Policies
This page sets out our policies on Treating Children, our Safeguarding Policy, our Privacy Policy and Cancellation Policy.
“The clinic” and “we” refers to Emilie Charlesworth and the other named osteopath(s) practicing at Emilie Charlesworth Osteopathy, 2nd Floor, Creative Works, 7 Blackhorse Lane, London E176DS.
Our Policies on Treating Children
This policy sets out our responsibilities, how consent works, and the rights of our patients when children and young people visit our clinic.
We want to work in partnership with you.
Please:
Ensure you (or another person with parental responsibility) attend the first appointment with your child under 16.
Let us know if there are any legal restrictions or special circumstances about who has parental responsibility.
Talk openly with us and your child about their care.
Parental responsibility
We require a parent or legal guardian with parental responsibility to accompany a child under 16 to their first appointment and to give consent for treatment. Young people aged 16-17 do not need a parent or legal guadian present and can consent to their own treatment.
Parental responsibility refers only to a child’s mother, a child’s father (if married to the mother at the time of birth, or if named on the birth certificate), or anyone granted parental responsibility by a court (for example, through adoption or guardianship). Please not that grandparents, aunts, uncles or older siblings do not have parental responsibility and we will not be able to treat children accompanied by these family members. We are unable to refund appointment fees in the case of a child being accompanied by family members who do not have parental responsibility.
Gillick Competence
In some cases, children under 16 may be able to make their own decision about treatment. This is known as Gillick competence and is the framework used throughout the NHS in the UK. As allied health professionals, osteopaths are legally permitted to make an objective, professional judgement on whether a child under the age of 16 can make this decision. This would typically, but not always, be possible after one or more appointments have taken place.
A child is Gillick competent if they can:
Understand what the treatment involves.
Appreciate the risks and benefits.
Understand alternatives (including no treatment).
Weigh up the information to make a reasoned choice.
If a child is deemed Gillick competent, they may give their own consent for treatment. If your child is Gillick competent and wishes to be seen alone, we may allow this where appropriate. If a parent refuses consent, but the child is 16+ or Gillick competent and wishes to proceed, their decision may be respected. If a child refuses treatment, we will not go ahead — even if a parent has consented — unless treatment is required by a legal order. We will always encourage parental involvement, unless the child has strong reasons for confidentiality.
For every child we treat, we record who attended with them, who provided consent (and their legal right to do so), and whether the child was assessed as Gillick competent.
Safeguarding Policy
This policy sets out the safeguarding responsibilities of the clinic to protect children, young people, and adults at risk from harm, abuse, or neglect. This policy applies to all osteopaths working in the clinic.
The clinic recognises its duty of care under Children Act 1989 & 2004, Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018), Care Act 2014, General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) Osteopathic Practice Standards (2025), NHS Safeguarding Accountability and Assurance Framework (2022)
Emilie Charlesworth holds overall responsibility for safeguarding within the clinic and will receive and act on safeguarding concerns. All osteopaths at the clinic are trained to recognise safeguarding concerns and will report concerns to Emilie Charlesworth.
Reporting
We are legally obligated to follow safeguarding procedures in regards to our patients, other adults and children. If we believe that a person is at immediate risk of harm, we will call 999. If we believe a child is at risk, we will report them to the Waltham Forest Social Care team. If we believe an adult is at risk we will report them to the Waltham Forest Adult Safeguarding team. In this case we may need to disclose some relevant information about you or the adult or child concerned. This would be on a need-to-know basis and we will inform you in writing if we need to disclose any of your personal data.
Privacy Policy
“The clinic” and “we” refers to Emilie Charlesworth and the other named osteopath(s) practicing at Emilie Charlesworth Osteopathy, 2nd Floor, Creative Works, 7 Blackhorse Lane, London E176DS. Any osteopath at the clinic is registered wtih the the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) and is bound by patient confidentiality regulations as defined by the GOsC, and we will never disclose any of your personal details except in the cases listed in section 2.
Section 1
You supply your personal details to the clinic at the time of booking, and you provide information relevant to your symptoms and health during your appointment. This information is recorded and stored in accordance with General Data Protection Regulations for the following reasons:
Your personal information allows us provide you with the best possible care. By consenting to us storing your information you are consenting to this information being stored on the secure server provided by Squarespace, which hosts my website, booking system, payment and patient notes. We have a “legitimate interest” in asking for this information, as we can’t provide safe and effective care without information about you.
We have a “legitimate interest” in being able to contact you to confirm, cancel or reschedule your appointments, and to provide you with follow up care such as rehabilitation plans. By giving your consent to this you are allowing us to contact you for these reasons.
You have the option to sign up to our mailing list to receive occasional newsletters. You may withdraw this consent at any time and I will never add you to my mailing list if you haven’t ticked this box, which is separate from the consent required for treatment in points 1 and 2 above.
We will retain your records for 8 years after your most recent appointment, but after this period you can ask us to delete your records if you wish. Otherwise, your records will be securely held indefinitely in order to provide you with the best possible care in the future. You have the right to see what personal data of yours we hold, and you can also ask us to correct any factual errors.
Your records are stored electronically using Squarespace. This provider has stated they are fully compliant with the General Data Protection Regulations. Access to this data is password protected, and subject to 2-step verification.
Section 2
We will never share your data with anyone who does not need access without your written consent, unless information you disclose raises a safeguarding concern. This could be because there is a significant reason for us to think you are at risk of harm, or someone else is at risk of harm. If we feel there is a significant reason to raise a safeguarding concern, we will always inform you of this verbally and in writing.
If at your appointment we feel that a referral to your GP or a specialist is required, we will always discuss this with you first and gain your consent to share your medical details. A copy of correspondence with them will always be provided to you.
Only the following people/companies will have access to your data:
1. The platform Squarespace, who hosts the clinic website and mailing list, securely holds your details and processes your payment. Acuity is a scheduling platform that takes your booking, and is owned by Squarespace.
2. The platform SumUp, who may process your payment if not made at the time of booking.
3. Emilie Charlesworth, and any other named GOsC registered Osteopath at the clinic
4. The platform Rehab My Patient, as your rehabilitation plan may be saved on their server so your name and email address may be saved on their server.
If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact the data handler at
Emilie Charlesworth, 48 Farnan Avenue London E174NG or at hello@emiliecharlesworth.org
Cancellation Policy
If you need to cancel please let us know 24 hours beforehand for a full refund.
Missed appointments and cancellations made less than 24 hours before your appointment time may be charged the full amount.