Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Northdene Services Ltd, trading as Northdene Dental Surgery, of 13 London Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 2AA, is the data controller responsible for your personal information. We are committed to complying with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the standards set by the General Dental Council (GDC) and the NHS.

This policy explains how we collect and use your personal information, both when you visit this website and when you become a patient at our practice.

2. Information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

• Contact details, such as your name, address, date of birth, phone number, and email address
• Appointment and booking information submitted through this website or by phone
• Your NHS number or dental plan provider details, and any exemption status, where relevant
• Medical and dental history, including your GP’s details, x-rays, and photographs
• Details of proposed and completed treatment, and its cost
• Records of consent for treatment
• Correspondence with other healthcare professionals, such as referrals
• Notes of any conversations, incidents, or complaints where a record needs to be kept
• Technical information about your visit to this website, such as your IP address and browser type, collected via cookies and analytics tools

3. How we collect your information

We collect information directly from you, for example, when you complete a form on this website, book an appointment, or attend the practice. We may also receive information from other healthcare professionals involved in your care, such as a referring GP or specialist.

4. Why we need this information

We use your information to:

• Provide safe, appropriate dental care and treatment
• Register you as a new patient and manage your appointments
• Maintain accurate treatment records
• Process NHS dental care in line with NHS administration requirements
• Manage our relationship with you, including appointment reminders and recalls
• Improve this website and understand how it is used
  

Our legal basis for processing your information includes:

• Your consent
• Our legitimate interest in providing and managing your dental care
• Our legal obligation to keep accurate health records
  

Information about your health is ‘special category data’ under UK GDPR. We process this on the basis that it is necessary for the provision of health and social care, and for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims.

5. If you are under 18

If you are under 13, we will normally ask a parent or carer to agree to us using your information. If you are 13 or older and understand what this means, you may be able to make some decisions about your own information yourself.

We will keep your information safe and will only share it with the people directly involved in your care, unless we are required to share it by law, or it is important for your health — for example, if we need to refer you to another dentist or specialist.

6. Who we share your information with

We will only share your personal information securely, and only where it is necessary. This may include:

• Other healthcare professionals involved in your care, such as specialists, hygienists, or your GP
• The General Dental Council (GDC)
• The Care Quality Commission (CQC)
• NHS bodies, where NHS treatment is provided
• Dental payment plan providers or insurers, where relevant
• Our indemnity provider, insurer, or legal adviser, where necessary to investigate a complaint or claim
  

We will never sell your personal information.

7. National Data Opt-Out

You have the right to choose whether your confidential patient information is used for purposes beyond your individual care, such as research and planning. If you have registered a National Data Opt-Out, your information will not be used for these secondary purposes. You can find out more or update your preferences at the NHS National Data Opt-Out website.

8. How we store your information, and how long we keep it

Your information is stored securely on protected computer systems at the practice and is backed up regularly. We retain dental records, x-rays, and study models for a minimum of 11 years after you cease to be a patient.

For patients under 18, we retain records for 11 years or until you reach the age of 25 (or your 26th birthday, if you were 17 or older when treatment finished), whichever is longer.

Other documents we hold, such as NHS exemption forms, are kept in line with our internal retention schedule and may have shorter or longer retention periods depending on legal requirements.

9. Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access the information we hold about you and receive a copy
• Ask us to correct any information that is inaccurate or incomplete
• Ask us to delete your information, although we may be unable to do this for certain dental records due to legal requirements
• Ask us to restrict how we use your information, for example for marketing or appointment reminders
• Request that your information be transferred to another dentist

To exercise any of these rights, please contact the practice or email northdenedentalsurgery.londonroad@nhs.net.

10. Cookies and this website

This website uses cookies and similar technologies to help it function properly and to understand how visitors use it. You can control or delete cookies at any time through your browser settings.

TO CONFIRM BEFORE GO-LIVE: This section needs the full list of cookies/analytics tools actually implemented on the live build (e.g. Google Analytics 4, booking widget, any ad pixels), presented as a cookie table (name, purpose, duration), plus a consent banner for non-essential cookies. Do not publish this page without it — ICO guidance requires informed consent before non-essential cookies are set.

11. Concerns about how we use your information

If you have any concerns about how we use your information and do not feel able to discuss this with your dentist or the practice team, you can contact our Data Protection Officer at northdenedentalsurgery.londonroad@nhs.net.

You can also contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

• Address: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
• Telephone: 0303 123 1113
• Website: ico.org.uk
  

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law or how we handle your information. The current version will always be available on this page.

13. Contact us

Northdene Dental Surgery, 13 London Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 2AAPhone: 01483 560 068Email: northdenedentalsurgery.londonroad@nhs.net

TO CONFIRM BEFORE GO-LIVE: Insert a ‘Last updated: [date]’ line at the foot of this page before publishing.