Privacy Policy

This privacy policy sets out how HALE uses and protects any information that you give HALE when you use its services.
HALE is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement. HALE may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes.

What we collect

We may collect the following information (only if you sign up as a registered user or when filling out a form on our site):
• contact information including email address
• demographic information such as postcode, preferences and interests
• other information relevant to customer surveys and/or offers

What kind of information we use

We use three types of information/data:
Anonymised data, which is data about you but from which you cannot be personally identified. Anonymised data is any personal data which has been processed so that all identifiers (such as name or NHS number) are removed minimising the likelihood that the data will identify individuals.
Pseudonymised data is any personal data which has been processed so that all identifiers such as name, address, date of birth and NHS number is removed and replaced with a code which makes it anonymous to HALE, but would allow others such as those responsible for providing care to identify an individual.
Personal data, is data which relates to a living individual who:
• can be identified either from that data; or
• from that data in conjunction with other information that is in, could be in the possession of the data controller (for the purposes of this Fair Processing Notice, this would be HALE)

What we do with the information we gather

Your privacy is very important to us. HALE will NEVER give out or sell the information we have to a 3rd party. We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:
• Internal record keeping
• We may use the information to improve our products and services.
• We may periodically send promotional emails about new products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided (you may unsubscribe at any time).
• From time to time, we may use your information to contact you for market research purposes. We may contact you by email, phone or mail. We may use the information to customise the website according to your interests.
Withdraw your consent to information being processed about you
You are able at any time to withdraw any previous consent you gave to permit HALE to process information about you.
If you wish for HALE to stop processing information about you or require any information as to how information is used then please contact us, marking your message for the attention of IG Lead, who is responsible for protecting the confidentiality of service-user information and enabling appropriate information-sharing.

Controlling your personal information

We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required to do so by law. You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998. If you would like a copy of the information held on you please write to us. If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write or email us as soon as possible at our advertised address. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.

Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

Cookies

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.
We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about webpage traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.
Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.
You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over external websites. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

National Data Opt-Out

The National Data opt-out does not apply where explicit consent has been obtained from the patient for the specific purpose. In addition the National Data opt-out does not apply to organisations that do not generate health and adult social care data but do have data lawfully disclosed to them for individual care purposes only (for example charities which provide day care services for patients.

(Source: NHS Digital Operational Policy Guidance Document 4.1.2 and 6.1)

Last updated March 2022