Privacy Policy

How we use your data

A new data privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), came into effect on 25th May 2018. This means the requirements relating to the personal data I hold about you have changed.

I am committed to respecting your privacy. This notice is to explain how my colleagues and I may use personal information we collect about you before, during and after your treatment.

I collect your personal information to provide healthcare and ensure safe medical treatment.

I may disclose your information to third parties including:

  • A doctor, nurse, carer or any other healthcare professional involved in your treatment
  • Other members of support staff involved in the delivery of your care
  • Anyone that you ask me to communicate with or provide as an emergency contact, for example your next of kin or carer
  • NHS organisations, including NHS Resolution, NHS England, Department of Health
  • Other private sector healthcare providers for example, your GP, your dentist, private medical insurers and medical billing.

I may communicate with these third parties in a variety of ways including, but not limited to telephone, SMS, email, and/or post.

I may communicate with you in a range of ways, including by telephone, SMS, email, and/or post.

If I contact you using the telephone number(s) which you have provided (landline and/or mobile), and you are not available which results in the call being directed to a voicemail and/or answering service, I may leave a voice message including only sufficient basic details to enable you to identify who the call is from, very limited detail as to the reason for the call and how to call me back.

To ensure that I provide you with timely updates in relation to your healthcare (including basic administration, appointment reminders, other simple clinical information and responses to email enquiries sent to me) I may communicate with you by SMS and/or unencrypted email (where you have provided me with your SMS or email address and in each case where you have expressed a preference in the Privacy Notice consent form).

To convey copy clinic letters and/or test reports and /or sensitive information, I will communicate with you by secure email, which will be encrypted, using the Barracuda Email Encryption Service. If you opt out of receiving secure emails, copy letters will be sent by standard post.

I have implemented appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect your personal data. This includes:

  • Ensuring all desktop and laptop computers used by me and my colleagues to process your data are encrypted and protected by up to date antivirus software
  • Never downloading your data to a portable storage device
  • Securing paper notes in a locked filing cabinet
  • Transporting paper notes in a locked case

I will never sell your data and will not send you communications about unrelated services without your consent.

Find out more

My full Privacy Notice holds much more information about how I collect, use and share your personal information, information about the rights you have over your personal data and how to contact us if you have any concerns. If you require further information please write to:

Dr Richard Leech MBBS FRCA
Consultant Anaesthetist & Specialist in Long Term Vascular Access
KIMS Hospital
Newnham Court Way
Maidstone
Kent, ME14 5FT

More information on data protection and the GDPR rules can be found at the Information Commissioner’s Office website https://ico.org.uk