John F Stott Ltd, trading as STOTTS., Stotts Opticians, Brown Opticians, Sutcliffes Opticians and Mr Jinkinsons, is a registered data controller.
This privacy notice explains how we collect, use, store and share your personal data when you use our services.
This includes eye care, hearing care, contact lenses, specialist clinics, membership services, appointment booking, recalls, aftercare and relevant communications.
Why we collect and process your personal data
We collect and process patients' personal data so that we can provide safe, effective and appropriate healthcare services.
This may include:
- Booking and managing appointments
- Providing eye examinations and clinical care
- Providing hearing care and related services
- Supplying spectacles, contact lenses, hearing aids and related products
- Managing recalls, reminders and aftercare
- Making referrals to other healthcare providers where needed
- Maintaining accurate clinical records
- Managing payments, invoices and patient accounts
- Communicating relevant information about our services
We may also use your personal data for marketing purposes, where we have your consent or where we have a legitimate interest in doing so. This may include contacting you about eye care, hearing care, eyewear, contact lenses, membership, events, offers or services that may be relevant to you.
You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by letting us know.
Our legal bases for processing your data
Our legal bases for processing personal data for healthcare purposes, including appointment reminders and recalls, are usually:
Public task — where we provide services under an NHS contract, such as NHS General Optical Services or other NHS-funded eye care services.
Legitimate interests — where we provide private healthcare services, manage appointments, operate our practice, provide reminders, maintain records and support your ongoing care.
Contract — where processing is necessary to provide products or services you have requested or purchased from us.
Consent — where required, including certain marketing communications.
Where we process health information, this is special category data. Our condition for processing this data is usually that it is necessary for the provision of health or social care.
The data we may collect and process
The personal data we may collect and process includes:
- Your name, address, contact details and date of birth
- Personal identifiers, such as NHS number, patient number or membership details
- Appointment history and communication preferences
- General health, ocular health and hearing health history
- Family medical, ocular or hearing history where relevant
- Symptoms, concerns and lifestyle information you tell us about
- Details of medicines or treatments you use
- Clinical examination results, prescriptions and test findings
- OCT scans, retinal images, visual field results or other clinical images where taken
- Details of spectacles, lenses, contact lenses, hearing aids or other products prescribed or supplied
- Information relating to specialist clinics, referrals, treatment plans and aftercare
- Payment, invoice and account information
- Information provided by other healthcare professionals, carers or relatives where relevant to your care
- Marketing preferences and records of communications with you
We only collect information that is relevant to providing, managing or improving your care and our services.
How we hold your personal data
We process your personal data in strict confidence.
We keep your data securely in our electronic systems and, where relevant, paper records. Access is limited to authorised team members, healthcare professionals working at the practice and those acting under their supervision.
We take appropriate steps to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse or disclosure.
How long we keep your personal data
We will usually keep adult patient records for 10 years after our last contact with you.
If we collected your data when you were under 18, we will usually keep it until your 25th birthday, or for 10 years after your last contact with us if that is later.
These periods reflect professional guidance and NHS record-keeping requirements.
In some circumstances, we may need to keep personal data for longer, for example where required by law, professional guidance, ongoing care needs, complaints, safeguarding matters or legal claims.
Who we may share your personal data with
We will only share your personal data where it is necessary and appropriate.
This may include:
- Healthcare professionals working at our practices and those under their supervision
- Your GP, ophthalmologist, audiologist or other healthcare provider where relevant to your care
- NHS bodies, commissioners or referral services where required for NHS-funded care or referrals
- Other optical or healthcare practices, but only where you have asked us to share information with them or where it is necessary for your care
- Suppliers of spectacles, lenses, contact lenses, hearing aids or related healthcare products
- Laboratories and manufacturers involved in fulfilling your prescription or order
- Software providers for patient records, booking, recall, communication, payment and invoicing systems
- Payment providers, finance providers or financial institutions where needed to process payments
- Professional advisers, insurers or regulators where required
- Authorities or organisations where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect you or others from serious harm
We do not sell your personal data.
Marketing communications
We may contact you about services, products, events, offers or care reminders that may be relevant to you.
This may include information about eye care, hearing care, eyewear, contact lenses, membership, specialist clinics and related services.
We will only send marketing communications where we have your consent or where we have a legitimate interest and are permitted to do so.
You can opt out of marketing at any time by contacting us or using any unsubscribe option provided.
Even if you opt out of marketing, we may still contact you about your appointments, recalls, clinical care, orders, payments or important service information.
Your rights
You have legal rights in relation to the personal data we hold about you.
These include:
The right to be informed
This privacy notice explains how we use your personal data.
The right of access
You can ask us for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
The right to rectification
You can ask us to correct personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
The right to object
You can object to us processing your personal data in certain circumstances, including for marketing purposes.
The right to erasure
You can ask us to delete your personal data where there is no compelling reason for us to continue processing it. Please note that we will not usually delete healthcare records before our usual retention period where we have a professional, legal or clinical duty to keep accurate records.
The right to restrict processing
You can ask us to restrict how we use your personal data in certain circumstances.
The right to data portability
In some circumstances, you can ask for your personal data to be provided in a structured, commonly used format.
Rights relating to automated decision-making
You have rights relating to decisions made solely by automated processing, where applicable.
We will respond to rights requests within one month, unless the request is complex or we are permitted by law to extend the timescale.
Contacting us about your personal data
Please contact us first if you have any questions or concerns about how we use your personal data.
You can contact:
Jane Laval
Email: janelaval@stottsopticians.co.uk
Telephone: 01257 262445
Via our Chorley practice.
Complaints
You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office if you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data.
The ICO can be contacted via: www.ico.org.uk
However, we would always appreciate the opportunity to resolve any concern with you first.
Updates to this privacy notice
We may update this privacy notice from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements or how we process personal data.
The latest version will be available on our website and in our practices.