Policy

Privacy Policy

Version Date: January 1st 2020

We are committed to protecting and preserving the privacy of our visitors when visiting our site or communicating electronically with us.

This policy sets out how we process any personal data we collect from you or that you provide to us through our website. We confirm that we will keep your information secure and that we will comply fully with all applicable UK Data Protection legislation and regulations. Please read the following carefully to understand what happens to personal data that you choose to provide to us, or that we collect from you when you visit this site. By visiting our website you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy.

Types of information we may collect from you

We may collect, store and use the following kinds of personal information about individuals who visit and use our website:

Information you supply to us

You may supply us with information about you by filling in forms on our website. This includes information you provide when you submit a contact/enquiry form. The information you give us may include your name, address, e-mail address and phone number,

Information our website automatically collects about you.

With regard to each of your visits to our website we may automatically collect information including the following:

technical information, including a truncated and anonymised version of your Internet protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, operating system and platform;

information about your visit, including what pages you visit, how long you are on the site, how you got to the site (including date and time); page response times, length of visit, what you click on, documents downloaded and download errors.

Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site. For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them see our Cookie Policy.

How we may use the information we collect

We use the information in the following ways:

To provide you with information and/or services that you request from us;
To administer our site including troubleshooting and statistical purposes;
To improve our site to ensure that content is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer;
For security and debugging as part of our efforts to keep our site safe and secure.
This information is collected anonymously and is not linked to information that identifies you as an individual. We use Google Analytics to track this information. Find out how Google uses your data at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245.

Disclosure of your information

Any information you provide to us will either be emailed directly to us or may be stored on a secure server. We use a trusted third party hosting provider (FlyWheel) to facilitate the running and management of this website.

We do not rent, sell or share personal information about you with other people or non-affiliated companies, any external sources required by your website such as mailing lists from service providers such as mailchimp, sendinblue etc, are subject to your own user agreement per the terms of your account with the provider themselves.

We will use all reasonable efforts to ensure that your personal data is not disclosed to regional/national institutions and authorities, unless required by law or other regulations.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

Third party links

Our site may, from time to time, contain links to and from the third party websites. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

Your rights – access to your personal data

You have the right to ensure that your personal data is being processed lawfully (“Subject Access Right”). Your subject access right can be exercised in accordance with data protection laws and regulations. Any subject access request must be made in writing to us at our email address listed at the bottom of this page. We will provide your personal data to you within the statutory time frames. To enable us to trace any of your personal data that we may be holding, we may need to request further information from you. If you have a complaint about how we have used your information, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Changes to our privacy policy

Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.

Contact

Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be submitted via email using the address or contact form at the bottom of this page.

Cancellation Policy

Version Date: January 1st 2020

Ardcroft Medical Clinic is an accessible service which operates with an online booking system for both acute illness and routine appointments. Your appointment is secured by pre-payment via the online booking system. Your appointment can be cancelled up to 24 hours prior to your consultation with a full refund being reimbursed. If, however, you cancel your appointment or fail to attend within 24 hours a 50% appointment fee is applied.

To cancel or reschedule your appointment please contact us on 01698 917902 or email at gillian@ardcrofrmedicalclinic.co.uk

Complaints Policy

Version Date: January 1st 2020

Purpose of Policy

The purpose of this document is to define the process, management and resolution of a customer complaints. The procedure applies to patients who have accessed the service directly or indirectly as a third party. At Ardcroft Medical Clinic patient satisfaction is of the upmost importance. If patients feel dissatisfied with the outcome of the service provided their concerns can be highlighted and they will be addressed in a professional timely manner.

Policy Statement and Aims

Dissatisfaction or a complaint following any procedure/interaction with the clinic can be raised either by phone, email or in writing.
Complaints will be acknowledged and investigated within 48 hours of receipt or at the earliest appropriate time.
Data will recorded in accordance with NMC code of conduct.
Patients will be respected and taken seriously.
Complaints will be investigated promptly, thoroughly and openly.
Apologies will be given as appropriate.
A resolution will be the desired outcome.
Staff involved will be given the appropriate level of support.
Following an investigation, a summary of findings will be produced with appropriate actions by management if required.
If the complainant is dissatisfied with the internal investigation their concerns can be raised with the healthcare regulator at any time of the investigation.

Your complaint can also be raised with:

Healthcare Improvement Scotland

Independent Healthcare Team

Gyle Square

1 South Gyle Crescent

Edinburgh

EH12 9EB

T: 0131 623 4342

E: his.ihcregulation@nhs.scot

Healthcare Improvement Scotland is the regulator for independent services across Scotland and can accept complaints at any time from a complainant.

Scope

This policy affects all patients receiving a treatments/service at Ardcroft Medical Clinic.

Procedure

Complaints will be addressed and documented with concerned patients. Information will be signed/dated and offer a clear plan of action to ensure a resolution.

Responsibilities

The owner/practitioner has sole responsibility to evaluate each complaint individually and to monitor a trend should one develop.

Enforcement / Compliance

NMC Code of Conduct (2015).

Duty Of Candour

Version Date: January 1st 2020

Purpose of Policy

The purpose of this policy is to ensure open, honest and transparent actioning when there is an unexpected or unintended incident resulting in death or harm as defined by the Health (tobacco, Nicotine etc and Care) (Scotland) Act 2016 and The Duty of Candour Procedure (Scotland) Regulations 2018. The new Act requires organisations to follow a formalised procedure when an incident has been identified.

Policy Statement and Aims

As a provider of an independent health care service Ardcroft Medical Clinic is responsible for implementing a Duty of Candour Policy which must be actioned if a procedure is carried out and an injury occurs which, if left untreated, would lead to one or more of the following:

Death of a person
Shortening of life expectancy.
An increase in the patients treatment plan.
A permanent impairment of the sensory, motor or intellectual functions of the patient which has lasted, or is likely to last, for a continuous period of at least 28 days.
changes to the structure of the patients body.
The patient experiences prolonged pain or prolonged psychological harm which is likely to last for a continous period of at least 28 days.

The process

The Duty of Candour Policy must then be applied in key stages:

Immediately Notify the person affected (or family/relative where appropriate).
Provide an apology
Carry out a review into the circumstances and interview people responsible/affected.
Offer a face to face meeting with the person (or family/relative) affected as appropriate.
Are open, honest and transparent with all medical interventions, treatments, risks and aftercare.
Offer timely information when treatments go wrong.
Offer more senior intervention in a medical emergency.
Offer support and on-going aftercare if required.
Provide support to staff notifying the person affected.

Monitoring and Reporting

As an organisation a Significant Event Analysis (SEA) will be carried out to minimise risk of clinical practice events.
Healthcare Improvement Scotland will be updated when events occur.
An annual Duty of Candour report will be published detailing the adverse event.

Duty Of Candour Report 2024 - Report can be viewed through the link below:

Duty Of Candour Report 2024