GDPR/Privacy Policy

Welcome to ‘our’ privacy/GDPR notice.

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This document refers to personal data, which is defined as information concerning any living person (hereafter called the Data Subject) that is not already in the public domain.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) seeks to protect and enhance the rights of data subjects. These rights cover the safeguarding of personal data, protection against the unlawful processing of personal data and the unrestricted movement of personal data.

This practice:- Stowmarket Osteopaths is based at 15-17 Childer Road, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 1PP, which hereafter will be referred to as the Practice, is pleased to provide the following information:

Who we are:- Stowmarket Osteopaths is the Data Controller. This means it decides how your personal data is processed and for what purposes. The osteopaths diagnose and treat health conditions. Treatments are carried out in accordance with the Osteopathic Practice Standards https://www.osteopathy.org.uk/standards/osteopathic-practice/. The practice may also provide other treatments, about which our staff would be pleased to provide more details.

Personal Data:- The Practice complies with its obligations under the GDPR and the General Osteopathic Council by keeping personal data up to date, by storing and destroying it securely, by not collecting or retaining excessive amounts of data, by protecting personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure and by ensuring that appropriate technical measures are in place to protect personal data.

a) For the purposes of providing treatment, the Practice may require detailed medical information. We will only collect what is relevant and necessary for your treatment. When you visit the Practice, we will make notes, which may include details concerning your medication, treatment and other issues affecting your health. This data is always held securely, is not shared with anyone not involved in your treatment, although for data storage purposes it may be handled by pre-vetted staff that have all signed a confidentiality and integrity agreement. To be able to process your personal data it is a condition of any treatment that you give your explicit consent to allow the Practice to document and process your personal medical data. Contact details provided by you such as telephone numbers, email addresses, postal addresses may be used to advise or remind you of future appointments and provide reports or other information concerning your treatment, on-going care or medical diagnosis that will require the sharing of your medical records with other healthcare practitioners e.g. GP’s, consultants, surgeons and/or medical insurance companies. Where this is required we will always inform you first unless we are under legal obligation to comply.

b) For marketing purposes, the Practice may also use the contact details provided by you to respond to your enquiries, including making telephone contact and emailing information to you, which the Practice believes may be of interest to you.

c) In making initial contact with the Practice you consent to the Practice maintaining a marketing diaglogue with you until you either opt out (which you may do at any time) or we decide to desist in promoting our services. The Practice may occasionally also act on behalf of its patients in the capacity of data processor when we may promote other practitioners based at our premises, who may not be employed by us. The Practice DOES NOT broker your data and you can ask to be removed from our marketing database by emailing or phoning the Practice using the contact details provided at the end of this Privacy Notice.

d) Some basic personal data may be collected about you from the marketing forms and surveys you complete, from records of our correspondance and phone calls and details of your visits to our website, including by limited to, personally identifying information like Internet Protocol (IP) address.

e) The Practice’s website uses cookies, which is a string of information that a website stores on a visitor’s computer, and that the visitor’s browser provides to the website each time the visitor returns. www.stowosteopaths.co.uk uses cookies to help the Practice to identify and track visitors and their website access preferences. The Practice’s website’s visitors who do not wish to have cookies placed on their computers should set their browsers to refuse cookies before using the Practice’s website.

f) The Practice will only collect the information needed so that we can provide you with the services you require, the business does not sell or broker your data.

Legal basis for processing any personal data: - To meet our contractual obligations obtained from explicit data subject consent and legitimate interest to respond to enquiries concerning the services provided. Processing is carried out by the staff of the Practice.

Legitimate interests pursued by the Practice: - To promote treatments available to patient with all types of health problems indicated for osteopathic care and care offered by other practitioners based at our premises.

Consent: -

Disclosure:- The Practice will keep your personal information safe and secure, only staff engaged at in providing your treatment will have access to your patient records, although our administration team will have access to your contact details so that they can make appointments and manage your account. The Practice will not disclose your personal information unless compelled to, in order to meet legal obligations, regulations or valid gouvernement requests.

Retentions Policy: - The Practice keeps data in accordance with the guidance set out by the General Osteopathic Council and the GDPR. The Practice will continue to store personal data for a minimum of eight years after the contract has expired to ensure legal obligations can be met. Records concerning minors who have received treatment will be retained until the child has a least reached the age of 25.

Data Storage: - All data is held in the Unitied Kingldom. Stowmarket Osteopaths do not store personal data soutinsse the EEA. Personal data is stored on ‘Jane’ a patient and practice administration software package. https://jane.app/guide/security/security-faq

Your rights as a Data Subject:

At any point whilst the Practice is in possession of, or processing your personal data, all data subjects have the following rights:

Right to information - you can ask for information about what data is being processed and the rationale for such processing.
Right of access – you have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you.
Right of rectification – you have a right to correct data that we hold about you that is inaccurate or incomplete.
Right to be forgotten – in certain circumstances you can ask for the data we hold about you to be erased from our records.
Right to restriction of processing – where certain conditions apply you have a right to restrict the processing.
Right of portability – you have the right to have the data we hold about you transferred to another organisation.
Right to object – you have the right to object to certain types of processing such as direct marketing.
Right to object to automated processing, including profiling – you also have the right not to be subject to the legal effects of automated processing or profiling.

In the event that the Practice refuses your request under rights of access, we will provide you with a reason as to why, which you have the right to legally challenge.

At your request the Practice can confirm what information it holds about you and how it is processed.

You can request the following information:

Identity and the contact details of the person or organisation (the Practice) that has determined how and why to process your data.
Contact details of the data protection officer, where applicable.
The purpose of the processing as well as the legal basis for processing.
If the processing is based on the legitimate interests of the Practice and information about these interests.
The categories of personal data collected, stored and processed.
Recipient(s) or categories of recipients that the data is/will be disclosed to.
How long the data will be stored.
Details of your rights to correct, erasure, restrict or object to such processing.
Information about your right to withdraw consent at any time.
How to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority (ICO).
Whether the provision of personal data is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract, as well as whether you are obliged to provide the personal data and the possible consequences of failing to provide such data.
The source of personal data if it wasn’t collected directly from you.
Any details and information of automated decision making, such as profiling, and any meaningful information about the logic involved, as well as the significance and expected consequences of such processing.

To access what personal data is held, identification will be required

The Practice will accept the following forms of ID when information on your personal data is requested: a copy of your driving licence, passport, birth certificate and a utility bill not older than three months. A minimum of one piece of photographic ID listed above and a supporting document is required. If Osteopaths is dissatisfied with the quality, further information may be sought before personal data can be released.

All requests should be made to admin@stowosteopaths.co.uk or by phoning +44 (0) 1449 613 633 or writing to us at the address further below.

Complaints

In the event that you wish to make a complaint about how your personal data is being processed by Osteopaths you have the right to complain to us. If you do not get a response within 30 days you can complain to the ICO.

The details for these contacts are:

Katy Stone – Stowmarket Osteopaths

Telephone 01449 613633 or email: katy@stowosteopaths.co.uk

ICO

Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF

Telephone +44 (0) 303 123 1113 or email: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/