At The Village Optician we are committed to the highest privacy standards. However you choose to interact with us, we will only collect data that is necessary for us to deliver the best possible service and ensure you are reminded about appointments or anything else relevant to your ongoing care.
This policy provides detailed information on when and why we collect your personal information, how we use it and the very limited conditions under which we may disclose it to others.
We collect and process patients’ personal data for the purposes of healthcare and marketing.
Our legal bases for processing personal data for healthcare purposes, including appointment reminders, include public task or legitimate interests.
Our condition for processing special category data is the provision of health or social care.
We process our patients' personal data for marketing purposes with their consent or to meet a legitimate interest. This means we can tell you about eye care products and services that may be relevant to you. If you do not want us to process your personal data for marketing purposes, please let us know and we will stop.
The personal data of patients that we may collect and process includes:
The information we collect about you is used to ensure we provide you with the best and most appropriate products and services. In addition to your ongoing eye care, we will remind you when appointments are due and suggest relevant products or services that we believe would be of interest. We use your contact information to respond to queries from you, and where appropriate your bank details to collect Direct Debit payments as agreed. We may occasionally contact you to ask for your feedback on services we have provided and to offer the opportunity to trial new products.
We process your personal data in strict confidence. Patient records are only accessible to the healthcare professionals working at the practice and those under their supervision.
We will usually keep any personal data we hold about you for ten years after our last contact with you before we delete it. This is the period recommended as good practice by the College of Optometrists. If we collected the data when you were aged under 18 we will keep it until your 25th birthday, in line with NHS requirements. In exceptional cases we may need to retain personal data for a longer period, and will explain our reasons for doing so on request.
To provision and manage our services, your data is stored and processed by Optix Software Ltd within their UK facilities that are certified to ISO27001. If we collect Direct Debits from you these payments will be processed by Eyecare Payments Ltd.
How and when we may share your Personal Information
In the course of processing your personal data we may share it with:
You have legal rights in respect of the personal data we hold about you. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published guidance on the full range of rights. The rights that are most relevant to the way in which we use your personal data include:
You may ask that we do not send you communications using any of the contact details we hold on our records, this may include your email, SMS, telephone and postal information. You may also request we restrict our communications to clinically necessary messages. Your personal preferences can be changed at any time by using the link at the end of every email and SMS message we send or by using our contact details below.
A cookie is a small text file containing information that a web site transfers to your computer's hard disk for record-keeping purposes. A cookie cannot give us access to your computer or to your personal information. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies; consult your browser's manual or online help if you want information on restricting or disabling the browser's handling of cookies. If you disable cookies, you can still view the information on our web site, but the functionality of certain areas may be reduced.
We reserve our right to make any changes and updates to this privacy policy without giving you notice as and when we need to. Our most up to date privacy policy is always available on our website.
Please speak to us first if you have any questions or concerns about the way in which we process personal data. You can reach The Village Optician by email at newtonaycliffe@thevillageoptician.com, telephone: 01325 319922, or by post at The Village Optician, 4 Cobblers Hall Centre, Burn Lane, Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham, DL5 4SE.
You have the right to complain to the ICO if you have a concern about our handling of your personal data which you do not think we can resolve. You can contact the ICO here.
Updated April 2020
CUSTOMER REVIEWS
Our number of 5 star reviews is always growing. Here is what some of our current clients have to say
We have used Village Optician for a few years now. Having tried the usual High St opticians previously, we find them very professional, friendly, nothing is too much trouble, and they take time to explain any issues. It is refreshing not to be rushed and feel pressured into buying new spectacles at every visit.
The Hudspeths
I visited the Village opticians recently and today collected my new glasses. From the first meeting with the staff to collecting my glasses what a fantastic experience everyone has been so friendly and helpful. I explained I had a problem getting a frame to fit correctly, they told me It wouldn’t be a problem they could sort it. This is the first time I have gone to collect glasses and have them fit first time also the lens they recommended are great. I saw the reviews on line before I visited this opticians and can say I agree with their comments. Your eyesight is precious and this opticians go the extra mile to make sure you receive the best treatment.
Mrs Margaret P
I have used The Village Optician for the first time and have been very impressed with the service I have received. I felt the eye test was very thorough and choosing new frames was easy as their range is extensive. Very professional and friendly service from start to finish. I highly recommend this opticians.
Angela M