Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

General Foot Care Ltd (company number 15519078), trading as General Foot Care, is the data controller responsible for your personal information. We are registered in England and Wales and our principal place of practice is:

2. What Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the minimum personal and medical information necessary to provide safe, effective care. This includes:

Personal identification data

• Full name, date of birth, and contact details (phone, email, address)
• Emergency contact information
• GP name and practice details

Medical and clinical data

• Relevant medical history, current medications, and known allergies
• Presenting complaint and clinical assessment findings
• Treatment records, clinical notes, and outcome data
• Photographs of the treatment area (with your explicit consent)
• Results of diagnostic assessments including Doppler vascular studies

Technical data (website)

• IP address, browser type, and pages visited (via analytics tools)
• Cookie preferences and session data

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data to:

• Provide safe, clinically appropriate podiatric treatment and care
• Maintain accurate and complete clinical records as required by law and professional regulation (HCPC)
• Communicate appointment reminders, follow-up care, and relevant health information
• Process payments for services rendered
• Respond to enquiries, complaints, or feedback
• Comply with our legal obligations under the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) standards
• Improve our services and website through anonymised analytics data

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process your data under the following lawful bases as set out in UK GDPR:

• Contract: Processing is necessary to deliver the podiatric services you have booked
• Legal obligation: We are required to maintain clinical records by the HCPC and applicable healthcare law
• Vital interests / Preventive medicine: Processing of special category health data for direct healthcare purposes
• Consent: Where we rely on your consent (e.g. marketing communications, use of clinical images), you may withdraw this at any time
• Legitimate interests: Website analytics and improving the quality of our services, balanced against your rights

5. Sharing Your Data

We do not sell your personal data to any third party under any circumstances.

We may share your data only in the following limited circumstances:

• Healthcare referrals: With your GP or a specialist clinician when a referral is clinically necessary — we will inform you before doing so
• Legal requirement: Where required by law, court order, or regulatory authority
• Service providers: Trusted third-party platforms that process data on our behalf (e.g. appointment booking software, GDPR-compliant clinical record systems) under strict data processing agreements

All third-party processors are required to handle your data securely and in accordance with UK GDPR.

6. How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain clinical records in line with NHS and HCPC guidance:

• Adult patient records: Retained for a minimum of 8 years from the date of last treatment
• Children’s records: Retained until the patient’s 25th birthday (or 26th if treatment was received at age 17)
• Financial records: Retained for 6 years in accordance with HMRC requirements

After the applicable retention period, your data is securely and permanently deleted or anonymised.

7. Data Security

We take data security seriously. Your information is stored on GDPR-compliant platforms with appropriate technical and organisational safeguards including:

• Encrypted storage and transmission of clinical data
• Access controls — only authorised clinical staff can access patient records
• Regular security reviews and staff data protection training
• Secure physical records management where applicable

In the unlikely event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) within 72 hours and inform affected individuals without undue delay.

8. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you (Subject Access Request)
• Right to rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
• Right to erasure: Request deletion of your data where it is no longer necessary (subject to our legal retention obligations)
• Right to restrict processing: Ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances
• Right to data portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Right to object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time without affecting previous processing

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at podiatry@generalfootcare.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days. There is no charge for most requests.

9. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to improve your browsing experience and understand how visitors use the site. Cookies are small text files stored on your device.

• Essential cookies: Required for the website to function correctly (e.g. session management)
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors navigate our site (anonymised data only — we use Vercel Analytics)

You can manage or disable non-essential cookies through your browser settings at any time.

10. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, please contact us in the first instance. If you remain unsatisfied, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

• Website: ico.org.uk
• Phone: 0303 123 1113

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our practices, or the services we offer. The most current version will always be published on this page with the date of last update. Where changes are significant, we will notify you directly.