Last Updated on February 21, 2023 by team

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is a professional requirement imposed on us by the General Dental Council (GDC). The relationship between dentist and patient is based on the understanding that any information revealed by the patient will not be divulged without the patients consent. Only in exceptional circumstances (e.g. where a major crime is being investigated or to comply with specific laws such as Road Traffic acts or terrorism) are we allowed to divulge any information about patients without their specific consent.

Under the freedom of information act 2002 we have a ‘publication scheme’ where we are obliged to supply any interested party any information we may hold on them. Under the Data Protection Act 1984 and 1998 we are obliged to safeguard the holding of personal data of our patients.

Carlton House has adopted the following three principals of confidentiality:

  1. Personal information about a patient is confidential to those providing healthcare.
  2. It should only be provided to those who would be unable to provide effective care without that information (need to know).
  3. Information should not be disclosed to third parties without consent of the patient except in circumstances set out in the first paragraph.

What this means to you:

  • Records should be kept secure and in a location that prevents other individuals from reading them.
  • When talking to a patient on the telephone or in a public area care should be taken to ensure that sensitive information is not overheard by other patients.
  • Details of names, addresses, telephone numbers, attendance or financial record, treatment histories or plans, medical history or information about other family members should not be divulged.
  • Messages regarding patient care should not be left on answering machines. A message to call the practice is all that can be left.
  • Disclosure of appointment book information should not be made to third parties without first referring to Steve Cuthew.
  • Discussions being conducted within hearing of any patient should be on strictly professional matters, never discussing a patient by name.
  • Conversations on non-professional matters should be reserved for the staff room.
  • Any member of staff who breaks these rules will be liable for summary dismissal.
  • All data processed at this practice must remain confidential even if your employment has been terminated (it is an offence under the Data Protection Act 1998 to disclose such information).

At Carlton House Dental Practice we are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. We will continue to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679) (“GDPR”) until the GDPR is no longer directly applicable in the UK, together with any national implementing laws, regulations and secondary legislation as amended or updated from time to time in the UK, and any successor legislation to the GDPR and the DPA (together “Data Protection Legislation”). We are the data controller of the data you pass to us pursuant to this policy. This Privacy Policy sets out how we collect personal information from you and how the personal information you provide will be processed by us. By visiting the website Carlton House Dental practice (the “Website”) you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not consent, please do not submit any personal data to us.

What information does Carlton House dental hold, and how will we use it?

You may give us information about you by completing enquiry forms on the website. You may also give us information via social media platforms and email marketing campaigns. The information you give us may include your name, email address, address/location and phone number. This does not include all personal data processed by Carlton House Dental but only personal data it collects through its website and marketing campaigns. We will retain this information while we are corresponding with you or providing services to you or to a Patient you represent. We will retain this information for as long as we require it to improve your oral health objectives and aims but you are able to unsubscribe from marketing emails at any point and this can be done using the button on the emails.

Carlton House dental may collect the following information from you when you visit the website: Technical information, including the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet, your login information, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform; and Information about your visit, including the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL), clickstream to, through and from the website (including date and time), products you viewed or searched for, page response times, website errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information, methods used to browse away from the page and any phone number used to call our helpline

Information we receive from other sources: This includes information we receive about you when you use other websites operated by us or other services we provide. This information may include your name, email address, postal address and phone number. We will retain this information for as long as it is required to assist your dental health and relationship with Carlton Houase Dental . Although certain medical and clinical records have to be legally kept for a certain period, marketing information and anything related to our digital marketing systems can be deleted on request. If you wish to undertake this then email reception@carltonhousedentalpractice.co.uk. Sometimes when content of images are online it is difficult to remove them if they have been obtained by third parties. We do everything we can to prevent theft of intellectual property, and if you see images or data that appears on third-party websites there are a range of resources we can use to have this information removed. We will never sell, swop, scrape or give out your personal information to any third parties without your express permission. Although our photographic consent says that we own any photographs or user-generated content – as a gesture of goodwill and to show our commitment to the privacy and happiness of our patients, we will endeavour to use all available resources to protect your data that is disseminated on social media or any third party platforms if you decide you want it removed.

The Website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of the website and prove your overall experience of our website and products.

Carlton House Dental may use the information we receive and/or collect about you to: To Fulfil our obligations under any contract we have entered into with you or with a Patient you represent, and to provide you or the relevant Patient with information or services you or the Patient has requested. Send you newsletters and marketing information if you have consented to us doing so. Notify you of products and services we feel may interest you. Monitor website usage and provide statistics to third parties for the purposes of improving and developing the website and the services we provide via the website.

COOKIES WEBSITE STATEMENT

Cookies are small text files which a website may put on your computer or mobile device when you first visit a Site or page. The cookie will help the website, or another website, to recognise your device the next time you visit. Web beacons or other similar files can also do the same thing. We use the term “cookies” in this policy to refer to all files that collect information in this way. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users of the Application or the Site. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you use the Application or browse the Sites and also allows us to improve the Service, the Application and the Site. Carlton House Dental processes personal information for certain legitimate business purposes, which include some or all of the following: Where the processing enables Carlton House Dental to enhance, modify, personalise or otherwise improve the website, its services or communications to identify and prevent fraud to enhance the security of Carlton house Dental network and information systems.

To better understand how people interact with Carlton House  Dental websites. To administer the website and carry out data analysis, troubleshooting and testing; and to determine the effectiveness of promotional campaigns and advertising. Where we are processing personal data we have obtained via the website on the basis of having obtained consent from you, you have the right to withdraw your consent to the processing of your personal data at any time. If you would like to withdraw your consent or prefer not to receive any of the above-mentioned information (or if you only want to receive certain information from us) please let us know by emailing us at reception@carltonhousedentalpractice.co.uk. Please bear in mind that if you object, this may affect our ability to carry out the tasks above for your benefit. If you wish to have your information removed from our database or if you do not want us to contact you for marketing purposes, please let us know by clicking the “Unsubscribe” option in any email we send to you and providing the details requested or by emailing us at reception@carltonhousedentalpractice.co.uk and we will take steps to ensure that this information is deleted as soon as reasonably practicable. We will not share, sell or distribute any of the information you provide to us without your prior consent unless required to do so by law.

We may carry out automated decision-making using the personal data you provide to us. Our website may contain links to third party websites, including websites which you are able to purchase products and services. They are provided for your convenience only and we do not check, endorse, approve or agree with such third-party websites nor the products and/or services offered and sold on them. We have no responsibility for the content, product and/or services of the linked websites.

Please ensure that you review all terms and conditions of website use and the Privacy Policy of any such third-party websites before use and before you submit any personal data to those websites.

How Safe is your Information?

Protecting your security and privacy is important to us and we make every effort to secure your information and maintain your confidentiality in accordance with the terms of the Data Protection Legislation. The website is protected by various levels of security technology, which are designed to protect your information from any unauthorised or unlawful access, processing, accidental loss, destruction and damage. We will do our best to protect your personal data but the transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure. Any such transmission is therefore at your own risk. We may share your personal information with any member of our group, which means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and its subsidiaries, as defined in section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006. We may share your information with selected third parties including: Business partners, suppliers and sub-contractors for the performance of any contract we enter with them or you. Please note we may need to disclose your personal information where we: Sell any or all our business or assets or we buy another business or assets in which case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective buyer or seller.

We are under a legal duty to comply with any legal obligation or to enforce or apply our terms and conditions; or Need to disclose it to protect our rights, property or the safety of our customers or others, including the exchange of information with other companies, organisations and/or governmental bodies for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

Your Rights in Respect of your Data If any of the information you provide to us via the website changes, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can make the necessary changes to the information we hold for you on our database. If you wish to make any changes to your information, please contact us via the following email:reception@carltonhousedentalpractice.co.uk. If you wish to access or rectify the information we hold about you, or request that such information be transmitted directly to another data controller, please contact us via the following email: reception@carltonhousedentalpractice.co.uk. We shall process your request to access your information within one month of receipt, or we’ll let you know within that timeframe if we need more information from you. We will process your request free of charge. To request that your information is deleted or if you wish to restrict or object to the processing of your information, please contact us by emailing: reception@carltonhousedentalpractice.co.uk. If you have any complaints about our use of your personal data, please contact us. You also have the right to complain to the relevant supervisory authority in your jurisdiction. In the UK, the supervisory authority is the Information Commissioner’s Office. Contact details for the ICO can be found at https://ico.org.uk/. If you have any further queries or comments on our Privacy Policy, please contact us by emailing reception@carltonhousedentalpractice.co.uk. We also welcome your views about our website and our Privacy Policy. Note: All QCS Policies are reviewed annually, more frequently, or as necessary.