Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Hearing Pathways is a specialist audiology and listening service based in Scotland, providing assessments and management for children and adults. We are the data controller for the personal information you provide to us.

Data Controller: Hearing Pathways

Registered address: Milngavie, Glasgow G62 8PH

Contact: [email protected] | 0141 611 2152

2. What information we collect

We may collect the following categories of personal information:

Contact information: name, email address, telephone number, and postal address.

Health information: details about hearing, listening, and communication difficulties that you share with us when enquiring about or receiving our services. This is special category data under UK GDPR.

Child information: where services are sought for a child, we collect information about the child as well as the parent or guardian making the enquiry.

Communication records: emails, contact form submissions, and notes from telephone conversations.

Website usage data: anonymised information about how visitors use our website, collected via cookies (see Section 8).

3. How we use your information

We use your personal information to:

Respond to enquiries and provide the audiology services you have requested.

Maintain clinical records and provide continuity of care.

Send appointment confirmations, reminders, and follow-up correspondence.

Comply with our professional and legal obligations as a healthcare provider.

Improve our website and services.

4. Lawful basis for processing

We process your personal information on the following lawful bases:

Contract: to provide the services you have requested or to take steps prior to entering into a contract with you.

Legitimate interests: to respond to enquiries, improve our services, and maintain records of our professional activities.

Legal obligation: to comply with our obligations under healthcare regulations and professional standards.

Explicit consent: for the processing of special category health data where required. You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us, though this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. How long we keep your information

We retain clinical records in accordance with NHS Scotland and professional body guidance. For adult patients, records are generally retained for a minimum of eight years from the date of last contact. For children, records are retained until the patient's 25th birthday (or 26th if they were 17 at the conclusion of treatment).

Enquiry and contact information where no appointment or clinical relationship follows is retained for up to 12 months, after which it is securely deleted.

6. Sharing your information

We do not sell or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.

We may share information with:

Other healthcare professionals involved in your care, with your knowledge and consent.

Professional referrers (such as GPs, paediatricians, or schools) where you have requested a report or letter.

Our IT and communications service providers, who process data on our behalf under data processing agreements.

Regulatory or legal authorities where we are required to do so by law.

7. Your rights

Under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the following rights:

Right of access: to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

Right to rectification: to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.

Right to erasure: to request deletion of your personal information in certain circumstances.

Right to restriction: to ask us to limit how we use your information.

Right to data portability: to receive your information in a structured, machine-readable format.

Right to object: to object to processing based on legitimate interests.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within one month.

8. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to help it function correctly and to understand how visitors use it. We use strictly necessary cookies (required for the site to work) and, with your consent, analytics cookies to help us improve the site.

You can manage your cookie preferences at any time using the cookie settings on our website, or by adjusting your browser settings.

9. Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, or disclosure. All clinical records are stored securely and access is restricted to authorised personnel only.

10. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal information, please contact us in the first instance at [email protected].

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection authority.

ICO website: ico.org.uk | ICO helpline: 0303 123 1113

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on this page, with the date it was last updated shown at the top.