Privacy Policy
Your Data, Data Protection and the new GDPR regulations
We take our responsibilities with regard to Data Protection extremely seriously. In preparation for the new GDPR regulations we will be using this space to publish information that should be of use to patients.
Data Protection Policy
Privacy Notice for Patients
How we use your personal information?
This notice tells you why Synergy 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. 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. All of your information is held securely on our premises and may be used for statistical purposes. Where we do this, we take strict measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified. Sometimes your information may be requested for research purposes – in such instances we will always ask your consent before releasing such information.
How do we maintain the confidentiality of your records?
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
Every member of staff who works at Synergy Chiropractic Clinic has a legal obligation to keep information about you confidential. We have put in place measures to protect the security of your information against accidental loss or disclosure, alteration, unauthorised access, destruction or abuse. We have implemented processes to guard against such. In addition, we limit access to your personal information to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal information on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
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.
Access to your personal information
You have a right under the General Data Protection Rules 2018 to request access to view or obtain copies of what information Synergy 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 30 days
You will need to give us proof of name (Photo ID) so that your identity can be verified
How long we keep your data for?
In line with data protection principles, we only keep your data for as long as we need it for, which will be at least for the duration of your being a patient with us and we are legally required, by the Chiropractic regulator, to keep this data for eight years after your time as a patient has ended. Or in case of children until their 25th birthday. To determine the any appropriate retention period for personal data beyond eight years we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means and the applicable legal requirements.
Once we no longer have a lawful use for retaining your information, we will dispose of it in a secure manner than maintains data security.
In some circumstances we may anonymise your personal information so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case we may use such information without further notice to you.
Right to withdraw consent
Where you have provided consent to the collection, processing and transfer of your data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. There will be no consequences for withdrawing your consent. However, in some cases, we may continue to use the data where so permitted by having a legitimate legal reason for doing so. For example the General Chiropractic Council rules oblige us to keep your data for 8 years. To withdraw consent, contact Mandi Oliver.
Objections/Complaints
Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed at the clinic, please contact the Clinic Owner Mandi Oliver. 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 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.
Notification & Data Controller
Mandi Oliver is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as the Data Controller for Synergy Chiropractic Clinic.