Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

The Phlebotomist Ltd is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information safely and responsibly.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we may share it with, how long we keep it, and the rights you have under UK data protection law.

We are the Data Controller for the personal information covered by this policy.

This policy applies when you use our clinic or mobile services, purchase a Blood Test through us, use our Blood Draw Service, contact us, or use our website.

2. Data We Collect

We may collect and use the following types of personal information:

• Contact information: your name, address, email address and phone number.
• Health information: information relevant to your blood draw, Blood Test or appointment.
• Booking information: such as the date, time, location and service booked.
• Payment information: details needed to process payments and manage refunds where applicable.
• Test information: details needed to register a Blood Test, identify your sample and link it to the correct request or report.
• Communications and feedback: information you provide when you contact us, ask a question, give feedback or make a complaint.
• Website information: information collected through cookies or analytics when you use our website.

We only collect information that is relevant to providing and managing our services, meeting legal or regulatory requirements, and running our business safely.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal information where it is necessary to provide and manage our services, run our business, and meet our legal and regulatory responsibilities.

This may include using your information to:

• manage bookings and appointments;
• process payments and refunds;
• contact you about your appointment or service;
• provide our Blood Draw Service or Blood Tests;
• register tests and correctly identify blood samples;
• prepare and send samples for testing where required;
• provide or arrange test reports where included with the service;
• respond to questions, feedback, concerns or complaints;
• maintain appropriate business and client records;
• monitor the quality and safety of our services; and
• meet legal, regulatory, insurance and governance requirements.

We will only use personal information where we have a lawful basis to do so. Where we use health information, we will also meet the additional requirements that apply to special category data under UK data protection law.

3.1 Our Lawful Bases for Using Your Information

Depending on why we use your information, we may rely on:

• Contract: where information is needed to provide a service you have booked or purchased.
• Legal obligation: where we need to keep or use information to meet legal or regulatory requirements.
• Legitimate interests: where it is reasonably necessary to operate, manage and improve our service, provided your rights and interests are not overridden.
• Consent: where we specifically ask for your permission, such as for certain optional communications or uses of your information.

Health information is classed as special category data. Where we use health information, we will also ensure that an appropriate condition for processing special category data applies under UK data protection law.

4. Feedback, Complaints, and Compliments

We may collect and keep information you provide when you give feedback, raise a concern, make a complaint or send us a compliment.

This information is used to respond to you, investigate concerns where needed, and support service improvement and governance.

Feedback or complaints may be recorded securely as part of our business and client records where appropriate.

You can contact us by email, phone, text, through our website, or speak to a member of staff.

More information about how complaints are handled can be found in our Complaints and Compliments Policy.

5. Data Sharing

We only share personal information where it is necessary to provide our services, manage our business, or meet legal and regulatory requirements.

This may include sharing relevant information with:

• laboratories that process blood samples or produce test reports;
• healthcare professionals or practitioners where this is needed for the service you have requested, or where you have asked us to share information;
• service providers that support our bookings, payments, communications, secure record keeping or IT systems;
• courier or postal services where these are used to transport samples;
• regulators, insurers, legal advisers or public authorities where we are required or permitted to share information by law.

We only share the information that is reasonably necessary for the purpose.

We do not sell your personal information.

6. Data Storage and Security

We take appropriate steps to keep personal information secure and protect it from unauthorised access, loss, misuse or disclosure.

Personal and health information is stored using secure systems and is only available to authorised people who need access for their role.

We may use trusted third-party providers to support services such as bookings, payments, communications, record keeping and secure data storage.

We keep personal information only for as long as it is needed for the purpose it was collected, or for as long as required to meet legal, regulatory, insurance, clinical or audit requirements.

When information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or anonymised where appropriate.

7. Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you may have the right to:

• access the personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• ask us to delete your information in certain circumstances;
• ask us to restrict how your information is used in certain circumstances;
• object to certain types of processing;
• request a copy of certain information in a portable format;
• withdraw consent where we rely on consent to use your information; and
• make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Some rights do not apply in every situation, and we may need to keep certain information where there is a legal, regulatory or other lawful reason to do so.

To exercise your rights, please contact us at [email protected].

We will normally respond within one month, in line with UK data protection law.

8. Cookies and Website Analytics

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to help it work properly and understand how visitors use it.

Some cookies are essential for the website to function. Other cookies, such as analytics cookies, may be used to help us understand website performance and improve the user experience.

Where required, you can choose whether to accept non-essential cookies.

You can also manage cookie settings through your browser.

For more information about the cookies we use, please see our Cookie Policy.

9. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our services, systems, legal requirements or how we use personal information.

The latest version will be published on our website.

Where a significant change affects how we use personal information, we may also provide an additional notice where appropriate.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, you can contact us using the details below: