PRIVACY POLICY - GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION (GDPR)
Who I am and how to contact me:
Mrs Zoë Cook
Sunshine Health Bowen Therapy
07876 760672
zoe@sunshinehealthbowentherapy.co.uk
2 New Close, Street, Somerset, BA16 0RP
Data Controller Contact Details: Zoë Cook
The Purpose of processing Client Data
To give professional treatments, I need to gather and retain potentially sensitive information about your health. I will only use this information for informing the treatments I offer, and associated recommendations concerning aspects of health and wellbeing which I will offer to you. I take basic contact details and information via my online booking system to allow me to contact you and handle bookings.
Lawful Basis for holding and using Client Information
As a member of the Bowen Therapists Professional Association (BTPA), Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT) and the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC), I abide by Code of Practice and Ethics for these organisations. The lawful basis under which I hold and use your information is my legitimate interests i.e.my requirement to retain the information to provide you with the best possible treatment options and advice.
As I hold special category data (i.e., health related information), the Additional Condition under which I hold and use this information is for me to fulfil my role as a health care practitioner bound under BTPA, FHT, and CNHC Confidentiality as defined in their Code of Practice and Ethics.
What information I hold and what I do with it
To give professional treatments, I will need to ask for and keep information about your health. I will only use this for informing the treatments I offer, and any advice I give because of your treatment. The information held is:
Your contact details
Medical history and other health-related information (which I will take from you at first consultation)
Treatment details and related notes (which I will take each time I see you)
I will not share your information with anyone else, (other than as required for legal process). If I do need to share your information for any other reason, then I will explain why it is necessary and will get your explicit consent before sharing that information.
How Long I Retain Your Information for
I will keep your information for the following periods:
Claims occurring insurance: I am required to keep my records for 8 years after the last treatment
Law regarding children’s records: I am required to keep my records until the child is 25, or if 17 when treated until they are 26.
I will not transfer your data outside the EU without your consent, although you need to be aware that I do use third party services as part of my business operations, these are:
Electronic Payments: I use SumUp and Stripe. Full details of their privacy policies can be found here: https://help.sumup.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360004703114-GDPR-SumUp-and-Your-Data, and https://stripe.com/gb/legal/dpa.
Website and Booking system: any emails received via my website are done so via the Squarespace mail system and are not stored on any of their systems. I use Acuity Scheduling which is part of Squarespace for my booking system, and full details of their privacy policy can be found here: https://www.squarespace.com/privacy
Protecting Your Personal Data
I am committed to ensuring that your personal data is secure. To prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, I have put in place appropriate technical, physical and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information I collect from you. I will contact you using the contact preferences you give me in your first contact with me, and during our consultations, in relation to:
Appointment times
Complementary Therapy and / or natural health information or information related to your health
Requesting reviews
Your Rights
GDPR gives you the following rights:
The right to be informed: To know how your information will be held and used (this notice).
The right of access: To see your therapist’s records of your personal information, so you know what is held about you and can verify it.
The right to rectification: To tell your therapist to make changes to your personal information if it is incorrect or incomplete.
The right to erasure (also called “the right to be forgotten”): For you to request your therapist to erase any information they hold about you
The right to restrict processing of personal data: You have the right to request limits on how your therapist uses your personal information
The right to data portability: under certain circumstances you can request a copy of personal information held electronically so you can reuse it in other systems.
The right to object: To be able to tell your therapist you don’t want them to use certain parts of your information, or only to use it for certain purposes.
Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling.
The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office: To be able to complain to the ICO if you feel your details are not correct, if they are not being used in a way that you have given permission for, or if they are being stored when they don’t have to be.
Full details of your rights can be found at https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection- regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/. If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please use the contact details for Zoë Cook given above. If you are dissatisfied with the response, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office and their contact details can be found at: www.ico.org.uk.
Therapists Rights
Please note:
If you don’t agree to me keeping records of information about you and your treatments, or if you don’t allow me to use the information in the way I need to for treatments, I may not be able to work with you.
I must keep your records of treatment for a certain period as described above, which may mean even if you ask me to erase any details about you, I might have to keep these details until after that period has passed.
I can move your records between computers and IT systems, as long as your details are protected from being seen by others without your permission.
Updated 1st June 2025