Privacy policy

Who we are

Rachel C Medical Aesthetics & Skin is a private medical aesthetics and skin clinic based in Blyth, Northumberland. We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy, which means we decide how and why it is used.

If you have a question about your information, please use the contact details on the contact page of this site.

Information we collect

• Details you send through the enquiry form: your name, email address, telephone number, treatment of interest and your message.
• Appointment details when you book, whether through the online booking system or by message: the date, time, treatment and any notes you add.
• Clinical information needed to treat you safely: medical history, medication, allergies, previous aesthetic treatments, and photographs where you have agreed to them.
• Basic technical information when you visit the site, such as the pages viewed and how you arrived at the site.

Why we use your information

• To reply to your enquiry and arrange your appointment (this is part of taking steps towards a contract with you).
• To assess whether a treatment is suitable, to keep clinical records and to provide safe aftercare (this is health information, held under our duty of care and with your explicit consent).
• To manage bookings, payments and the clinic diary (our legitimate interest in running the clinic).
• To improve the website and understand which information is useful to visitors (our legitimate interest in communicating clearly).

Health information

Information about your health is special category data under UK data protection law. We only collect what is clinically necessary, we hold it securely and confidentially, and we only share it with your consent or where the law requires us to.

Who we share it with

We never sell your personal information, and we do not pass it to advertisers.

• Our online booking provider, where appointments are made through the online diary.
• The secure hosting, email and IT providers that keep the website and clinic records running, acting under contract on our behalf.
• Your GP or another healthcare professional, only with your consent or in an emergency.
• A regulator, insurer or the police, only where the law requires it.

How long we keep it

• Enquiry messages are kept for up to 24 months after your last contact with the clinic, so we can pick up a conversation where it left off.
• Clinical records, including treatment notes and any photographs you have agreed to, are kept for eight years after your last treatment.
• Basic website information is kept by our hosting providers for the short periods covered in the cookie policy.

Your rights

We respond to requests within one month. If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first, and you also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.

• Ask for a copy of the information we hold about you, usually free of charge.
• Ask us to correct anything that is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Ask us to delete information we no longer need to hold.
• Ask us to restrict or object to certain uses of your information.
• Withdraw consent you have previously given, such as consent to use treatment photographs.

Cookies and other sites

The website uses a small number of cookies, which are explained in the cookie policy. Where we link to another service, such as the online booking system or social media, that service has its own privacy policy.

Changes to this policy

We review this policy from time to time. Any material change will be published on this page, with the date it was last updated shown above.