical diagnosis that will require the sharing of your medical records with other healthcare practitioners e.g GPs, consultants, surgeons and/or medical insurance companies. Where this is required I will always inform you first unless I am under a legal obligation to comply. I am unable to send or receive encrypted emails so you should be aware that any emails I send or receive may not be protected in transit. I will also monitor any emails sent to me, including file attachments, for viruses or malicious software.
b) For marketing purposes, I may also use the contact details provided by you to respond to your enquiries, including making telephone contact and emailing information to you which the practice believes may be of interest to you.
c) In making initial contact with the practice you consent to the Osteopath maintaining a marketing dialogue with you until you either opt out (which you can do at any time) or we decide to desist in promoting our services. Osteopaths may occasionally also act on behalf of its patients in the capacity of data processor, when we may promote other practitioners based at our premises, who may not be employed by us. Osteopaths do not broker your data and you can ask to be removed from our marketing database by emailing or phoning the practice using the contact details provided at the end of this Privacy Notice.
d) Some basic personal data may be collected about you from the marketing forms and surveys you complete, from records of our correspondence and phone calls and details of your visits to our website, including but not limited to, personally identifying information like Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.
e) Osteopaths’ website uses cookies, which is a string of information that a website stores on a visitor’s computer, and that the visitor’s browser provides to the website each time the visitor returns. Cookies help Osteopaths to identify and track visitors and their website access preferences. Osteopaths’ website visitors who do not wish to have cookies placed on their computers should set their browsers to refuse cookies before using Osteopaths’ website.
f) Osteopaths will only collect the information needed so that we can provide you with the services you require, the business does not sell or broker your data.
g) The Site may at any time contain links to third party websites and I encourage you to read the Privacy Policies of any websites that you choose to visit if you have any concerns. Please be aware that I am not responsible for the Content or the privacy practices of any third-party websites.
4 - Legal basis for processing any personal data
To meet our contractual obligations obtained from explicit Patient Consent and legitimate interest to respond to enquiries concerning the services provided.
5 - Legitimate interests pursued by Osteopaths
To promote treatments for patients with all types of health problems indicated for osteopathic care.
6 – Consent
Through agreeing to this privacy notice you are consenting to Osteopaths processing your personal data for the purposes outlined. You can withdraw consent at any time by using the postal, email address or telephone number provided at the end of this Privacy Notice.
7 – Disclosure
Osteopaths will keep your personal information safe and secure, only staff engaged in providing your treatment will have access to your patient records, although our administration team will have access to your contact details so that they can make appointments and manage your account. Osteopaths will not disclose your Personal Information unless compelled to, in order to meet legal obligations, regulations or valid governmental requests. The practice may also enforce its Terms and Conditions, including investigating potential violations of its Terms and Conditions to detect, prevent or mitigate fraud or security or technical issues; or to protect against imminent harm to the rights, property or safety of its staff.
8 - Retention Policy
Osteopaths will process personal data during the duration of any treatment and will continue to store only the personal data needed for eight years after the contract has expired to meet any legal obligations. After eight years all personal data will be deleted, unless basic information needs to be retained by us to meet our future obligations to you, such as erasure details. Records concerning minors who have received treatment will be retained until the child has reached the age of 25.
9 - Data storage -
All data is held in the United Kingdom. The osteopath does not store personal data outside the EEA
10 - Your rights as a data subject
At any point whilst Osteopaths are in possession of, or processing your personal data, all data subjects have the following rights:
Right of access – you have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you.
Right of rectification – you have a right to correct data that we hold about you that is inaccurate or incomplete.
Right to be forgotten – in certain circumstances you can ask for the data we hold about you to be erased from our records.
Right to restriction of processing – where certain conditions apply you have a right to restrict the processing.
Right of portability – you have the right to have the data we hold about you transferred to another organisation.
Right to object – you have the right to object to certain types of processing such as direct marketing.
Right to object to automated processing, including profiling – you also have the right not to be subject to the legal effects of automated processing or profiling.
In the event that Osteopaths refuse your request under rights of access, we will provide you with a reason as to why, which you have the right to legally challenge. At your request Osteopaths can confirm what information it holds about you and how it is processed.
11 - You can request the following information:
Identity and the contact details of the person or organisation (Osteopaths) that has determined how and why to process your data.
Contact details of the data protection officer, where applicable.
The purpose of the processing as well as the legal basis for processing.
If the processing is based on the legitimate interests of Osteopaths and information about these interests.
The categories of personal data collected, stored and processed.
Recipient(s) or categories of recipients that the data is/will be disclosed to.
How long the data will be stored.
Details of your rights to correct, erasure, restrict or object to such processing.
Information about your right to withdraw consent at any time.
How to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority (ICO).
Whether the provision of personal data is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract, as well as whether you are obliged to provide the personal data and the possible consequences of failing to provide such data.
The source of personal data if it wasn’t collected directly from you.
Any details and information of automated decision making, such as profiling, and any meaningful information about the logic involved, as well as the significance and expected consequences of such processing.
12 - To access what personal data is held, identification will be required
Osteopaths will accept the following forms of identification (ID) when information on your personal data is requested: a copy of your driving licence, passport, birth certificate and a utility bill not older than three months. A minimum of one piece of photographic ID listed above and a supporting document is required. If Osteopaths is dissatisfied with the quality, further information may be sought before personal data can be released. All requests should be made by both emailing sueosteo@gmail.com and by phoning 07941 531 737
13 Complaints
In the event that you wish to make a complaint about how your personal data is being processed by Osteopaths you have the right to complain to us. If you do not get a response within 30 days, you can complain to the ICO.
The details for each of these contacts are:
Sue Step, Bodymind Osteopathy Telephone: 07941 531 737 and email: sueosteo@gmail.com
ICO
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF Telephone +44 (0) 303 123 1113 or email: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/
For information and bookings call:
07941 531 737
West Hill House, 6 Swains Lane, N66QS
You are welcome to call me with any questions you have.
email me is for non urgent enquiries only please. It is always better to call rather than email.
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Sue Step Registered Osteopath,
Registered with The General Osteopathic Council,
Member of the Institute of Osteopathy.
Cranial and Structural, Mindful based approach, North London, Highgate, Gospel Oak, Islington & Camden areas
