Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Last Updated On 26-Dec-2023

Effective Date 26-Dec-2023

This Privacy Policy describes the policies of Gate of Balance Acupuncture, 11 Rockbourne Road, Sherfield on Loddon, Hook, RG27 0SH, email: [email protected], phone: 07827096774 on the collection, use and disclosure of your information that we collect when you use our website ( https://gateofbalance.co.uk ). (the “Service”). By accessing or using the Service, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your information per this Privacy Policy. Please do not access or use the Service if you do not consent to the same.

We may modify this Privacy Policy at any time without prior notice and will post the revised Privacy Policy on the Service. The revised Policy will be effective from when the revised Policy is posted in the Service, and your continued access or use of the Service after such time will constitute your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy. We, therefore, recommend that you periodically review this page.

The type of personal information we collect:

We may collect and process the following personal information about you including:

  • Name
  • Email
  • Address
  • Medical conditions and medication details
  • GP name and details (where applicable)

How we get personal information and why we have it:

We will use the information that we collect about you for the following purposes:

Name and email when you contact us via the website ‘contact us’ page to answer general queries.

Name, email, address and telephone details for appointment management, including arranging, re-arranging, cancelling and postponing appointments.

Name, email, address, medical conditions and any medication via the consent form (signed by patent) as proof of patient’s consent to first and all future treatments

Personal details on patient files in the form of either paper or electronic format for ongoing treatment or future reference as required by the regulatory body, the British Acupuncture Council.

We may use your GP’s details (including your date of birth to help identify you) in case we need to contact your GP in an emergency as required by the regulatory body, the British Acupuncture Council.

In the event of an incident with a patient, we need to report to the insurance company and the regulator, the British Acupuncture Council, for insurance claims purposes and to develop and improve acupuncture practices and guidelines.

We use a 3rd party appointment booking system from heygoldie.com to manage our appointments. We use a standard appointment form from heygoldie.com to monitor and report the appointment status. Refer to https://heygoldie.com/privacy-policy for details on how they process and keep data.

Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential and will only be shared in the following scenarios:

You have provided us explicit consent to a named third party

We are required by local/national law & enforcement agencies (such as police or local authority) to safeguard you or other’s life or their warfare.

We are required by the regulatory body, the British Acupuncture Council or our insurance company if an insurance claim or complaint is brought against us.

We are required by our solicitor/solicitor agent in the event of any legal proceedings against us.

How we store your personal information

We do not keep your data longer than necessary. We are required by the regulatory body, the British Acupuncture Council, to keep patient records for 7 years; however, they may be kept for longer in the event of any legal proceedings, investigations or complaints.

Your data stored in any paper format is secured in a locked cabinet. Any data stored in electronic format are kept in a password-protected computer. We will dispose of your information by file shredders. In the case of paper files, they will be physically destroyed by a file shredder. In the case of electronic data, file shredder software will be used to safely remove electronic files.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

Your right of access – You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.

Your right to rectification – You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.

Your right to erasure – You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.

Your right to restriction of processing – You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing your personal information in certain circumstances.

Your right to object to processing – You have the right to object to processing your personal information in certain circumstances.

Your right to data portability – You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation or you in certain circumstances.

You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.

Further details can be found at the Information Commissioner’s website: https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/

How to complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can complain to us at [email protected].

You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.

The ICO’s address:            

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk

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