Avery Healthcare Privacy Notice

Avery Healthcare Group Ltd is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal data.

This privacy notice describes how Avery Healthcare Group Ltd (“Avery Healthcare”, “we, “us”, “our”) collects and uses your personal data when you are a resident at one of our care homes or you are a relative or friend of a resident, in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.

It applies to all Avery Healthcare care home residents including prospective, current and former residents, and family member, advocates, representatives  or friends who may liaise with us on behalf of those residents.

1. Important information and who we are

It is important that you read and retain this notice, together with any other privacy notice we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal data about you, so that you are aware of how and why we are using such information and what your rights are under the data protection legislation.

Controller

Avery Healthcare is the controller in respect of your personal data for the purposes of the data protection legislation. This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use your personal data. We are required under the data protection legislation to notify you of the information contained in this privacy notice.

We have appointed a data protection officer (“DPO”) who is responsible for overseeing questions in relation to this privacy notice. If you have any questions about this privacy notice, including any requests to exercise ‘Your legal rights’, please contact the DPO using the details set out below.

Contact details

If you have any questions about this privacy notice or our privacy practices, please contact our DPO in the following ways:

Full name of legal entity: Avery Healthcare Group Limited

Email address: privacy@averyhealthcare.co.uk

Postal address: Avery Group Support Centre, 3 Cygnet Drive, Swan Valley, Northampton, NN4 9BS

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”), the UK regulator for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, welcome the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.

Changes to the privacy notice and your duty to inform us of changes

We keep our privacy notice under regular review. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new privacy notice on this page. You are advised to review this privacy notice periodically for any changes. This version was last updated on 31 March 2023.

It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us by informing our staff of the required changes.

2. The data we collect about you

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data from which the identity of individuals has been removed (“anonymous data”).

There are special categories of personal data which are more sensitive and therefore require a higher level of protection, these include details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health, and genetic and biometric data (“special category data”). Personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences or related security measures (“criminal offence data”) is also subject to this higher level of protection.

We may collect, store, and use the following categories of personal data about you:

• Identification data – name, title, date and place of birth, gender, marital status, nationality, National Insurance number, copy of driving licence and passport and photographs.
• Contact details – addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses.
• Next of kin data– your next of kin (or nominated representative) and emergency contact information.
• Care home/service details – your care home, the date you moved in, details about the services you receive from us, your leaving date and your reason for leaving.
• Financial data – bank account details, details of assets (including bank statements and other financial documentation), DWP information and details of how you pay us for your care or your funding arrangement.
• Transaction information – details about payments to and from you and the services you pay us for.
• Feedback data – details relating to any feedback you give us or complaints you make to us.
• CCTV footage –in public areas only that are clearly signposted

We may also collect, store and use the following special category personal data:

• Health data – any information about your physical and mental health, including the provision of health care services to you, which reveals information about your health status. For example, your medical history, diagnosis, treatment (including DNR), examination data, test results, GP records, vaccination records, information you provide about your health when you make an enquiry or register for services and care and/or clinical treatment you receive.
• Sexual Orientation data is any information about your sexual orientation.
• Race and Ethnicity Data is any personal data revealing your race or ethnicity.
• Religious and Philosophical Belief Data is any information revealing your religious or philosophical beliefs.
• [Genetic data is any information about your inherited or acquired genetic characteristics which give unique information about your physiology or health, and which result from an analysis of a biological sample from you.]

Criminal offence data

In rare circumstances we may process personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences or related security measures.

Other

We may also collect, use and share aggregated data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. Aggregated data could be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data will not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. However, if we combine or connect aggregated data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy notice.

3. How is your personal data collected?

We use different methods to collect personal data from and about you including through:

• Direct interactions.You may give us your personal data by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email, in person or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you:
  • make an enquiry with us;
  • fill out residency forms, care plans, lifestyle documentation;
  • engage any of our services;
  • receive care from us;
  • subscribe to our publications;
  • request marketing materials to be sent to you;
  • enter a competition, promotion or survey;
  • make a complaint to us; or
  • give us feedback or contact us.

If you fail to provide personal data

Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you, and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with our services). In this case, we may have to cancel a service you have with us but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.

How we use your personal data

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

• Where we need to perform the contract we are about to enter into with you or have entered into with you.
• Where we need to comply with a legal obligation.
• Where it is necessary for legitimate interests pursued by us or a third party and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
• Where it is needed for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest e.g. where required to provide data to our regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

We may also use your personal data in the following situations, which are likely to be rare:

• Where we need to protect your vital interests (or someone else’s vital interests).

Special category data attracts a higher level of protection. We need to have further justification for collecting, storing and using this type of personal data.[We have in place an appropriate policy document and safeguards which we are required by law to maintain when processing such data.

We may process special category data in the following circumstances:

• Where it is necessary for the provision of health and social care or treatment and management of health and social care services.
• Where it is necessary to protect you or another person from harm.

Less commonly, we may process this type of information with your explicit consent, where it is needed in relation to legal claims, where it is needed to protect your vital interests (or someone else’s vital interests) and you are not capable of giving your consent, or where you have already made the information public.

Purposes for which we use your personal data

We have set out below in a table format, a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified what our legitimate interests are where appropriate.

Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful basis depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific lawful basis we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out in the table below.

Marketing and promotional offers from us

We may use your personal data to form a view on what we think you may want or need, or what may be of interest to you. This is how we decide which services and offers may be relevant for you (we call this marketing).

You will receive marketing communications from us if you have requested information from us or purchased services from us and you have not opted out of receiving that marketing.

Opting out
You can ask us to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by emailing unsubscribeme@averyhealthcare.co.uk

Where you opt out of receiving these marketing messages, this will not apply to personal data provided to us as a result of a service purchase, service experience or other transactions.

Resident Media Contributions

From time to time residents may be filmed/recorded/photographed/quoted (collectively called “media contributions”). We will use these media contributions in our legitimate interests to promote and publicise Avery Healthcare and its subsidiary companies.

Avery Healthcare will not use any resident media contributions in a way which would cause embarrassment or misrepresentation to its residents and will use media contributions for the sole purpose they were intended for.

Residents may at any time request that Avery Healthcare ceases using their media contributions for the purposes set out above by contacting unsubscribeme@averyhealthcare.co.uk. Please note that Avery Healthcare will do it’s upmost to facilitate any such requests, however media contributions may continue to appear in publications already in circulation.

Automatic decision making

We do not envisage that any decisions will be taken about you using automated means. However, we will notify you in writing if this position changes.

Change of purpose

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.

If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

5. Who might we share your personal data with?

For the purposes set out in the ‘How we use your personal data’ section above, we may share your personal data with the following third parties:

• Local authorities, NHS organisations, the Care Quality Commission and other statutory bodies;
• service providers who provide IT, system administration and website hosting services;
• analytics and search engine providers who assist us in the improvement and optimisation of our services and/or website;
• marketing service providers; and
• your health insurer (if applicable) if they are covering the cost of your care.

We may also share your personal data with third parties in the following circumstances:

• Professional advisers including lawyers, bankers, auditors and insurers who provide consultancy, banking, legal, insurance and accounting services.
• In the course of business, to other organisations and individuals as required in relation to your role and duties.
• Third parties to whom we may choose to sell, transfer or merge parts of our business or our assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. If a change happens to our business, then the new owners may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this privacy notice.
• When it is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
• HM Revenue & Customs, regulators, such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and other authorities who require reporting of processing activities in certain circumstances.
• If we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our terms of use and other agreements; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of our customers, our regulator, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and prevention of money laundering and credit risk reduction.

6. Transferring information outside the UK

We do not transfer your data outside the UK. If in future we do need to transfer your data outside the UK, we will only do so if adequate protection measures are in place in compliance with data protection legislation.

7. Data security

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

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

8. How long do we keep your personal data for?

We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, or reporting requirements.

For much of your personal data, this will be for the length of your contractual relationship with us and then for a period of 8 years thereafter.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of that personal data, the purposes for which we process the personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.

In some circumstances we may anonymise your personal data so that it can no longer be associated with you, for research and statistical purposes, in which case we may use such information without further notice to you.

9. Your legal rights

We aim to take reasonable steps to allow you to correct, amend, delete, or limit the use of your personal data without you having to exercise your legal rights. You can update your personal data yourself, for example, if you change your address, by informing the Home Manager of the required changes.

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data. You have the right to:

• Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a “subject access request”) – this enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.
• Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you – this enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.
• Request erasure of your personal data – this enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.
• Object to processing of your personal data – this applies where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) as the lawful basis for the processing of your personal data and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground as you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which overrides your rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes.
• Request restriction of processing of your personal data – this enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in the following scenarios:
  • If you want us to establish the data’s accuracy.
  • Where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it.
  • Where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
  • You have objected to our use of your data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.
• Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party – we will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Please note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.
• Withdraw consent at any time – where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain goods or services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact the DPO at privacy@averyhealthcare.co.uk.

No fee usually required

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

What we may need from you

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

Time limit to respond

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it could take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

National Opt-Out Policy

The National Data Opt-Out was introduced on 25 May 2018 and enables individuals to opt out from the use of their data for anything other than their individual care and treatment, for example research or planning purposes, in line with the recommendations of the National Data Guardian.

Avery Healthcare Group Limited has an obligation to be compliant by informing our Residents of their right to choose in opting out of their information being used for research and/or planning within the NHS.

Please note Avery Healthcare Group Limited does not share residents’ personal data with any pharmaceutical, medical, or other researchers, other than for the purposes of delivering individual’s care and treatment.

If you are happy for information to be shared you do not need to anything.

For residents who do not want their information shared for research and planning purposes, you can opt-out by the following ways:

• To opt-out online, visit https://your-data-matters.service.nhs.uk
• To opt-out over the telephone call the NHS Digital Contact Centre on 0300 303 5678
• To opt-out through the post, use the below postal address:

National Data Opt-Out
Contact Centre
NHS Digital
HM Government
7 and 8 Wellington Place
Leeds
LS1 4AP