GDPR Policy

NEW GDPR Practice Policy

We understand the importance of looking after the Personal Information that you provide and this notice (“Privacy Notice”) sets out what Personal Information we collect, why we need to collect it, how we will use it and how long we will store it for.

 

How we will use your personal information

We will process your Personal Information when it is necessary for the performance of our contract with you to provide veterinary services. This will involve using your Personal Information to provide you with our products and services and to send you information related to the services we provide to you including appointment and vaccination reminders (“Service Communications”). You can choose how you would like to receive these communications by post, email or SMS.

Please talk to one of our members of staff if you would like to change how you receive Service Communications.

 

What personal information do we collect and why

Name – So that we can identify you and personalise our communications with you.

Address – So that we can identify you, register your animal with our practice send reminders, correspondence and information about our services directly to you and to send information about local animal health issues.

Email address – So that we can contact you about your Animal, send reminders about your appointments, vaccinations, flea or worming treatments and or correspondence about our service and animal health issues.

Telephone numbers – So that we can contact you about your Animal.

Location information (such as postcode) – So that we have your location for visiting, as we are primarily a mobile service.

Bank, Debit or Credit Card Details – So that we can receive payment for the services we provide if applicable.

Insurance policy number – So that we can communicate with your animal insurance provider if applicable.

Very rarely we may need to store some “special category” or sensitive personal data.

An example of this may be that you disclose to us some information about your own personal health as that information has an impact on the decisions we need to make during the treatment your pet. You will have consented to provide us with this information and it will be treated in strictest confidence and will not be shared without your prior consent. We would only ever document sensitive personal data if it was important and relevant to the care programme that we are providing for your pet.

We also do not collect information about criminal convictions or offences.

Please remember to let Practice staff know if any of the above information changes as soon as possible so that we have up to date records. Our staff will ask you to confirm your records are up to date on a regular basis.

 

Marketing

In addition to our contractual services, we would like to process your Personal Information with your consent to send you information about other products and services available from the Practice Mercury vets.  You will be asked for your consent when you register with the Practice and we will refresh your consent on a regular basis.

 

Data retention

Our preference would be to hold your pets clinical history  for the duration of your pets life so that we are always able to provide information in the future about the treatment we provided to your pet and to give you peace of mind that this information will always be available during your pets lifetime should you require it.

We do carefully consider the personal data that we store, and we will not keep your information in a form that identifies you for longer than is necessary for the purposes set out in this notice or as required by applicable law. In some instances, we are required to hold data for minimum periods: for example, UK tax law currently specifies a six-year period for retention of some of your personal data and our indemnity insurers historically advise clinical records are retained for 7 years (6 years is the maximum limitation period for most civil claims plus one year).

 

Sharing your information

We are required to share your Personal Information in certain circumstances to ensure that we are able to provide you with services, obtain payment or correspond with your insurance provider. In each case we will only share the data necessary for the purpose and it will only be in relation to the specified purpose. Each third party is required to have in place comparable data security measures and to be fully compliant with the terms of the General Data Protection Regulations.

 

Who do we share information with and why

  1. Referral practices
    When we refer an animal to a referral hospital or specialist, we need to share relevant information to arrange appointments, test, treatments and services.
  2. Debt collection agencies
    If you fall behind with payments for the services we provide, we may engage a debt collection agency to recover the debt on our behalf.
  3. Moving practice
    If you decide to move to a new practice, we will provide a copy of your animals’ records to the new practice when requested. If you do not want your records transferred, please speak to a member of the Practice staff.

We will not sell, lease or transfer your personal information to any other person or company without your prior consent.

 

Keeping your data secure

We recognise the importance of keeping your personal data safe and we have in place security measures and policies to prevent personal data from being lost, used or accessed without our permission. We limit access to your Personal Information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

 

Your information rights

We draw your attention to your following rights under data protection law:

  • right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data
  • right of access to your personal data, and the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you and supplementary details about that information – you will be asked to provide proof of your identify and residential address, and we may ask you to provide further details to assist us in the provision of such information
  • right to have inaccurate personal data that we process about you rectified – we want to ensure that the personal information that we process and retain about you is accurate, so please do remember to tell us about any changes, for example if you have moved house or changed your contact details. It is your responsibility to ensure you submit true, accurate, and complete information to us; please also update us in the event this information changes.
  • right of erasure – in certain circumstances you have the right to have personal data that we process about you blocked, erased or destroyed
  • the right to object to, or restrict:
  • processing of personal data concerning you for direct marketing
  • decisions being taken by automated means which produce legal effects concerning you or that similarly significantly affect you
  • in certain other situations, to our continued processing of your personal data
  • the right of portability of your data in certain circumstances.

These rights are subject to certain limitations that exist in law. Further information about your information rights is available on the ICO’s website: https://ico.org.uk/

 

Changes to this privacy notice

We may change this notice from time to time. You should check this notice on our website occasionally, in order to ensure you are aware of the most recent version.