Privacy policy

Thomas Small Animal Practice Limited
Longridge Vets
Privacy Notice

Definitions
‘client’ ‘you’ your’ An individual who seeks advice, care, or products from us for their pet.
‘practice’ ‘us’ ‘we’ Thomas Small Animal Practice Ltd, T/A Longridge Vets
Basic Information
1. Jill Thomas is the appointed Information Controller (IC) for Thomas Small Animal
Practice Ltd who trade as Longridge Vets.
2. Jill Thomas can be contacted in writing at Longridge Vets, 54 Preston Road, Longridge,
PR3 3AY.
3. The IC will also act as the Data Protection Officer.

Processing of your Data
4. We will never purposefully unlawfully process your data.
5. As a Company we are committed to ensuring that all data you share with us is held in
strictest confidence. We will regularly review our GDPR Policy and Privacy Notices to
ensure compliance.
6. We will not process your data for marketing purposes without your consent.
7. With your consent, we may send you an email or text message with details of specific
offers at our practice that we feel may be relevant for you.
8. We will process your data on a ‘legitimate basis’ for preventative health measures for
your pet. We do this electronically. This process is conducted by our IT software
Company within the EU under a data processing agreement and following GDPR.
For example, when purchasing a prescription only flea, wormer or when having a
vaccine for your pet, our computer system logs a reminder for the appropriate length of
time for the next booster or prescription. Our computer system will automatically send
you a reminder text or email when the next tablet, spot on or vaccine is due.
We do this to help keep your pet healthy. Failure to maintain appropriate timescales
between vaccines or other preventative medicines can put your pet at risk of health
problems.
Please tell the practice if you do not want to be reminded in this way.
9. We will process your data on a ‘legitimate basis’ to remind you of a booked appointment.
This process is conducted by our IT software Company within the EU under a data
processing agreement and following GDPR. We do this to reduce the number of missed
appointments.
Please tell the practice if you do not wish to be reminded in this way.
10. We will contact you via text message, email and letter if you fail to pay an invoice by the
indicated date.
11. We will transfer your data to a third party on a ‘legitimate basis’ with your consent. We
would do this for the following reasons:

11.a In order to provide safe and effective care for your pet, and to comply with the
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Code of Conduct:
• To transfer your pet’s details to another vet practice at your request.
• To refer your pet for a second opinion at a specialist referral hospital/practice
or other agreed professional.
• To send a sample of your pet’s blood, urine, faeces, tissue, bone or other to an
external lab.
11.b. For referrals and transfers to another practice or veterinary professional, this will
include name, address, contact details, email address and full clinical history which may
involve comments made by yourself regarding your pet’s condition/s.
11.c. In order to receive payment for veterinary care provided: For example
• To assist in making an insurance claim from your pet insurance Policy, with
your consent.
• To receive money owed via a debt collector, that has not been paid to us
following written requests and a final reminder.
• To request payment from a charity with whom you have an agreement.
12. We rarely contact you via email or text purely for the purposes of marketing. However,
should we wish to do so we require your consent. Please contact the practice should you
wish to receive marketing emails and texts.
13. We will transfer and store your data for HMRC purposes. This may be done via our
Chartered Accountants whom also work strictly under GDPR and have a current Privacy
Notice. This data will include a name, address and pet name, money spent, and received
and any outstanding amount. This is a legal obligation.
14. We will share your data with a third party if you have asked us to, for example to send a
hip or elbow score to the British Veterinary Association.
15. We will share your data with a Public body as a ‘Public Task’, for example if we diagnose
a ‘notifiable disease’ or if you are applying for a Pet Passport.

16. Our website is developed and managed by an external Company. They collect non-
identifiable data and cookies. This means that your personal data is not being

transferred.
Types of Data that we Process
17. On registering at the Practice, we will request the following data from you:
• Name
• Title
• Address
• Contact telephone numbers – home and/or mobile
• Email address
• Pet’s name and details
• Pet insurance Policy details held in your name
18. Over a period time, when seeking advice, care or products from the Practice the data
held in your name may also include:
• Appointments; booked, held, missed
• Financial details; money spent, outstanding balance, debt with the Practice
• Pet’s clinical notes; these may include comments made/actions taken by
yourself, and notes from telephone conversations or interactions with
employees and professionals regarding your pet.

• Pet Insurance Details; correspondence received from pet insurers regarding a
pet will be recorded and held. This may include claims approved or rejected,
excess on Policy.
• Receipts from payments
• Last 4 digits of credit/debit card used to pay with
19. We store your data for legitimate reasons including:
• To ensure safe and effective veterinary care for your pet,
• To comply with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons,
• For insurance and liability purposes,
• To maintain an accurate record of the client’s pet’s care,
• To be able to contact the client with updates about their pet’s care,
• To be able to contact clients regarding outstanding balance,
• To assist in chasing debt,
20. We store your data for Legal obligations:
• To comply with Veterinary Medicines Directorate laws
• To meet HMRC requirements
21. We store your data for Public Tasks
• To comply or report to DEFRA
• To administrate pet passports
22. Data may be stored electronically or be paper based. This is decided upon the type of
data, frequency of access, type of access required.
23. Most data is received from you. The exceptions to this are a transfer of clinical notes
from another vet practice, a report received from a specialist referral practice, your
details received from a third party such as an animal charity, kennels or cattery. Before
processing this data, we will confirm that your personal details are correct. Once
confirmed processing will occur as for all data.
24. We do not transfer your data out of the EU.
CCTV
25. We have CCTV cameras installed around the practice, and are clearly signed. These are
purely for the purpose of crime prevention and safety. The images will not be disclosed
to any third party unless requested by authorities with a legal basis. Images are stored
on our hard drive for one week before automatic deletion.

Retention of Data
26. We retain your data for a minimum time of that required by the Royal College of
Veterinary surgeons, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, and HMRC.
27. We retain your data in order to provide safe and effective veterinary care.
Your Rights
28. You are entitled to ask for a copy of the data that we hold for you.
29. You are entitled to withdraw consent at anytime.
30. You can do either in point 28 or 29 by writing to:
Jill Thomas
Information Controller
Longridge Vets
54 Preston Road

Longridge
PR3 3AY
We will reply within one month. We may charge a reasonable administration fee for
repetitive requests.
31. Should you wish to complain about the way in which we process your data, you can do
so by contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Automated Decisions
32. Due to the type of business we will never use an automated process to make a decision.