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Somerset Ear Microsuction  Complaint Procedure & Privacy Policy    


COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE


Somerset Ear Microsuction – Complaints Procedure


Somerset Ear Microsuction are committed to providing its patients and visitors with treatment and service to the highest standards. We like to know how well we provide our services and it is for this reason we encourage you to complete a Trustpilot online review via our website (www.somersetearmicrosuction.co.uk) or Google Reviews, there is also the ability to leave Feedback via the CQC widget on the website. This allows both positive and negative feedback. The responses are monitored monthly and are used to improve our services.


However if for any reason you are unhappy you have the right to make a complaint about any aspect of your care, treatment or the service you received.


Who can complain? 


A complaint can be made by a patient or person affected by the actions or decisions of a Somerset Ear Microsuction Practitioner. A complaint can also be made by someone acting on behalf of the patient or person, with their consent.


What is the time limit for making a complaint?


You should normally complain within 4 weeks of the event(s) concerned or within 4 weeks of becoming aware that you have something to complain about, providing that it is within 12 months of the event. Somerset Ear Microsuction have discretion to waive this time limit if there are good reasons why you did not complain earlier.


Who should I complain to?


In the first instance, you can raise your concerns by speaking to a member of staff at the time or after the consultation. The member of staff may be able to resolve your concerns without the need to make a more formal complaint. Alternatively, in some cases, you may feel more comfortable speaking to someone not directly involved in your care.


We aim to resolve complaints quickly and as close to the source of the complaint as possible using the most appropriate means; for example, use of conciliation.


If you do wish to continue with a formal complaint you can do this by writing a letter or email addressed to:


Mr Steven Mahoney
Partner/practitioner
Somerset Ear Microsuction
The Meadows Surgery,

Canal Way,
Ilminster,
Somerset 

TA16 5NL

Email: steve@somersetearmicrosuction.co.uk


Your correspondence will be acknowledged within 3 working days of receipt and then investigated further. You should receive a full response or offer of a meeting with the people involved within 21 working days. You should also be informed if the investigations are going to take longer.


When looking into your complaint, we will aim to: 

·      Find out what happened and what went wrong

·      Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned

·      Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate

·      Identify what we can do to make sure the problem doesn’t happen again



PRIVACY POLICY

Introduction

This Privacy Policy outlines Somerset Ear Microsuction (" we ", " our " or " the Company ") practices with respect to information collected from users who access our website at https://www.somersetearmicrosuction.co.uk (" Site "), or otherwise share personal information with us (collectively: " Users "). 

Grounds for data collection 

Processing of your personal information (meaning, any information which may potentially allow your identification with reasonable means; hereinafter " Personal Information ") is necessary for the performance of our contractual obligations towards you and providing you with our services, to protect our legitimate interests and for compliance with legal and financial regulatory obligations to which we are subject.

When you use the Site, you consent to the collection, storage, use, disclosure and other uses of your Personal Information as described in this Privacy Policy.

We encourage our Users to carefully read the Privacy Policy and use it to make informed decisions. 

What information we collect?

We collect two types of data and information from Users. 

The first type of information is un-identified and non-identifiable information pertaining to a User(s), which may be made available or gathered via your use of the Site (“ Non-personal Information ”). We are not aware of the identity of a User from which the Non-personal Information was collected. Non-personal Information which is being collected may include your aggregated usage information and technical information transmitted by your device, including certain software and hardware information (e.g. the type of browser and operating system your device uses, language preference, access time, etc.) in order to enhance the functionality of our Site. We may also collect information on your activity on the Site (e.g. pages viewed, online browsing, clicks, actions, etc.).

The second type of information Personal Information which is individually identifiable information, namely information that identifies an individual or may with reasonable effort identify an individual. Such information includes:
  • Device Information: We collect Personal Information from your device. Such information includes geolocation data, IP address, unique identifiers (e.g. MAC address and UUID) and other information which relates to your activity through the Site
  • Registration information: When you register to our Site you will be asked to provide us certain details such as: full name; e-mail or physical address, and other information.  

How do we receive information about you?

We receive your Personal Information from various sources:

 

  • When you voluntarily provide us your personal details in order to register on our Site;



  • When you use or access our Site in connection with your use of our services;


 

What information we collect?

We do not rent, sell, or share Users’ information with third parties except as described in this Privacy Policy.


We may use the information for the following:

 

  • Keeping a personal clinical record of each appointment and procedure.


  • Communicating with you – sending you notices regarding our services, providing you with technical information and responding to any customer service issue you may have;


  • To communicate with you requesting feedback


  • Conducting statistical and analytical purposes, intended to improve the Site


  • In addition to the different uses listed above, we may transfer or disclose Personal Information (with your permission) to your General Practiioner in case of abnormalities found during the procedure needing further medical review.

 


In addition to the purposes listed in this Privacy Policy, we may share Personal Information with our trusted third party providers, who may be located in different jurisdictions across the world, for any of the following purposes: 

 

  • Hosting and operating our Site;


  • Providing you with our services, including providing a personalized display of our Site;


  • Storing and processing such information on our behalf; 



  • Performing research, technical diagnostics or analytics;

 

 We may also disclose information if we have good faith to believe that disclosure of such information is helpful or reasonably necessary to: (i) comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request; (ii) enforce our policies (including our Agreement), including investigations of potential violations thereof; (iii) investigate, detect, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities or other wrongdoing, suspected fraud or security issues; (iv) to establish or exercise our rights to defend against legal claims; (v) prevent harm to the rights, property or safety of us, our users, yourself or any third party; or (vi) for the purpose of collaborating with law enforcement agencies and/or in case we find it necessary in order to enforce intellectual property or other legal rights.

User Rights

You may request to: 
  1. Receive confirmation as to whether or not personal information concerning you is being processed, and access your stored personal information, together with supplementary information. 
  2. Receive a copy of personal information you directly volunteer to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. 
  3. Request rectification of your personal information that is in our control.
  4. Request erasure of your personal information. 
  5. Object to the processing of personal information by us. 
  6. Request to restrict processing of your personal information by us.
  7. Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

However, please note that these rights are not absolute, and may be subject to our own legitimate interests and regulatory requirements. 

If you wish to exercise any of the aforementioned rights, or receive more information, please contact steve@somersetearmicrosuction.co.uk .

Retention

We will retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services, and as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our policies. Retention periods will be determined taking into account the type of information that is collected and the purpose for which it is collected, bearing in mind the requirements applicable to the situation and the need to destroy outdated, unused information at the earliest reasonable time. Under applicable regulations, we will keep records containing client personal data, account opening documents, communications and anything else as required by applicable laws and regulations. 

We may rectify, replenish or remove incomplete or inaccurate information, at any time and at our own discretion.

Cookies

We and our trusted partners use cookies and other technologies in our related services, including when you visit our Site or access our services. 

A "cookie" is a small piece of information that a website assign to your device while you are viewing a website. Cookies are very helpful and can be used for various different purposes. These purposes include allowing you to navigate between pages efficiently, enable automatic activation of certain features, remembering your preferences and making the interaction between you and our Services quicker and easier. Cookies are also used to help ensure that the advertisements you see are relevant to you and your interests and to compile statistical data on your use of our Services. 

The Site uses the following types of cookies:

a. 'session cookies' which are stored only temporarily during a browsing session in order to allow normal use of the system and are deleted from your device when the browser is closed; 

b. 'persistent cookies ' which are read only by the Site, saved on your computer for a fixed period and are not deleted when the browser is closed. Such cookies are used where we need to know who you are for repeat visits, for example to allow us to store your preferences for the next sign-in; 

c. 'third party cookies' which are set by other online services who run content on the page you are viewing, for example by third party analytics companies who monitor and analyze our web access.

Cookies do not contain any information that personally identifies you, but Personal Information that we store about you may be linked, by us, to the information stored in and obtained from cookies. You may remove the cookies by following the instructions of your device preferences; however, if you choose to disable cookies, some features of our Site may not operate properly and your online experience may be limited.

We also use a tool called “Google Analytics” to collect information about your use of the Site. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users access the Site, what pages they visit when they do so, etc. We use the information we get from Google Analytics only to improve our Site and services. Google Analytics collects the IP address assigned to you on the date you visit sites, rather than your name or other identifying information. We do not combine the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with personally identifiable information. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to this Site is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use and the Google Privacy Policy.

Third party collection of information

Our policy only addresses the use and disclosure of information we collect from you. To the extent you disclose your information to other parties or sites throughout the internet, different rules may apply to their use or disclosure of the information you disclose to them. Accordingly, we encourage you to read the terms and conditions and privacy policy of each third party that you choose to disclose information to. 

This Privacy Policy does not apply to the practices of companies that we do not own or control, or to individuals whom we do not employ or manage, including any of the third parties which we may disclose information as set forth in this Privacy Policy. 

How do we safeguard your information?

We take great care in implementing and maintaining the security of the Site and your information. We employ industry standard procedures and policies to ensure the safety of the information we collect and retain, and prevent unauthorized use of any such information, and we require any third party to comply with similar security requirements, in accordance with this Privacy Policy . Although we take reasonable steps to safeguard information, we cannot be responsible for the acts of those who gain unauthorized access or abuse our Site, and we make no warranty, express, implied or otherwise, that we will prevent such access.

Transfer of data outside the EEA 

Please note that some data recipients may be located outside the EEA. In such cases we will transfer your data only to such countries as approved by the European Commission as providing adequate level of data protection, or enter into legal agreements ensuring an adequate level of data protection.

Advertisements

We do not use a third-party advertising technology to serve advertisements when you access the Site. 

Marketing

We do not provide you with marketing/promotional materials, concerning our services. 


Corporate transaction

We may share information in the event of a corporate transaction (e.g. sale of a substantial part of our business, merger, consolidation or asset sale). In the event of the above, the transferee or acquiring company will assume the rights and obligations as described in this Privacy Policy.

Minors

We understand the importance of protecting children’s privacy, especially in an online environment. The Site is not designed for or directed at children. Under no circumstances shall we allow use of our services by minors without prior consent or authorization by a parent or legal guardian. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from minors. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided us with Personal Information without their consent, he or she should contact us at steve@somersetearmicrosuction.co.uk .

Updates or amendments to this Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to periodically amend or revise the Privacy Policy; material changes will be effective immediately upon the display of the revised Privacy policy. The last revision will be reflected in the "Last modified" section. Your continued use of the Platform, following the notification of such amendments on our website, constitutes your acknowledgment and consent of such amendments to the Privacy Policy and your agreement to be bound by the terms of such amendments.

How to contact us

If you have any general questions about the Site or the information we collect about you and how we use it, you can contact us at steve@somersetearmicrosuction.co.uk.


Somerset Ear Microsuction

The Meadows Surgery

Canal Way,

Ilminster,

Somerset

TA19 9FE


Last Modified  24/09/2024