Data Protection Privacy Notice

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In providing your dental care and treatment, we will ask for information about you and your health. Occasionally, we may receive information from other providers who have been involved in your care. This privacy notice describes the type of personal information we hold, why we hold it and what we do with it.

Quay Dental

Surgery

Information that we collect

We may collect the following information about you:

Personal details such as your name, date of birth, national insurance number, NHS number, address, telephone number and email address
Information about your dental and general health, including: clinical records made by dentists and other dental professionals involved with your care and treatment; X-rays, clinical photographs, digital scans of your mouth and teeth, and study models; medical and dental histories; treatment plans and consent; notes of conversations with you about your care; dates of your appointments; details of any complaints you have made and how they were dealt with; and correspondence with other health professionals or institutions
Details of the fees we have charged, the amounts you have paid and some payment details

Dr Natalie Elliott is responsible for keeping secure the information about you that we hold.

Our data protection officer, Vicky Carter, ensures that the practice complies with data protection requirements, so that we collect, use, store and dispose of your information responsibly. Those at the practice who have access to your information include dentists and the reception staff responsible for the management and administration of the practice.

How we use your information

To provide you with the dental care and treatment you need, we require up-to-date and accurate information about you. We may share your information, if necessary, with the NHS, Simplyhealth and other dental centres in connection with your dental treatment, but this will be discussed with you before any information is shared.

We will ask for your preference for how we contact you about your dental care. Our usual methods are telephone, email, text or letter.

With patients’ permission, we sometimes use their information for advertising on social media.

Sharing information

Your information is normally used only by those working at the practice, but there may be instances where we need to share it – for example, with:

Your doctor
The hospital or community dental services or other health professionals caring for you
NHS payment authorities
The Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies, where you are claiming exemption
Private dental schemes of which you are a member

We will only disclose your information on a need-to-know basis and will limit any information we share to the minimum necessary. In certain circumstances, or if required by law, we may need to disclose your information to a third party not connected with your healthcare, including HMRC or other law enforcement or government agencies.

Keeping your information safe

We store your personal information securely on a cloud-based computer system. Only those working at the practice have access to your information. They understand their legal responsibility to maintain confidentiality and follow practice procedures to ensure this. We take precautions to ensure the security of the practice premises and computers, and we use high-quality dental software to record and use your personal information safely and effectively. Our computer system has a secure audit trail and we back up information routinely. We use cloud computing facilities to store some of your information, and the practice has a rigorous agreement with our provider to ensure that we meet the obligations described in this notice and keep your information secure.

We keep your records for 11 years after the date of your last contact with the practice, or until you reach the age of 25, whichever is longer.

Access to your information and other rights

You have a right to access the information we hold about you and to receive a copy. You should submit your request to the practice in writing or by email. We do not usually charge for copies of your information; if we pass on a charge, we will explain the reasons. You can also ask us to:

Correct any information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. If we have disclosed that information to a third party, we will let them know about the change
Erase information we hold, although for legal reasons we may be unable to erase certain information (for example, information about your dental treatment)
Stop using your information – for example, sending you appointment reminders or information about our services
Supply your information electronically to another dentist

If you do not agree

If you do not wish us to use your personal information as described, you should discuss the matter with your dentist. If you object to the way we collect and use your information, we may not be able to continue to provide your dental care. If you have any concerns about how we use your information and do not feel able to discuss them with your dentist or anyone at the practice, you should contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF (0303 123 1113).