Privacy Policy

Crossroads Care Privacy Promise to you

We ask that you read this privacy policy carefully as it contains important information on who we are, how and why we collect , store use and share information, your rights in relation to your personal information and on how to contact us and other organisations in the event you have a complaint.

Please see the section on your rights for more information

Who we are

We are East Sussex , Brighton & Hove Crossroads Care is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. Our services support informal Carers of all ages and the people they care for.

This Privacy notice is a statement to Informal Carers, people with care and support needs, service users , the public, staff and volunteers and explains how we use , retain and disclose personal information we hold.

What information do we collect about you ?

We collect information about you and your family members when you register with us for any of our servicesand when you start to receive a service. The information we collect will include personal data and sensitive data.

These records may include the following information relevant both to the Informal Carer and the person with Care and support needs.

  • Your Name, address, telephone number, date of birth, email address, next of kin, GP details.
  • Your allergies and any medical, physical or mental conditions and in particular your care and support needs.
  • Your likes, dislikes and lifestyle preferences( including your religious beliefs or other beliefs of a similar nature, racial or ethnic origin, politics, genetics, health, sex life, marital status, sexuality, trade union membership or biometrics so far as they relate to providing you with suitable care.
  • Your feedback and contributions to questionnaires and surveys about the services we offer
  • Your complaints, compliments or concerns about the service we provide
  • Any accidents / Incidents or near misses you may have been involved in whilst on our premisesor whilst our employees are delivering a regulated service to you – this may include details of injuries and treatment you may have received.

 

It is important for us to collect this information to assist staff involved in your care and support to deliver and provide appropriate care and suppot and to develop care plans to meet your needs.

Information collected from other sources

Information is collected in a number of ways

  • Referrals details from healthcare professionals and GP’s
  • Social Care professionals
  • Statutory services
  • Voluntary sector organisations
  • Or directly by you.

 

How we will use the information about you ?

We use your personal information to

  • Prepare, review and update suitable care/ support plans, describing the nature and level of care and support services that we will supply to you
  • To communicate with you , your representitives and any appropriate external social or health care professionals about your individual needs and personalise the service delivered to you.
  • Make reasonable adjustments when required to meet your individual needs and to ensure we have suitable facilities to ensure your safety
  • Carry out quality assurance procedures , review our service and improve our clients experience ( please note that feedback can also be provided anonymously)
  • Send information about our services which we believe you may be interested in. You may unsubscribe from this at any time.
  • Notify you about changes to our services which are relevant to you
  • Monitor how effective our services are and to make sure that the services we provides meet your needs

Who we share information with?

We share your information with a range of health and social care organisations and regulatory bodies. You may be contacted by any one of these organisations for a specific reason, they will have a duty to tell youwhy they have contacted you.This data sharing enables us to establish the type of care and support you need. It also enables us to work effectively with other organisations involved in your care.

As part of our contract we may also need to share information with East Sussex County Council, Brighton and Hove City Council and the Carers Hub.

However we will not disclose any of your health information to third parties without your explicit consent, unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as when the health or Safety of others is at risk or where the law requires the disclosure of information.

We may also be required to share basic information, such as your name and parts of your address, which does not include sensitive information from your health records. Generally we will only do this to assist them to carry out their statutory duties.

How information is retained and kept safe?

We place great importance on the security of all personally identifiable information associated with our clients, employees, care workers and users. Information is retained in secure electronic and paper records and access is restricted to only those who need to know.

After you have received the services or information you require, we will store your information according to our retention schedule, in line with current data protection legislation. We do not communicate with people that have asked us not to. We will always dispose of information securely, using secure deletion methods electronic or shredding.

Marketing

If you support us, for example by signing up to an event or receive a newsletter, donating, signing up to Gift Aid, or signing up to a campaign, we will usually collect your name, contact details, and whether you would like to be contacted, and how we would do so.

If appropriate, we may also ask to collect your date of birth, financial details, Gift Aid eligibility, reasons for support, information relating to health and disability, and responses to our campaigns.

We collect this data so we can keep you up to date with information and products you have requested, or may be interested in, and to ask for more support, in the way that you have chosen; to run our events; and to fulfil our legal responsibilities for financial and Gift Aid reporting.

Links and Third Parties

The website may include links to third party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. Linked websites are responsible for their own privacy practices and you should check those websites for their respective privacy statements. When you leave our website site we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

Cookies

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

We use these to improve the user’s experience of our website, temporarily store data and understand the parts of the website that users are visiting. This helps us analyse data about webpage traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Your Updates and Preferences

It is important that we keep your personal information up to date. If at any time if your circumstances change, you can contact us via email bhoffice@esbhcrossroads.org.uk; telephone 01273 234021

Your Rights

You have the following rights with regard to the data we store about you within legal parameters:

  • The right to be informed
  • The right of access
  • The right to rectification
  • The right to erase
  • The right to restrict processing
  • The right to data portability
  • The right to object

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, for more information please contact:

Data Protection Officer

East Sussex, Brighton & Hove Crossroads Care

Community Base
113 Queens Road
Brighton
BN1 3XG
Email: bhoffice@esbhcrossroads.org.uk

Telephone 01273 234021
Right of Access and Complaints

You have the right to ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you or ask us to change it if you think it is wrong. Please contact us for more information.