Easy Pharmacy is a registered pharmacy in Ashford, Surrey. We look after health information every day, and we know how personal it is. This page explains, in plain English, what we collect, why we need it, who we share it with and what you can ask us to do. No small print, no legal maze. If anything here isn’t clear, please ask us. We’re happy to talk it through.
Who we are
Easy Pharmacy is run by Easy Care Services Limited, company number 5326877, registered in England and Wales.
Unit 11, Littleton House, Littleton Road, Ashford, Surrey TW15 1UU 01784 613239 enquiries@theeasypharmacy.co.uk
We’re registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (registration number 9011078). Our superintendent pharmacist is Dilip Modhvadia (GPhC number 2050606).
Our data protection lead is [insert name or job title]. You can reach them at the address or email above.
The information we collect
Not everyone gives us the same information. It depends on what you’ve come to us for.
Basic details. Your name, date of birth, address, phone number, email and NHS number.
Health information. Your medicines, allergies, medical conditions, test results, blood pressure readings, weight and height, and notes from any consultation you have with our pharmacist. If you use our weight management, travel health, ear wax removal or Pharmacy First services, we’ll also record the answers you give on the consultation form.
Prescription records. What was prescribed, who prescribed it, what we dispensed and when.
Payment details. If you pay for a private service, we keep a record of the payment. We don’t store your full card number.
Website and app information. If you fill in a form on our site, book an appointment, sign up to our newsletter or use PharmAppy, we’ll have the details you typed in. Our website also collects some basic technical information through cookies, which we explain further down.
Care home records. If we supply a care home, we hold medication records for the residents we dispense for.
Sometimes information comes to us from someone else rather than from you: your GP, a hospital, a dentist, a private prescriber, NHS England, or a family member or carer who orders your prescription for you.
Why we need it and what allows us to use it
Health information is treated as “special category” data under UK GDPR, which means it gets extra protection. We’re only allowed to use it for specific reasons. Ours are:
- To provide your care. Dispensing your prescriptions, giving vaccinations, running consultations, checking a treatment is safe for you. The law allows this because we’re providing health care, and health professionals like us are bound by a duty of confidentiality.
- Because the law says we must. Pharmacies have to keep certain records and report certain things. For example, we must record private prescriptions and controlled drugs, and we must report suspected side effects of medicines.
- To get paid for NHS work. We send information to the NHS Business Services Authority so NHS prescriptions and services can be reimbursed.
- Because you’ve asked us to. Delivering to your home, sending you a text when your prescription is ready, or emailing you our newsletter.
- To run the pharmacy properly. Keeping our systems secure, dealing with complaints, and getting professional or legal advice if we need it.
We do not sell your information. We never have and we won’t.
Who we share it with
Only with the people who need it, and only as much as they need.
- Your GP, hospital or prescriber – so your records stay accurate and your care joins up.
- NHS England and the NHS Business Services Authority – for payment and for NHS service records.
- Other health professionals involved in your care, such as a nurse or a specialist clinic.
- Our software providers, including our dispensing system, our online booking system and the PharmAppy prescription app. They handle your data on our instructions and can’t use it for their own purposes.
- Delivery drivers, if we’re bringing your medicines to you. They get your name and address, not your medical details.
- Regulators and authorities, such as the GPhC, the Care Quality Commission or the police, where the law requires it or where there’s a serious risk to someone’s safety.
If you use our travel clinic through travelclinicsurrey.co.uk, that’s the same business and the same policy applies.
Your NHS record and the National Data Opt-Out
Some of your information may be used by the NHS for planning services and for medical research. You can choose not to allow this. It’s called the National Data Opt-Out, and choosing it will never affect the care you get from us. You can set your choice at nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters.
How long we keep things
We don’t hold on to records longer than we need to.
Consultation and clinical records are normally kept for 8 years after we last saw you. For children and young people, we keep them until their 25th birthday. Private prescription records are kept for at least 2 years because the law requires it, and controlled drug records for at least 2 years from the last entry. Newsletter details are kept until you unsubscribe.
When a record reaches the end of its life, we destroy it securely.
Keeping your information safe
Our patient records sit in secure pharmacy systems with password access, and only the staff who need to see a record can open it. Paper records are locked away. Every member of our team is trained on confidentiality and signs up to it as a condition of working here.
If something ever did go wrong and your information was at risk, we’d look into it straight away and tell you and the ICO where we’re required to.
What you can ask us to do
These are your rights, and using them is free.
- See what we hold. Ask us for a copy of your records. We’ll respond within one month.
- Correct something. If a detail is wrong or out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it.
- Ask us to delete something. We can’t always agree, because we’re legally required to keep health records, but we’ll always explain our answer.
- Object or restrict. Ask us to stop using your information in a particular way while a concern is looked into.
- Stop marketing. Click unsubscribe on any email, or just tell us. We’ll take you off the list.
- Move your data. Ask for your information in a format you can pass to someone else.
Just contact us using the details at the top. We may ask for ID first, only to make sure we’re giving your records to you and not to someone else.
Cookies and our website
Our website uses cookies. Some are needed to make pages work. Others help us see how many people visit and which pages they read, so we can improve the site.
When you first arrive, you’ll be asked which cookies you’re happy with. You can change your mind at any time through the cookie settings on the site, or by clearing cookies in your browser.
Our site links out to places like PharmAppy, our booking system and our social media pages. Once you’re on their site, their privacy policy applies, not ours.
Children and young people
We provide services to young people, and we handle their information with the same care. If a child is old enough to understand and make their own decisions, we deal with them directly. If not, we’ll usually involve a parent or guardian. Our newsletter is for adults only.
If you’re unhappy
Tell us first, please. Most concerns are sorted out quickly once we know about them. Speak to any member of the team, or email enquiries@theeasypharmacy.co.uk.
If you’re still not satisfied, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF 0303 123 1113 ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
Changes to this policy
We’ll update this page when the way we work changes. The date at the top tells you when we last did.