Privacy Policy

Sections 1 – 15 apply to our patients, prospective patients, former patients and visitors to our clinic

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1. We use your name, address, telephone number and email address to make and rearrange appointments. We are unable to send or receive encrypted emails so you should be aware that any emails we send or receive may not be protected in transit. We will also monitor any emails sent to us, including file attachments, for viruses or malicious software. Please be aware that you have a responsibility to ensure that any email you send us is within the bounds of the law.

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2. We keep a permanent attendance register which records all appointments for patients attending our clinic to keep a record of when you were treated for tax purposes and to secure potential evidence in the event of a criminal prosecution, civil litigation, insurance claim or complaint to my regulatory body, the Association of Acupuncture Clinicians (AAC).

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3. We may use your date of birth to help identify patients with the same name to avoid mistakes being made as to safe and appropriate treatment, for identification purposes if referring a patient to another health practitioner, and for identification purposes if writing to a registered medical practitioner so that they correctly identify the patient.

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4. We use your presenting complaint and symptoms reported by you for the purposes of making a full traditional diagnosis, formulating treatment strategy and treatment planning.

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5. We use any relevant medical, family history and information of the patient form you have told us for making a full traditional diagnosis, formulating treatment strategy and treatment planning.

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6. We use your GP’s name and address in the event that we need to contact your GP including in an emergency and because it is a mandatory requirement in the AAC of Professional Conduct. This is done with additional requested consent.

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7. We use our clinical findings about your health and wellbeing for making a full traditional diagnosis, and formulating treatment strategy and treatment planning.

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8. We keep a record of and refer to that record of any treatment given and details of progress of your case, including reviews of treatment planning to enable us to: review the full traditional diagnosis, treatment strategy and planning; and to secure evidence in the event of criminal proceedings, civil litigation, an insurance claim or complaint.

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9. We record and use any information and advice that we have given, especially when referring patients to any other health professional, to help you to receive the most appropriate treatment and to secure evidence in the event of criminal proceedings, civil litigation, an insurance claim or complaint.

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10. We record any decisions made in conjunction with you to help you to receive the most appropriate treatment and to secure evidence in the event of criminal proceedings, civil litigation, an insurance claim or complaint.

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11. We keep accident records for any patients, visitors or staff who are involved in accidents at our clinic in accordance with UK Health and Safety legislation including the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) to comply with the law and  to secure evidence in the event of criminal proceedings, civil litigation, an insurance claim or complaint.

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12. In the event of an adverse incident occurring to any of our patients we report the matter to the AAC and our insurance company to enable the insurance company to deal with any potential claims.

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13. Where relevant we maintain records of the patient’s consent to treatment, or the consent of their next-of-kin in order to be able to prove that the patient (and/or parent/guardian/next of kin) has given informed consent to treatment to secure evidence in the event of a civil claim, criminal prosecution, insurance claim or complaint.

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Section 16 applys to complaints about our services

16. If you file a complaint, we will create a file containing the details, including your identity and the identities of anyone else involved. Your information will only be used to process the complaint and monitor our service levels. We may need to share the complainant’s identity with the subject of the complaint, and it may be necessary to disclose information to the AAC or our insurance company.

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Sections 17–19 apply to website users

17. Our website is hosted by Wix and therefore does use cookies.

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18. Our website is hosted by Wix, and uses standard analytics to track user activity for site improvement.

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19. Our website contact form collects personal data: name, email address and telephone number. This form is for general enquiry and/or if you have a question that is not covered by the FAQs.

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Sharing Your Personal Data

Your personal data will only be shared under certain circumstances:

• With your explicit consent.

• With authorities, such as the police, if required by law.

• With your GP or emergency services if necessary to protect life.

• With authorities responsible for safeguarding children or vulnerable adults.

• With our regulatory bodies, or legal and insurance providers, in the event of a complaint or legal issue.

 

For more information on sharing your personal data, please visit the Information Commissioner’s website: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/personal-information/sharing-my-info/

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How Long Do We Keep Your Data?

We retain personal data only as long as necessary. Patient records are held for 7 years, or until minors reach 25 years of age. Electronic records are securely deleted.

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Your Rights Regarding Personal Data

Under the GDPR, you have rights including:

• Access to a copy of your personal data.

• Correction of any inaccurate or outdated data.

• Erasure of data no longer necessary for our purposes.

• The right to withdraw consent at any time (for data processed based on consent).

• Data portability, in applicable cases.

• The right to restrict processing in case of a dispute over data accuracy.

• The right to object to certain forms of data processing.

• The right to be informed in case of data loss.

For more details, visit the Information Commissioner’s website: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/is-my-information-being-handled-correctly/

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Further Processing

If we plan to use your data for a purpose not covered by this policy, we will notify you beforehand and seek your consent where required.

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Contact Details

For any questions, complaints, or to exercise your rights, please us the contact form on our website. You can also reach the Information Commissioner’s Office at 0303 123 1113 or via https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/.