Our Privacy Policy
INTRODUCTION
This Privacy Notice explains in detail the types of personal data Hawkinge Veterinary Surgery may collect about you when you interact with us. It also explains how we’ll store and handle that data, and keep it safe.
We hope the following sections will answer any questions you have but if not please do get in touch with us.
Tel: 01303 764190
email hawkingevetsurgery@gmail.com
It’s likely that we’ll need to update this Privacy Notice from time to time. We’ll notify you of any significant changes but you’re welcome to come back and check it whenever you wish.
YOUR PRIVACY
Please at least just read this bit and hopefully you’ll feel reassured. We’ve tried to make it interesting and short!
Even if it is a worthwhile cause or an interesting shopping experience, we don’t enjoy being bombarded by companies with emails or letters and we know that neither do you. In short, we will always treat your personal data in the same way we would want a company to treat ours. So…
- we will never: -
send your personal details to any company unless we are legally obliged to do so or unless it is vital for your pet’s health e.g. product recalls.
send any marketing material to you unless it is for a product we use and we genuinely believe it would be beneficial for your pet’s health.
store or share your credit card details or any other financial details with anyone (with the exception that we have to pass on your financial details to our health plan provider).
store electronic or paper copies of your credit card details.
store the paper version of the details you give us for our health plan.
share your details without your consent with anyone unless legally obliged to do so.
share your address or other details from a microchip on your lost pet. (seems nonsense, but it is the law as regards data protection. So please, stop reading and go and change those microchip details NOW if you have moved or changed phone contact details).
Click here for useful information https://www.identichip.co.uk/pet-owner/faq/
- we will always: -
shred any items of paper with your personal details and never dispose of it in our waste bins.
on request from a RCVS registered veterinary surgery, we will send them you and your pet clinical details because you consented for them to contact us and you want a second opinion or you have moved or for any other legitimate and/or welfare reason.
THE LEGAL BASIS
The law on data protection sets out a number of different reasons for which a company may collect and process your personal data. Hawkinge Veterinary Surgery will collect and process data for the following reasons: -
Consent
In specific situations, we can collect and process your data with your consent. For example, when you register with us for the first time we will ask if you agree to receive email newsletters or text message notification for vaccination reminders or wormers due. This permission is stored on your record.
When collecting your personal data, we’ll always make clear to you which data is necessary in connection with a particular service.
Legal compliance
If the law requires us to, we may need to collect and process your data. For example, we can pass on details of people involved in fraud or other criminal activity affecting Hawkinge Veterinary Surgery to law enforcement.
Legitimate interest
In specific situations, we require your data to pursue our legitimate interests in a way which might reasonably be expected as part of running our business and which does not materially impact your rights, freedom or interests. For example we will need to contact you to fulfil our obligation to provide preventive veterinary care to your pet (vaccination reminders) or we might need to contact you regarding a product recall or for updates on products.
PERSONAL DATA PROCESSED BY HAWKINGE VETERINARY SURGERY
If you have an animal registered with us, have bought any products from us or have registered for our health plan we will keep the following details about yourself: -
Your name or any other name depending on what you provided us with.
The email address you provided.
Telephone number(s) of all contacts you have provided to us.
Details of your interactions with us.
Your image may be recorded on CCTV when you visit us. CCTV images are recorded and monitored at Hawkinge Veterinary Surgery for the purpose of crime prevention and for the safety and security of the public and their pets.
Your social media username, if you interact with us through those channels, to help us respond to your comments, questions or feedback.
For Pet Health plan purposes, your bank details are not stored on our premises. These are posted onto our administrator. We do not keep any copies of your bank details.
Clinical notes relating to your pet will not contain your personal or financial data.
HOW AND WHY DO WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA ?
We want to provide your pet with the best preventative veterinary care and keep you up to date with any developments in veterinary care that may affect them.
The data privacy law allows this as part of our legitimate interest. Of course, if you wish to change how we use your data, you’ll find details in the ‘What are my rights?’ section below. Remember, if you choose not to share your personal data with us, or refuse certain contact permissions, we might not be able to provide some veterinary services e.g. if you’ve asked us to let you know when your pet’s vaccination booster is due, we can’t do that if you’ve withdrawn your general consent to hear from us
Here’s how we’ll use your personal data and why:
To respond to your queries, refund requests etc. Handling the information you sent enables us to respond. We may also keep a record of these to inform any future communication with us and to demonstrate how we communicated with you throughout. We do this on the basis of our contractual obligations to you, our legal obligations and our legitimate interests in providing you with the best service and understanding how we can improve our service based on your experience.
To protect our customers, our premises, assets and staff from crime and for you and your pet’s safety, we operate CCTV systems in all areas of the veterinary surgery. We monitor and record images for security and observation of in-patients. We do this on the basis of our legitimate business interests.
If we discover any criminal activity or alleged criminal activity through our use of CCTV, fraud monitoring and suspicious transaction monitoring, we will process this data for the purposes of preventing or detecting unlawful acts. We aim to protect the individuals we interact with from criminal activities.
With your consent, we will use your personal data, preferences and details of your transactions to keep you informed by email, web, text or telephone about relevant products and services including tailored special offers, discounts, promotions, events, competitions and so on.
Of course, you are free to opt out of hearing from us by any of these channels at any time. You can tick the opt out box when you first fill in our GDPR form.
To send you relevant, personalised communications by post in relation to updates, offers, services and products. We’ll do this on the basis of our legitimate business interest. You are free to opt out of hearing from us by post at any time.
To send you communications required by law or which are necessary to inform you about our changes to the services we provide you. For example, updates to this Privacy Notice, product recall notices, and legally required information. These service messages will not include any promotional content and do not require prior consent when sent by email or text message. If we do not use your personal data for these purposes, we would be unable to comply with our legal obligations.
To comply with our contractual or legal obligations to share data with law enforcement. For example, when a court order is submitted to share data with law enforcement agencies or court of law.
To send you survey and feedback requests to help improve our services. These messages will not include any promotional content and do not require prior consent when sent by email or text message. We have a legitimate interest to do so as this helps make our products or services more relevant to you. Of course, you are free to opt out of receiving these requests from us at any time.
HOW WE PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL DATA ?
We know how much data security matters to all our customers. With this in mind we will treat your data with the utmost care and take all appropriate steps to protect it.
We do not store any information about you electronically. We only store your details on our client record base and apart from out health plan provider, we do not upload this electronically to any third party.
We will never allow paper copies of any of your transactions with us to leave our premises. All paper copies e.g. consent forms, credit card slips etc. will be shredded after a time period as set out by professional or consumer requirements
HOW LONG WILL WE KEEP YOUR PERSONAL DATA ?
Whenever we collect or process your personal data, we’ll only keep it for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.
At the end of that retention period, your paper data will be shredded after a time period as set out by professional or consumer requirements. Records on our management system will be kept unless you give us a written request to delete your personal details. We will ask for ID and a written request.
WHO DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL DATA WITH ?
We will always share you and your pet details with any RCVS registered veterinary surgery on request to do so because you consented for a second opinion, referral or for any other legitimate or welfare reason.
We share your personal data with the company that administers our pet health plan direct debits.
Our software provider will also have access to our database. Your personal data will not be shared with them.
Here’s the policy we apply to those organisations to keep your data safe and protect your privacy:
We provide only the information they need to perform their specific services.
They may only use your data for the exact purposes we specify in our contract with them.
We work closely with them to ensure that your privacy is respected and protected at all times.
If we stop using their services, any of your data held by them will either be deleted or rendered anonymous.
Examples of the kind of third parties we work with are
IT companies who support our website and other business systems
For fraud management, we may share information about fraudulent or potentially fraudulent activity in our premises or systems. This may include sharing data about individuals with law enforcement bodies
We may also be required to disclose your personal data to the police or other enforcement, regulatory or Government body, in your country of origin or elsewhere, upon a valid and legally enforceable request to do so. These requests are assessed on a case-by-case basis and take the privacy of our customers into consideration
If the surgery was to be sold, your personal data will, where relevant, be transferred to the new owner or controlling party, under the terms of this Privacy Notice.
WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS OVER YOUR PERSONAL DATA ?
An overview of your different rights
You have the right to request:
Access to the personal data we hold about you, free of charge.
The correction of your personal data when incorrect, out of date or incomplete.
That we stop using your personal data for direct marketing.
You have the right to request a copy of any information about you that we hold at any time, and also to have that information corrected if it is inaccurate. To ask for your information, please contact: -
Principal Veterinary Surgeon
Hawkinge Veterinary Surgery
9B Defiant Close
Hawkinge
Folkestone
Kent
CT18 7SU
If we choose not to action your request we will explain to you the reasons for our refusal.
YOUR RIGHT TO WITHDRAW CONSENT
Whenever you have given us your consent to use your personal data, you have the right to change your mind at any time and withdraw that consent.
WHERE WE RELY ON OUR LEGITIMATE INTEREST
In cases where we are processing your personal data on the basis of our legitimate interest, you can ask us to stop for reasons connected to your individual situation. We must then do so unless we believe we have a legitimate overriding reason to continue processing your personal data e.g. we have a legal obligation to contact you if there is an issue with any drug, vaccine etc.
DIRECT MARKETING
We will never send your details to any third party for their marketing purposes unless it is in our legitimate interests our we believe it is genuinely in the interests of your pet’s health.
CHECKING YOUR IDENTITY
To protect the confidentiality of your information, we will ask you to verify your identity before proceeding with any request you make under this Privacy Notice. If you have authorised a third party to submit a request on your behalf, we will ask them to prove they have your permission to act.