Privacy Notice

One of your rights is a right to be informed, which means we must give information about the way in which we use, share, and store your personal information.

How we use your information

This privacy notice tells you what to expect when ERCA Limited collects personal information.

Visitors to our websites

When someone visits www.erca.org.uk, ERCA collects standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way which does not identify anyone. We do not make, and do not allow Google to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our website.

People who contact us via social media

If you send us a private or direct message via social media the message will be stored for three months. It will not be shared with any other organisations.

People who email us

We will also monitor any emails sent to us, including file attachments, for viruses or malicious software. Please be aware that you have a responsibility to ensure that any email you send is within the bounds of the law. All emails are deleted after 12 months.

People who make a complaint to us

When we receive a complaint from a person, we make up a file containing the details of the complaint. This normally contains the identity of the complainant and any other individuals involved in the complaint.

We will only use the personal information we collect to process the complaint and to check on the level of service we provide. We do compile and publish statistics showing information like the number of complaints we receive, but not in a form which identifies anyone.

We usually must disclose the complainant’s identity to whoever the complaint is about. This is inevitable where, for example, the accuracy of a person’s details and information are in dispute. If a complainant doesn’t want information identifying him or her to be disclosed, we will try to respect that. However, it may not be possible to handle a complaint on an anonymous basis.

Information relating to a complaint will be retained for two years from closure. It will be retained in a secure environment and access to it will be restricted according to the ‘need to know’ principle. Similarly, where enquiries are submitted to us, we will only use the information supplied to us to deal with the enquiry and any subsequent issues and to check on the level of service we provide.

Your rights

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you have rights as an individual which you can exercise in

relation to the information, we hold about you. You can read more about these rights here – https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/ ERCA to be as open as it can be in terms of giving people access to their personal information. Individuals can find out if we hold any personal information by making a ‘subject access request’ (SAR), under the Data Protection Act 1998. If we do hold information about you, we will:

➢ respond to your initial request without delay and within one month of receipt of the request.

➢ give you a description of the information we hold.

➢ tell you why we are holding it.

➢ tell you who it could be disclosed to.

➢ let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.

➢ information will be disclosed securely.

To make a request to ERCA for any personal information we may hold you need to put the request in writing addressing it to the Chair of the Association. If you agree, we will try to deal with your request informally, for example by providing you with the specific information you need over the telephone.

Disclosure of personal information

In many circumstances we will not disclose personal data without consent. However, when we investigate a complaint, for example, we will need to share personal information with the organisation concerned and with other relevant bodies.

Opt-out.

At this time, we do not share any data for planning or research purposes for which national data opt-out would apply. We review all the confidential patient information we receive and process on an annual basis to assess if this is used for research and planning purposes. If it is, then individuals can decide to stop their information being shared for this purpose.

You can find more information at https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/.