When you register with the “Practice” Ark Vet Centre Ltd, request treatment for your animal, contact the practice by email, telephone or in writing we will collect and process personal information (“Personal Information”) about you.

We understand the importance of looking after the Personal Information that you provide and this notice (“Privacy Notice”) sets out what Personal Information we collect, why we need to collect it, how we will use it and how long we will store it for.

How we will use your personal information

We will process your Personal Information insofar as it is necessary for the performance of our contract with you to provide veterinary services. This will involve using your Personal Information to provide you with our products and services and to send you information related to the services we provide to you including appointment and vaccination reminders (“Service Communications”). You can choose how you would like to receive these communications by post, email or SMS. Please talk to one of our members of staff if you would like to change how you receive Service Communications.

What personal information do we collect and why

Name – So that we can identify you and personalise our communications with You.

Address – So that we can identify you, register your animal with our practice send reminders, correspondence and information about our services directly to you and to send information about local animal health issues.

Email address – So that we can contact you about your Animal, send reminders about your appointments, vaccinations, flea or worming treatments and or correspondence about our service and animal health issues.

Mobile number – So that we can contact you about your Animal, send reminders about your appointments, vaccinations, flea or worming treatments and or correspondence about our service and animal health issues.

Telephone number – So that we can contact you about your Animal.

Location information (such as postcode) – So that we can inform you about any animal health concerns we are aware of in your area.

Insurance policy number – So that we can communicate with your animal insurance provider if applicable.

Please remember to let Practice staff know if any of the above information changes as soon as possible so that we have up to date records. Our staff will ask you to confirm your records are up to date on a regular basis.

Marketing

In addition to our contractual services, we would like to process your Personal Information with your consent to send you information about other products and services available from the Practice. You will be asked for your consent when you register with the Practice and we will refresh your consent on a regular basis. You can change your mind at any time and unsubscribe or subscribe by talking to staff in our practice of by following the links on any marketing emails you receive.

Data retention

We will keep your Personal Information for as long as you are a client of our Practice and thereafter for as long as any legal claim may be made against the Practice, and for as long as is required to comply with our legal and regulatory requirements including to the HMRC and RCVS.

Sharing your information

We are required to share your Personal Information in certain circumstances to ensure that we are able to provide you with services, obtain payment or correspond with your insurance provider. In each case we will only share the data necessary for the purpose and it will only be in relation to the specified purpose. Each third party is required to have in place comparable data security measures and to be fully compliant with the terms of the General Data Protection Regulations.

Who do we share information with and why

Referral practices

When we refer an animal to a referral hospital or specialist, we need to share relevant information to arrange appointments, test, treatments and services.

Laboratories and Animal Crematorium

So that we can arrange tests, treatments and services and obtain results on your behalf.

Debt collection agencies

If you fall behind with payments for the services we provide, we may engage a debt collection agency to recover the debt on our behalf.

Email providers, printers and mailing houses

So that we can send you reminders, administrative information relating to the way we provide services to you, information about animal health issues relevant to you and marketing communications if you have consented to receiving them.

Law enforcement agencies

If we receive a request in writing from a law enforcement agency, we may be required to provide your personal information.

Moving practice

If you decide to move to a new practice we will provide a copy of your animals’ records to the new practice when requested. If you do not want your records transferred, please speak to a member of the Practice staff.

Save as set out above, we will not sell, lease or transfer your personal information to any other person or company without your prior consent.

Keeping your data secure

We recognise the importance of keeping your personal data safe and we have in place security measures and policies to prevent personal data from being lost, used or accessed without our permission. We limit access to your Personal Information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive.

We use the following cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies.These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website, use a shopping cart or make use of e-billing services.
• Analytical/performance cookies.They allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
• Functionality cookies.These are used to recognise you when you return to our website. This enables us to personalise our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region).
• Targeting cookies.These cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our website and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests. We may also share this information with third parties for this purpose.

To enable us to monitor the usage of our website and the success of our marketing, we use Google Analytics,which uses a variety of cookies.  These are used to track visitors and collect information about how visitors use our site. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the site. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited.

If you would like to see a full up-to-date list of all cookies used by our website, you can use the following cookie-checking website https://sitebeam.net/cookielaw/test-your-compliance/ (other cookie-checking websites are available).

Please note that third parties (including, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like web traffic analysis services) may also use cookies, over which we have no control. These cookies are likely to be analytical/performance cookies or targeting cookies.

You block cookies by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of our site.

Contact

Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to enquiries@arkvetcentre.co.uk

Ark Vet Centre Ltd is a company registered in Scotland.  Registered No SC434858.  Registered Address – Dumfries Enterprise Park, Tinwald Downs Road, Dumfries, DG1 3SJ