Privacy Policy

Why we need your information:

When you supply your personal details to this clinic, they are stored and processed for four reasons (the bits in bold are the relevant terms used in the General Data Protection Regulation):

1. We need to collect personal information about your health 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. The information we collect may include:
   • Details about you such as your address; contact details, previous medical history, and previous investigations.
   • Any contact the clinic has had with you such as appointments; clinic visits, advice given over the phone or email, emergency appointments etc.
   • Notes about your health
   • Details about your treatment and care
   • Relevant information from other healthcare professionals

Information may be used within the clinic for clinical audit purposes to monitor the quality of the services we provide.

2. We have a ‘Legitimate Interest’ in collecting that information because without it, we could not do our job effectively and safely.
3. We also think that it is important that we can contact you 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.
4. Provided that we have your consent, we may occasionally send you general health information in the form of newsletters. You may withdraw this consent at any time – just let us know by any convenient method (email/text/verbal).

How we maintain the confidentiality of your information:

We have a legal obligation to retain your records for 8 years after your most recent appointment (or age 25 if this is longer) but after this period you can ask us to delete your records if you wish. The clinic will delete your records after this period. We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with the General Data Protection Rules 2018 and the General Chiropractic Council Code of Conduct.

Your records are stored:

• on paper, in locked filing cabinets and the premises are always locked and alarmed out of working hours.
• on our office computers which are password-protected and backed up regularly.

Who do we share your information with:

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:

• Your practitioner in order that they can provide you with treatment.
• Cliniko because they are used to organise the practitioner’s diary and coordinate appointments and reminders (but they do not have access to your medical history and sensitive personal information. They are GDPR compliant).
• We also use Rehab my Patient to send you rehabilitation exercises so your name and email address may be saved on their server, but they are GDPR compliant.

Access to your personal information:

You have the right to see what personal data of yours we hold, and you can also ask us to correct any factual errors. Provided the legal minimum period has elapsed, you can ask us to erase your records. To request this information, 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 30 days.
• You will need to give us proof of name (Photo ID) so that your identity can be verified when you collect the information.

Objections/Complaints:

We want you to be confident that we are treating your personal data responsibly and that we are doing everything we can to make sure that the only people who can access that data have a genuine need to do so.

Of course, if you feel that we are mishandling your personal data in any way, you have the right to complain. Complaints need to be sent to what is referred to as the ‘Data Controller’ the clinic owner, Sarah Richards (sarah@richardschiropractic.co.uk). If you are still unhappy, you can then complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office via their website (www.ico.gov.uk).

Change of details:

It is important that you tell the practitioner if any of your details such as your name or address have changed or if any of your details such as your date of birth is incorrect for us to correct it. Please keep the practitioner updated on any change of medication and/or medical history too.