I am committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal and medical information is handled confidentially and securely.

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This policy explains how your information is collected, used, stored and protected in connection with my medical herbalism practice and website.

 

Information Collected

I collect personal information necessary to provide consultations and herbal treatment, including your name, date of birth, address, telephone number and email address.

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I also collect relevant medical information, including your health history, symptoms, diagnoses, medications, allergies, investigations, prior surgeries, consultation notes and herbal prescriptions.

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Appointment and payment records are also maintained.

 

How Your Information Is Used

Your information is collected and used for purposes connected with providing herbal healthcare, including arranging appointments, assessing your health, maintaining clinical records, preparing herbal prescriptions and processing payments.

 

Personal information is processed where necessary to fulfil our agreement for consultations and treatment (contractual basis) and to meet applicable legal obligations.

 

Health and medical information is processed with your explicit consent, which is obtained before your initial consultation.

 

You may withdraw your consent at any time. This will not affect information already processed lawfully. Certain clinical records may need to be retained to meet legal or professional obligations.

 

I do not sell or use your personal or medical information for marketing purposes.

 

Confidentiality

All personal and medical information is treated confidentially.

 

With your consent, I may communicate with your GP, consultant or another healthcare professional involved in your care where clinically appropriate.

 

Confidential information may be disclosed without consent where necessary to prevent serious harm to you or another person, or where disclosure is required by law. Only information necessary for the purpose will be shared with appropriate professionals or authorities.

 

Storage and Security

Patient records are stored in a separate, protected cloud account with appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorised access, loss or disclosure.

 

Payments are processed securely through Wix Payments. I do not store patients’ full payment-card details.

 

Personal information may be processed by service providers necessary for the operation of my practice, subject to appropriate data protection safeguards.

 

Wix Bookings is used to arrange appointments and send booking communications. Google Meet is used for online video consultations. Appointment details and information needed to create and join the video meeting are processed by these providers. Please do not enter medical history in the website booking form; clinical information is collected separately.

 

Retention of Records

Adult patient records are retained for seven years following the last consultation.

 

Records relating to children and young people are retained until their 25th birthday.

 

Records are securely deleted or destroyed when the applicable retention period has expired, unless there is a legal or professional reason to retain them for longer.

 

Your Rights

Under UK data protection legislation, you have the right to:

 

Request access to your personal information.

 

Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.

 

Request deletion of your information in certain circumstances.

 

Request restrictions on how your information is used.

 

Object to certain uses of your information.

 

Request transfer of your information where applicable.

 

Withdraw consent to the processing of your health information.

 

Some rights are subject to legal and professional obligations, particularly concerning the retention of clinical records.

 

Requests will normally be answered within one month.

 

If you are dissatisfied with how your information has been handled, you may raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

 

Website Privacy and Cookies

This website is hosted by Wix. Limited technical information may be collected to support website operation and security.

 

Where cookies or similar technologies are used, they will be managed in accordance with applicable UK data protection requirements.

 

Contact

For questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your data protection rights, please contact:

 

Fiona Heathcote

 

Medical Herbalist

 

fiona@heathcoteherbalist.co.uk

 

Last updated: October 2026