THE MENTAL CIRCLE
SPECIALIST MENTAL HEALTH
SPECIALIST MENTAL HEALTH
Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000
The Mental Circle is a private specialist psychiatric practice conducted by Dr Janine Brooker in accordance with the requirements of the Health Professions Act 56 of 1974, and is subject to the authority of the Health Professions Council of South Africa ("HPCSA").
Dr Brooker is registered with the HPCSA as a specialist psychiatrist (MBChB (UCT), DCH, FC Psych (SA), Practice No. 0633313) and provides psychiatric services within the scope of that registration, competence and training. The practice is bound by the Ethical Rules issued by the HPCSA, which include the duty to preserve patient confidentiality.
Section 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 gives everyone the right of access to any information held by the State, and to any information held by another person that is required for the exercise or protection of any rights. The Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 ("PAIA") gives effect to that right. Section 51 of PAIA requires every private body to compile this manual.
Access to records under PAIA is not automatic. It is subject to the requirements and the grounds of refusal set out in the Act, and, in the case of health records, to the further protections in the National Health Act 61 of 2003 and the Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002.
In terms of section 51(1)(a) and (b) of PAIA, and section 55 of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA"), the head of a private body is its Information Officer. All requests for access to information must be addressed to the Information Officer.
| Name of practice | The Mental Circle |
|---|---|
| Head of the practice | Dr Janine Brooker |
| Information Officer | Dr Janine Brooker |
| Physical address | Kloof Allied Health, Unit 4 MRM Office Park, 10 Village Road, Kloof, 3610 |
| Telephone | +27 68 790 0063 |
| admin@thementalcircle.co.za | |
| Website | www.thementalcircle.co.za |
The practice has not appointed a Deputy Information Officer. Should it become necessary to do so, this manual will be updated accordingly and the appointment made in terms of section 17 of PAIA and section 56 of POPIA.
The Information Regulator has compiled a Guide in terms of section 10 of PAIA to assist any person who wishes to exercise a right under the Act. Responsibility for this Guide passed from the South African Human Rights Commission to the Information Regulator on 30 June 2021. The Guide is available in each official language and contains, among other things:
Any person wishing to obtain the Guide may contact the Information Regulator at:
| Physical address | JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Postal address | P.O. Box 31533, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2017 |
| Telephone | 010 023 5200 | Toll free: 0800 017 160 |
| General enquiries | enquiries@inforegulator.org.za |
| PAIA complaints | PAIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za |
| Website | www.inforegulator.org.za |
In terms of section 51(1)(e) of PAIA, the practice holds records in the following categories. Listing a category here does not confer a right of access to it; access remains subject to the procedure in section 12 and the grounds of refusal in section 13 of this manual.
Clinical notes and psychiatric assessments; patient intake and registration forms; diagnoses and treatment plans; prescriptions and medication records; correspondence with and reports to referring practitioners; results of special investigations; consent records; account and payment records; correspondence with the patient.
Referral letters received and issued; correspondence with referring and treating practitioners, hospitals and allied health professionals involved in a patient's care.
Documents relating to the establishment and form of the practice; HPCSA registration and practice number records; Board of Healthcare Funders practice code registration; practice policies and governance documents.
Appointment and scheduling records; protocols and guidelines relating to the management of patients; internal administrative records and correspondence.
Employment contracts and conditions of employment; statutory council registration records of any employed practitioner; attendance and leave records; salary records; disciplinary records; training records; relevant tax records; correspondence.
Registers and records required to be kept in respect of scheduled substances prescribed in the course of psychiatric practice, including Schedule 5 and Schedule 6 medicines.
South African Revenue Service registration and returns; accounting records; bank statements; invoices, statements and receipts; medical scheme claims and remittance advices; annual financial statements.
Agreements with contractors, suppliers and service providers; lease agreements; professional indemnity cover and other insurance policies and related claims records.
Records relating to occupational health and safety at the practice premises, including incident reports and evacuation arrangements.
In terms of section 51(1)(d) of PAIA, the practice keeps records in accordance with the following legislation, subject to the specific protections each of these laws provides:
Every effort has been made to ensure this list is complete and accurate. If a requester believes a right of access exists under legislation not listed here, the requester should say so and identify the legislation relied on, so that the Information Officer can consider the request in that light. The list will be updated as the practice becomes aware of any omission.
The practice has not submitted a notice to the Minister in terms of section 52(2) of PAIA listing categories of records that are available without a person having to request access.
Information published in the public area of the practice website is, however, automatically available without a request under PAIA.
The practice processes personal information for the following purposes:
Information concerning a patient's health is special personal information under POPIA. The practice processes it in reliance on section 32(1)(a) of POPIA, which permits processing by medical professionals where this is necessary for the proper treatment and care of the data subject, subject to the duty of confidentiality that arises from Dr Brooker's profession.
Categories of personal information: names; contact details; identity number and date of birth; gender and marital status; occupation and employer; next of kin details; medical aid details; medical and psychiatric history; current and past medication; diagnoses and treatment plans; substance use history; family, educational, occupational and relationship history; trauma history; results of special investigations; correspondence.
Potential recipients: other practitioners involved in the patient's care, where necessary and with consent; medical schemes and their administrators, for the purpose of claims (limited to the information required for that purpose); hospitals; the Road Accident Fund or the Compensation Commissioner, where applicable; legal and professional advisers; the HPCSA, in the event of a complaint or enquiry; next of kin, in an emergency or where authorised; persons responsible for the patient's account, limited to account information; and any person or body to whom disclosure is required by law or by order of a court.
Categories of personal information: names; contact details; medical aid membership details; account and payment records; correspondence.
Potential recipients: medical schemes; the practice's accountants and auditors; debt collectors, where an account remains unpaid; legal advisers.
Categories of personal information: name; contact number; relationship to the patient.
Potential recipients: emergency and healthcare services, in the event of an emergency.
Categories of personal information: names; contact details; identity number; qualifications and professional registration details; employment history; curriculum vitae; references; bank details; tax information; leave and remuneration records; disciplinary records; correspondence.
Potential recipients: the South African Revenue Service; the Department of Employment and Labour; relevant statutory councils; the practice's accountants and auditors; banks; legal advisers.
Categories of personal information: names; practice or business names and contact details; practice code numbers and registration details; banking and payment details; correspondence.
Potential recipients: the practice's accountants and auditors; banks; legal advisers.
Categories of personal information: IP address; browser and device type; pages visited; date, time and duration of the visit; the site that referred the visitor.
The practice uses Google Analytics to see how the website is being used and whether pages are loading correctly. Google Analytics places two cookies on a visitor's browser — _ga and _ga_N2VD8SVEBZ — which expire two years after the last visit. These are the only cookies this website uses. They record how the site is used. They do not identify a visitor by name, they are not used for advertising or direct marketing, and Google Analytics does not record full IP addresses.
Analytics does not run on the new patient intake form, the patient details form or the patient history form. Nothing entered into those forms is shared with Google or with any other third party.
A visitor who would prefer not to be counted can block cookies in their browser settings, or install Google's Analytics opt-out browser add-on. The website works normally either way, and nothing about the care a patient receives depends on it.
Potential recipients: Google LLC, as the provider of Google Analytics.
Patient health records are retained in accordance with the HPCSA's guidelines on the keeping of patient records:
Other records are retained for the periods required by the legislation listed in section 5 of this manual, or for as long as the practice is authorised to retain them. In terms of section 14 of POPIA, records of personal information are destroyed or deleted as soon as reasonably practicable after the practice is no longer authorised to retain them, in a manner that prevents their reconstruction.
The practice's website and email are hosted on servers located in South Africa. Patient information submitted through the website is not transferred outside the Republic.
The one exception is website traffic information. As set out in section 8.6, the practice uses Google Analytics, and the information it collects about how the website is used is processed by Google LLC on servers outside the Republic. This is limited to traffic information and does not include anything entered into the practice's forms. This transfer takes place in accordance with section 72 of POPIA.
Apart from this, the practice does not plan to transfer personal information about any data subject to a third party in a foreign country. Should that become necessary, it will take place in accordance with section 72 of POPIA, and the consent of the data subject will be obtained where that is required.
The practice is committed to securing the personal information in its possession or under its control against loss, damage, unauthorised access and unauthorised destruction, as required by section 19 of POPIA. The measures adopted include:
Where the practice has reasonable grounds to believe that personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, it will notify the Information Regulator and the affected data subjects as required by section 22 of POPIA.
The fact that a record is listed in this manual does not confer a right of access to it. Access to records is not automatic.
PAIA distinguishes between two types of requester:
A patient requesting a copy of their own health record is a personal requester. Where a request is made on behalf of another person, the requester must provide proof of the capacity in which the request is made, to the satisfaction of the Information Officer.
A requester who is unable to complete the form because of illiteracy or disability may make the request orally to the Information Officer, who will record it and assist the requester.
The Information Officer will decide whether to grant or refuse a request within 30 days of receiving it, and will notify the requester of the decision in writing. This period may be extended by a further period of not more than 30 days where the request is for a large number of records or requires a search through records held elsewhere. The requester will be notified in writing of any extension and the reasons for it.
Where a request concerns a record containing information about a third party, the Information Officer will take reasonable steps to inform that third party of the request within 21 days, and give them an opportunity to make representations or consent to disclosure.
If you are a patient of this practice and you would like a copy of your own records, you do not need to submit a formal PAIA request in every case. Please speak to the practice first — in most cases records required for your ongoing care can be provided directly, or sent to another treating practitioner on your instruction.
Please note that in terms of section 14 of the National Health Act, and the HPCSA's ethical guidelines, there are limited circumstances in which disclosing the full contents of a psychiatric record directly to a patient may be inadvisable on clinical grounds. Where that arises, the practice will discuss it with you and will where appropriate arrange for the record to be provided to another practitioner of your choice.
The Information Officer may, and in some cases must, refuse a request for access. The principal grounds are:
Given the nature of this practice, the mandatory protection of the privacy of a third party will apply to most requests by a person other than the patient concerned. Patient information will not be disclosed to a third party without the patient's written consent, unless disclosure is required by law or by order of a court, or is otherwise justified in the public interest.
Where a record cannot be found or does not exist, the Information Officer will notify the requester of that fact by way of an affidavit or affirmation. That notice is treated as a refusal for the purposes of the Act.
Where a record contains information that may be refused together with information that may not, the Information Officer will sever the record and grant access to the part that may be disclosed.
The practice is a private body and does not have an internal appeal procedure. The decision of the Information Officer is final, and a dissatisfied requester must pursue the external remedies below.
A requester or third party who is dissatisfied with a decision of the Information Officer may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator in terms of section 77A of PAIA, within 180 days of the decision. Complaints may be sent to PAIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za, using the prescribed complaint form.
A requester or third party may apply to a court for appropriate relief in terms of section 78 of PAIA. The courts with jurisdiction are the Constitutional Court, a High Court or another court of similar status, and a Magistrate's Court designated by the Minister and presided over by a designated magistrate.
In terms of section 51(1)(f) of PAIA, two types of fee may be payable:
Where a search for a record and its preparation for disclosure would require more than the prescribed number of hours, the Information Officer may require a deposit of not more than one third of the access fee before proceeding. If a request in respect of which a deposit has been paid is refused, the deposit will be repaid.
The amounts of these fees are prescribed by regulation under PAIA and are amended from time to time by notice in the Government Gazette. The current amounts are available from the Information Officer on request, and from the Information Regulator's website. The Information Officer will notify a requester of the fee payable before processing the request.
This manual is available:
A copy may be requested in printed form against payment of the prescribed fee.
This manual summarises the practice's obligations under PAIA and POPIA and explains how to exercise a right of access to a record. It is not a substitute for the legislation itself.
Where anything in this manual conflicts with PAIA, POPIA or any other applicable law, the legislation prevails.
This manual is reviewed periodically and whenever there is a material change to the practice or to the law. The current version is published on the practice website, and the date of the version appears at the top of this document.
Dr Janine Brooker
Information Officer, The Mental Circle
20 August 2026