Privacy Policy

The practice aims to meet the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR], the guidelines on the Information Commissioner’s website as well as our professional guidelines and requirements.

The data controllers are the Dentists and Hygienists of WeLoveTeeth. Paula Brennan is the information Governance Lead and the Data Protection Officer. This Privacy Notice is available on the practice website at www.weloveteeth.co.uk at reception/ by email if you contact smile@weloveteeth.co.uk by calling the number on our contact page. You will be asked to provide personal information when joining the practice. The purpose of us processing this data is to provide optimum health care to you. The categories of data we process are:

• Personal data for the purposes of staff and self-employed team member management
• Personal data for the purposes of direct mail/email/text/other marketing
• Personal data for the purposes of practice membership payments
• Special category data including health records for the purposes of the delivery of health care
• Special category data including health records and details of criminal record checks for managing employees and contracted team members 

We never pass your personal details to a third party unless we have a contract for them to process data on our behalf and will otherwise keep it confidential. If we intend to refer a patient to another practitioner or to secondary care such as a hospital we will gain the individual’s permission beforethe referral is made and the personal data is shared.

• Personal data is stored in the EU whether in digital or hard copy format
• Personal data is stored in the US in digital format when the data storage company is certified with the EU-US Privacy Shield
• Personal data is obtained when a patient joins the practice, when a patient is referred to the practice and when a patient subscribes to an email list 

The lawful basis for processing special category data such as patients’ and employees’ health data is:

•  Processing is necessary for the purposes of preventative or occupational medicine, for assessing the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or management of health or social care systems and services on the basis of Union or Member State law or a contract with a health professional

 The lawful basis of processing personal data such as name, address, email or phone number is:

• Consent of the data subject
• Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with the data subject or to take steps to enter into a contract 

The retention period for special data in patient records is a minimum of 10 years and may be longer for complex records in order to meet our legal requirements. The retention period for staff records is 6 years. The retention periods for other personal data is 2 years after it was last processed. Details of other retention periods are available from the practice.

 You have the following personal data rights:

• The right to be informed
• The right of access
• The right to rectification
• The right to erasure (clinical records must be retained for a certain time period)
• The right to restrict processing
• The right to data portability
• The right to object

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Further details of these rights can be seen in our Information Governance Procedures or at the Information Commissioner’s website. Here are some practical examples of your rights:

•  If you are a patient of the practice you have the right to withdraw consent for important notifications, newsletters, surveys or marketing. You can inform us to correct errors in your personal details or withdraw consent from communication methods such as telephone, email or text. You have the right to obtain a free copy of your patient records within one month.
• If you are not a patient of the practice you have the right to withdraw consent for processing personal data, to have a free copy of it within one month, to correct errors in it or to ask us to delete it. You can also withdraw consent from communication methods such as telephone, email or text. 

We have carried out a Privacy Impact Assessment and you can request a copy from the details below. The details of how we ensure security of personal data is in our Security Risk Assessment and Information Governance Procedures.

Comments, suggestions and complaints

Please contact Dr Paula Brennan at the practice for a comment, suggestion or a complaint about your data processing at WeLoveTeeth. Our email is smile@weloveteeth.co.uk  or you can write to us us at WeLoveTeeth, Elmgrove House, Elmgrove Road Weybridge Surrey KT13 8NZ. We take complaints very seriously.

If you are unhappy with our response or if you need any advice you should contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Their telephone number is 0303 123 1113, you can also chat online with an advisor.The ICO can investigate your claim and take action against anyone who’s misused personal data. You can also visit their website for information on how to make a data protection complaint.

Related practice procedures

You can also use these contact details to request copies of the following practice policies or procedures:

• Data Protection and Information Security Policy, Consent Policy
• Privacy Impact Assessment, Information Governance Procedures

Is there a charge for information supplied?

Ordinarily we will charge a small fee for x-rays and copies of clinical records. These fees are available on request.

How do I get access to information?

You must make your request in writing, which includes by email. The request must include your name and address so that we can contact you. You do not need to tell us why you want the information; however, you must give us enough detail about the information you require to allow us to correctly identify and find it. When we have received your payment, we have 20 working days to send you the information you have requested.

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