Privacy Notice for Patients – Children & Adults

When you supply your personal details to this clinic they are stored and processed for 4 reasons (the bits in bold are the relevant terms used in the Data Protection Act 2018, which includes the General Data Protection Regulation – i.e. the law)

1. How we use your personal information

This notice tells you why Village Chiropractic Clinic collects information about you and/or your child and how this information may be used.
The health care professionals, who provide your care, maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received here or previously. These records help provide you with the best possible health care. We need to collect personal information about your health in order to provide you with the best possible treatment.  Your requesting treatment and our agreement to provide that care constitutes a contract.  You can, of course, refuse to provide the information, but if you were to do that we would not be able to provide treatment.

Our records are electronic and on paper and we use a combination of working practices and technology to ensure your information is kept confidential and secure. Records which this clinic holds about you may include the following information:

• Details about you, such as your address, contact details, previous medical history and previous investigations
• Any contact with the clinic has had with you, such as appointments, clinic visits, advice given over the phone or email, emergency appointments etc.
• Notes about your and/or your child’s health
• Details about your and/or your child’s treatment and care
• Relevant information from other health care professionals

Information may be used within the clinic for clinical audit purposes to monitor the quality of the services we provide. Where we do this, we take strict measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified.

We have a “Legitimate Interest” in collecting that information, because without it we couldn’t do our job effectively and safely.

We also think that it is important that we can contact you in order to confirm your appointments with us or to update you on matters related to your medical care.  This again constitutes “Legitimate Interest”, but this time it is your legitimate interest.

Provided we have your consent, we may occasionally send you general health information in the form of articles, advice or newsletters.  You may withdraw this consent at any time – just let us know by any convenient method.

We have a legal obligation to retain your records for 8 years after your most recent appointment or in the case of a child their 25th or 26th birthday if they were 17 at the date of their most recent appointment, but after this period you can ask us to delete your records if you wish.

2. How do we maintain the confidentiality of your records

2.1 We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with:

• General Data Protection Rules 2018
• Human Rights Act 1998
• Common Law Duty of Confidentiality
• General Chiropractic Council Code of Conduct

2.2 Every member of staff who works at Village Chiropractic Clinic has a legal obligation to keep information about you confidential.

2.2 Your records are stored:
On paper, in locked filing cabinets, and the offices are always locked out of working hours.  
Electronically (“in the cloud”), using a specialist medical records service. 
This provider has given us their assurances that they are fully compliant with the General Data Protection Regulations.  Access to this data is password protected, and the passwords are changed regularly.

2.4 On our office computers.  These are password-protected, backed up regularly, and the office(s) are locked out of working hours

3. Who do we share your information with?

We only ever pass on information about you to others, if there is a genuine need for it and you have given your consent. This may be your GP, dentist or other health care professionals, a solicitor or for court proceedings.

We will not disclose any information about you to any third party without your written permission or in case of a child’s information the parental consent, unless there are exceptional circumstances (i.e. life or death situations), where the law requires information to be passed on and/or in accordance with the Caldicott principles.

We will never share your data with anyone who does not need access without your written consent.  Only the following people/agencies will have routine access to your data:

The medical records service who store and process our files

Your practitioner(s) in order that they can provide you with treatment

Our reception staff, because they organise our practitioners’ diaries, and coordinate appointments and reminders (but they do not have access to your medical history or sensitive personal information)

Other administrative staff, such as our bookkeeper.  Again, administrative staff will not have access to your medical notes, just your essential contact details.

4. Access to your personal information

4.1 You have a right under the General Data Protection Rules 2018 to request access to view or obtain copies of what information Village Chiropractic Clinic holds about you and to have it amended should it be inaccurate. In order to request this you need to do the following:

• Your request must be made in writing to the clinic
• There is no charge for copies of your file
• We are required to respond to you within 40 days
• You will need to give us proof of name (Photo ID) so that your identity can be verified

5. Objections/Complaints

5.1 Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed at the clinic, please contact the Owner Jennifer Hudson, if you are still unhappy with the outcome then you can then complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office via their website (www.ico.gov.uk)

6. Change of details

6.1 It is important that you tell the person treating you if any of your details such as your name or address have changed or if any of your details such as date of birth is incorrect in order for us to correct it.

7. Notification & Data Controller

7.1 Jennifer Hudson is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as the Data Controller for Village Chiropractic Clinic. Jennifer Hudson, Village Chiropractic Clinic, Grindley, Stafford ST18 0LS Tel 01889 500448