Data Protection Privacy Notice.

By interacting with our website we will automatically collect some information about your visit through the use of cookies. Should you choose to submit Personal Data through our contact form or by emailing us in connection with our services, we will collect and store that data in order to respond to you. 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 providing your care.

This privacy notice describes the type of personal information we collect and hold, why we hold it and what we do with it:

About us

Our use of cookies and Information collected through our website

Patient information that we hold

How we use your information

Sharing information

Keeping your information safe

Access to your information and other rights

If you do not agree

About us

We are Canford Cliffs Dental operating at 58 Canford Cliffs Road, Poole, Dorset, BH13 7AA

Richard Farrant (Practice owner) is responsible for keeping secure the information about you that we hold. Those at the practice who have access to your information include dentists and other dental professionals involved with your care and treatment, and the practice manager Heather Crabbe is responsible for the management and administration of the practice.

Our data protection officer, (currently) Alice Shutler, ensures that the practice complies with data protection requirements to ensure that we collect, use, store and dispose of your information responsibly. You can contact our data protection officer by email at reception@canfordcliffsdental.co.uk or by phone on 01202 747552.

Our use of cookies and information collected through our website

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. They are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to us as the owners of the site. Cookies do not identify you personally.

We set ‘necessary’ cookies that are needed to present you with a functioning website; only we can control necessary cookies. Third-party cookies are set by software we use on the site, and they can be controlled via your browser:

You can remove cookies stored in your computer via your browser settings. You can also control some 3rd party cookies by using a privacy enhancement platform such as optout.aboutads.info or youronlinechoices.com.

You can opt out of tracking by Google Analytics across all websites at the Google Analytics opt-out page. Google also provides information on how to Opt out of seeing personalised ads.

For more information about cookies, visit allaboutcookies.org.

Information collected by our contact form

We employ safe protocols for website browsing, encrypted communication and transfer of Personal Data (such as HTTPS and SSL/TLS). In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

Should you choose to contact us via our contact form we will collect Personal Data that will include but may not be limited to your name, telephone number and email address, all of which is necessary for us to respond to you in connection with your enquiry. We will hold the information you provide us in order to carry out those functions.

Patient information that we hold

We can only keep and use information for specific reasons set out in the law. If we want to keep and use information about your health, we can only do so in particular circumstances. Below, we describe the information we hold and why, and the lawful basis for collecting and using it.

Contact details

We hold personal information about you including your name, date of birth, national insurance number, NHS number, address, telephone number and email address. This information allows us to fulfil our contract with you to provide appointments. We will also use the information to send you reminders and recall appointments as we have a legitimate interest to ensure your continuing care and to make you aware of our services.

Dental records

We hold 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 these complaints were dealt with
• Correspondence with you and other health professionals or institutions.

We collect and use this information to allow us to fulfil our contract with you to discuss your treatment options and provide dental care that meets your needs. We also use this information for the legitimate interest of ensuring the quality of the treatment we provide.

Financial information

We hold information about the fees we have charged, the amounts you have paid and some payment details. This information forms part of our contractual obligation to you to provide dental care and allows us to meet legal financial requirements.

Where your dental care is provided under the terms of the NHS, we are required to complete statutory forms to allow payments to be processed. This is an NHS requirement. 

How we use your information

To provide you with the dental care and treatment that you need, we require up-to-date and accurate information about you.

We may share your information with the NHS and Denplan in connection with your dental treatment.

We may contact you to conduct patient surveys or to find out if you are happy with the treatment you received for quality control purposes.

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

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
• Specialist dental or medical services to which we may refer you
• NHS payment authorities
• The Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies, where you are claiming exemption or remission from NHS charges
• Dental laboratories
• Debt collection agencies
• 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 that we share to the minimum necessary. We will let you know in advance if we send your medical information to another medical provider and we will give you the details of that provider at that time.

In certain circumstances or if required by law, we may need to disclose your information to a third party not connected with your health care, including HMRC or other law enforcement or government agencies.

Keeping your information safe

We store your personal information securely on our practice computer system and in a manual filing system. Your information cannot be accessed by those who do not work at the practice; 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 security of the practice premises, the practice filing systems and computers.

We use high-quality specialist 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 keep your records for 10 years after the date of your last visit to the Practice or until you reach the age of 25 years whichever is the longer. At your request, we will delete non-essential information (for example some contact details) before the end of this period.

Access to your information and other rights

You have a right to access the information that we hold about you and to receive a copy. We do not usually charge you for copies of your information; if we pass on a charge, we will explain the reasons.

You can also request us to

• Correct any information that 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 some of the information we hold. For legal reasons, we may be unable to erase certain information (for example, information about your dental treatment). However, we can, if you ask us to, delete some contact details and other non-clinical information.
• Stop using your information – for example, sending you reminders for appointments or information about our service.
• Stop using information if you believe the information is inaccurate or you believe we are using your information illegally.
• Supply your information electronically to another dentist.

If we are relying on your consent to use your personal information for a particular purpose, you may withdraw your consent at any time and we will stop using your information for that purpose.

All requests should be made by email to our practice manager – Alice Shutler by emailing reception@canfordcliffsdental.co.uk

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 that 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 you do not feel able to discuss it 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 or 01625 545745).