Privacy Policy

Crossriggs Veterinary Clinic: Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Crossriggs Veterinary Clinic is committed to protecting your privacy and security. We have updated our privacy policy in compliance with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations 2018). This policy explains how and why we use your personal data, to ensure you remain informed and in control of your information.

2. About us

For the purposes of data protection law, the data controller is Crossriggs Veterinary Clinic (data controller number ZA166590) and the Data Protection Officer is the Practice Manager. If you have any questions in relation to this policy, please address these in the first instance to the Practice Manager at: Crossriggs Veterinary Clinic, 52 Townhead Street, Cumnock, KA18 1LG; by telephone on 01290 420255 or via email at crossriggs@live.co.uk.

3. What information we collect

Personal data you provide

We collect data that you provide to us. This includes information that you give when registering at Crossriggs Veterinary Clinic (the Practice). For example:

– Personal details (name, address, telephone numbers, email address)

– Information about your pet(s)

We collect this personal data over the phone, face-to-face in practice and online if you register your pets via our website.

Information from third parties

We sometimes receive personal data about individuals from third parties. For example, if you have moved from another practice we will usually request your previous records from that practice so that we are able to provide the best possible care for your pet. We process this data in the same secure and responsible manner as data that we receive directly from you.

Sensitive personal data

We do not normally collect sensitive personal data (such as information relating to health) but there may be some situations where this may help in providing you with the best possible service. For example, if you are partially sighted and have a guide dog it would be useful to note this on your records. If this is the case, we will take extra care to ensure that your privacy rights are respected and, where possible, we will try to obtain your permission to record this information.

Accidents or incidents

If an accident or incident occurs on our property then we’ll keep a record of this, which may include personal data or sensitive data. This is in accordance with our Health and Safety Policy.

4. How we use this information

We use the information that we collect about you with your consent, or where it is necessary to fulfil our contract with you, where the contract is that of animal care. It will be assumed that when you register your pet with us that you wish us to enter into a contract of animal health care with you.

Marketing

We do not use your personal data for marketing purposes, but we may use your data to communicate with you about the health of your pet. For example, we may send reminders about vaccines, flea treatments and wormers, and nursing clinics via post, text, email or phone. We are aiming to put in place a new system whereby you can give your consent for these reminders, or opt out if you wish to do so.

5. Sharing data

We will only share your data with other veterinary practices where this has been requested in the interests of your pet’s health care. This may happen if your pet has been referred to another practice for treatment or if you move from our practice to another practice. We may share your information with insurance companies, where applicable.

We may also share your data if this has been requested due to an animal welfare issue, for example with the SSPCA.

6. Storage and protection of data

We employ a variety of physical and technical measures to keep your data safe and to prevent unauthorised access to, or use or disclosure of, your personal information.

Electronic data

Electronic data is stored on secure computer systems and we control who has access to this information. For example, unauthorised personnel are not permitted access to our computers and these are also password protected. We are confident that the UK-based third party who maintains our computer systems and stores our data does so securely and is compliant with GDPR.

Hard copies of files

Hard copies of files are stored securely at the practice away from public areas and we ensure that only trained personnel have access to these files.

CCTV

Our premises do have CCTV and you may be recorded when visiting the practice. CCTV is there to help detect or prevent crime and footage is only stored temporarily.

How long we store information

We will only store information for as long as it is required for the purposes it was collected for. How long information is stored for depends on the information in question and what it is being used for.

For example, we usually keep data about your pets until we know that the pet in question is deceased or has moved away. This is so that we can refer back to your pet’s history, which in some cases may be many years. Other data is destroyed after a very short time, such as details that are sent to the Pet Crematorium, as we have no need to keep this data for longer than a month.

We continually review what information we hold and delete what is no longer required.

7. Keeping you in control

We want to ensure that you remain in control of your personal data. Part of this is making sure that you understand your legal rights, which are as follows:

– The right to confirmation as to whether or not we hold your personal data, and if we do, to obtain a copy of the personal information we hold (this is known as subject access request)

– The right to have your data erased (though this will not apply where it is necessary for us to continue to use the data for a lawful reason)

– The right to have inaccurate data rectified

– Where technically feasible, you have the right to personal data that you have provided to us and we will provide this in an appropriate format

Please bear in mind that there are exceptions to the rights above and although we will always try to respond to your satisfaction there may be situations where we are unable to do so.

If you would like further information about your rights or wish to exercise them, please write to our Practice Manager or contact them at the Practice.

8. Complaints

If you wish to make a complaint that relates to your data protection and privacy rights, please contact the Practice Manager in the first instance. If you are not happy with our response, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, which regulates and enforces data protection law in the UK. Details of how to do this can be found at www.ico.org.uk.

9. Website and Cookies

External Links

Our website seeks to provide quality, safe and relevant external links. Users should apply a policy of caution before following any external web links from our website. Such links are followed at the user’s own risk. We encourage you to be cautious and to read the privacy policy of every website that collects your information.

Social Media

Interactions made through social media services are subject to the terms and conditions as well as the privacy policies held with each social media service. Clients are encouraged to use social media platforms sensibly and with due care and attention in respect of their own privacy and personal details.

Cookies

Our website uses local storage, such as cookies, to provide you with the best possible experience. Cookies are small files saved to the hard drive of a user’s device which track, save and store information regarding the user’s interactions and usage of the website. Users can adjust the security settings of their web browsers to prevent the use of cookies from the website and its external serving vendors. Please see our website for further information about cookies.

10. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We will amend this Privacy Policy from time to time to ensure that it remains up-to-date and accurately reflects how and why we use your personal data. The current version of our Privacy Policy will always be available on our website at www.crossriggsvets.co.uk.

This Privacy Policy was updated on 23.05.2019