the promises we write down.

what the circle is, and what it is not.

what we are

A peer support group, currently meeting in person in London. We bring together adults living with eczema to share experience, understanding and company with people who get it. If you are waiting for an appointment, trying to make sense of conflicting advice, or just need to talk to people who understand what eczema actually does to daily life, that is exactly what the circle is for.

what we are not

We are not a clinical service, and nothing said at the circle is medical advice. Our facilitators are not acting as healthcare professionals when they run a session, whatever their day job or course of study is. What people share here is personal experience, not clinical guidance, and it is not a substitute for seeing your GP or dermatologist.

clinical questions

General questions about eczema sometimes come up in the room, and where someone is qualified to answer one in general terms, they may. What nobody here can answer is what is best for you specifically: that depends on your skin, your history and your treatment, and it belongs with the people who know them. Always follow your GP's or dermatologist's advice.

if you need care

Please see your GP, dermatologist, or NHS 111. We will always point you back there rather than try to fill that gap ourselves.

safeguarding, in brief.

who is responsible

The circle is run by two volunteers, Rhys and Francis, and keeping sessions safe is their responsibility. Our approach is built around the Care Act 2014 and current safeguarding adults guidance.

who we are

A small, adult-only group (18 and over), run by two volunteers. We take that seriously: it means some concerns cannot and should not be handled inside the circle alone, and we would rather you knew the outside routes than assume you have to come to us first.

if you have a concern, every one of these routes is open:

• talk to usYou can talk to Rhys or Francis directly, or email ayr.circle@gmail.com.
• outside the circleIf your concern is about either of us, you do not have to raise it with us at all. You can go straight to Southwark Adult Social Care's safeguarding pages (our London sessions are held in Southwark), or, where there is any immediate risk, the police (999, or 101 for a non-emergency).
• the charity commissionThe circle is an unregistered association and a charity in law, so you can also raise a concern about the people who run it with the Charity Commission: complain about a charity on GOV.UK.
• always openNobody at the circle will ever ask you to raise a concern with us before going elsewhere. Every route is always open, and you do not need to explain your choice.

This is a summary, not the full policy. Ask us for the complete Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures at any time. We are glad to share it.

how we handle your information.

your membership

Everyone who joins the circle is a member: joining is what makes you one, with no separate form, fee or approval step. We hold your name, one contact detail (usually your email) and the dates of your membership, and we try to include members in decisions about how the circle runs. That is it. We do not record why you joined or anything about your health. We keep this register because our constitution requires one.

when you sign up

We use your name and email to welcome you, invite you to a short chat with Rhys or Francis, and send you session details. We do not use them for anything else, and we never share them with anyone, including other members.

our newsletter

If you asked for our newsletter, we use your email to send it. Every edition tells you how to unsubscribe, and stopping it does not end your membership.

where it is kept

In Google (Gmail, Drive and Sheets), using the same community account as before. These services store it for us and do not use it for anything else.

the legal bit

Inviting you to a chat, sending session details and keeping the register are part of the membership you asked for under our constitution.

in sessions

We do not keep a running record linking your name to what you shared in a session. Anything you tell us in a session stays in the room, except where our safeguarding policy requires us to act on a concern about serious harm.

session notes

what happens to what you say in a session

What is shared in the circle stays in the circle. Sometimes we write up notes from a session. When we do, names are taken out, and what we keep is the general themes of the conversation rather than a record of who said what. We tell you before any session is written up, and you can say no for yourself even if the rest of the group says yes.

We are reviewing how we have handled written session notes in the past, including making sure nothing shared in a session is used anywhere outside the circle without asking the person it belongs to first. Any questions, ask Rhys or Francis, or email ayr.circle@gmail.com.

never for business

We aim to keep the circle a commercial-free zone. We never use anything from the circle, your details or anything shared in a session, to contact you about or promote any commercial venture. The circle and any commercial work its founders are involved in are kept completely separate, always. The same goes for everyone in the room: the circle is not a place to find customers, and someone who uses it for business may be asked to leave. The one place we ever share opportunities is our newsletter, and only where we believe they genuinely benefit members. If you want to bring something to the circle and are not sure where the line is, talk to us first: we would much rather have that conversation than turn someone away.

health information

Where we hold information that could reveal something about your health (for example, a record that you attended a session, or anything shared in one), we only do that with your explicit consent, which you give when you join a session, and you can withdraw it at any time by telling us.

your rights

You can ask to see, correct or delete what we hold about you, or tell us to stop emailing you, by emailing ayr.circle@gmail.com. We will reply within one month. If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, tell us first at the same address and we will acknowledge it within 30 days. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.