GQ Foot Clinic Policies

Deposit Policy

A deposit is required to secure your appointment at GQ Foot Clinic. The amount payable will be shown or communicated to you at the time of booking.

Payment of your deposit

Your appointment is not confirmed until the required deposit has been successfully paid.

Once payment has been received, you will receive confirmation of your appointment.

The deposit will be deducted from the total cost of your appointment, with any remaining balance payable on the day.

Cancelling your appointment

If you cancel your appointment with at least 48 hours’ notice, your deposit may be refunded.

If you cancel with less than 48 hours’ notice, your deposit will be forfeited and cannot be refunded or transferred to another appointment.

If you do not attend your appointment without providing notice, your deposit will also be forfeited and cannot be refunded or transferred.

Rescheduling your appointment

If you reschedule your appointment with at least 48 hours’ notice, your deposit can be transferred to your new appointment.

If you request to reschedule with less than 48 hours’ notice, your original deposit will be forfeited and a new deposit will be required to secure another appointment.

Exceptional circumstances

We understand that unexpected circumstances can arise. Where appropriate, exceptions to our deposit, cancellation or rescheduling policy may be considered at the discretion of GQ Foot Clinic.

Please contact us as soon as possible if you are unable to attend your appointment.

Agreement to this policy

By booking an appointment and paying the required deposit, you agree to the terms of our deposit, cancellation and rescheduling policies.

GQ Foot Clinic reserves the right to update these policies where necessary. Any changes will apply to future bookings.

Rescheduling Policy

We understand that plans can change and will always try to accommodate appointment changes where possible.

Appointments can be rescheduled subject to availability.

More than 48 hours' notice

If you request to reschedule at least 48 hours before your appointment, your existing deposit will be transferred to your new appointment.

Less than 48 hours' notice

If you request to reschedule with less than 48 hours' notice, your deposit may be forfeited and a new deposit may be required before another appointment can be confirmed.

This is because appointments cancelled or moved at short notice may not be able to be offered to another patient.

Exceptional circumstances

We recognise that emergencies and unforeseen circumstances can occur. Any exception to this policy will be considered individually and remains at the discretion of GQ Foot Clinic.

Please contact us as soon as possible if you need to make a change to your appointment.

Cancellation Policy

We kindly ask for a minimum of 48 hours' notice if you need to cancel an appointment.

Providing adequate notice gives us the opportunity to offer the appointment to another patient.

Cancellations with at least 48 hours' notice

If you cancel at least 48 hours before your scheduled appointment, any deposit paid may be refunded, less the applicable £1.20 transaction fee.

Alternatively, where appropriate, your deposit may be transferred to another appointment.

Cancellations with less than 48 hours' notice

Appointments cancelled with less than 48 hours' notice will normally result in the loss of the deposit paid.

A new deposit may be required before another appointment can be booked.

Missed appointments

If you do not attend your appointment and have not contacted us beforehand, your deposit will be forfeited.

Exceptional circumstances

We understand that unforeseen circumstances can sometimes prevent patients from attending.

Where appropriate, exceptions may be considered at the discretion of GQ Foot Clinic.

By booking an appointment with us, you agree to our 48-hour cancellation policy.

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how GQ Foot Clinic collects, uses, stores and protects your personal information when you contact us, visit our website, book an appointment or receive care from us.

GQ Foot Clinic is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly and securely in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and relevant professional obligations.

2. Who is responsible for your information?

GQ Foot Clinic is the data controller responsible for the personal information we collect and process.

If you have any questions about how your information is handled, please contact:

GQ Foot Clinic
22 Hope Place
Liverpool
L1 9BG

Email: hello@gqfootclinic.co.uk

3. Information we collect

The information we collect will depend on how you interact with us and the care or services you receive.

Personal information

We may collect:

Your name
Date of birth
Address
Telephone number
Email address
Appointment and booking information
Payment information
Communication history with us
Information you provide through enquiry forms, email, telephone or other direct communications

Health and clinical information

When providing foot health or podiatry care, we may need to collect and process health information. Health information is classed as special category data under data protection law.

This may include:

Medical history
Current health conditions
Medications
Allergies
Previous treatments
Foot health concerns
Clinical assessments and findings
Treatment records
Treatment plans
Information provided by you or by other healthcare professionals involved in your car

We only collect information that is reasonably necessary to provide safe and appropriate care.

Clinical photographs

Where appropriate and relevant to your care, we may take clinical photographs of your feet or the area being assessed or treated.

Clinical photographs may be used to:

Support assessment and treatment planning
Monitor progress and treatment outcomes
Maintain accurate clinical records
Support communication with other healthcare professionals involved in your care, where appropriate

Clinical photographs form part of your clinical record and are stored securely in accordance with our data protection and record-keeping procedures.

Clinical photographs will not be used for marketing, social media or promotional purposes without separate consent.

4. How we use your information

We may use your personal information to:

Provide foot health and podiatry assessments, treatment and care
Maintain accurate clinical records
Manage appointments
Communicate with you about your appointment or care
Process payments and issue receipts or invoices
Respond to enquiries
Send appointment reminders and relevant follow-up communications
Communicate with other healthcare professionals where appropriate and necessary
Meet legal, regulatory and professional obligations
Manage and improve our services and patient experience

5. Our lawful basis for processing your information

We process personal information only where we have a lawful basis to do so.

Providing healthcare and foot health services

We process information where necessary to provide the care or services you have requested, manage your appointments and maintain appropriate records.

Health information

Where we process health information, this is done where necessary for the provision and management of healthcare and foot health services.

Legal and professional obligations

We may process information where necessary to comply with legal, regulatory or professional requirements relating to the care we provide and the records we are required to maintain.

Where care is provided by an HCPC-registered podiatrist, this may include requirements associated with professional regulation.

Consent

Where consent is the appropriate lawful basis, we will ask for this separately.

Examples may include certain marketing communications or the optional use of photographs for promotional or educational purposes.

Where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.

6. Clinical records and retention

We maintain clinical records of the care we provide.

Records are retained in accordance with applicable legal, professional and professional indemnity requirements.

Clinical records are generally retained for a minimum of seven years following your last contact with the clinic, or for longer where applicable requirements mean they must be retained for a greater period.

Certain records, including records relating to children, may need to be retained for longer.

Your right to request deletion of personal information does not override any legal or professional obligation requiring us to retain clinical records.

7. Sharing your information

We will only share personal information where there is an appropriate and lawful reason to do so.

This may include sharing relevant information with:

Healthcare professionals involved in your care, such as your GP or another specialist
Insurance providers where necessary and appropriately authorised
Regulatory, legal or statutory authorities where we are required to do so
Trusted service providers who support the operation of the clinic

Where appropriate, we will seek your permission before sharing information with another healthcare professional unless there is another lawful basis requiring or permitting us to do so.

We do not sell your personal information.

8. Third-party service providers

We use trusted third-party providers to help us manage appointments, patient records, payments and other aspects of clinic administration.

These may include:

Cliniko

We use Cliniko for appointment scheduling, patient management and clinical record keeping.

Information stored within Cliniko may include your contact details, appointment history, forms, clinical notes and other information relevant to your care.

Stripe

We use Stripe to process appointment deposits and certain online payments.

Payment information is processed securely by Stripe. GQ Foot Clinic does not store your full payment card details.

SumUp

We use SumUp to process certain card and payment transactions.

Payment information is processed securely by SumUp. GQ Foot Clinic does not store your full payment card details.

Other service providers

We may also use trusted providers for services such as:

Website hosting
Email communication
IT and security
Business administration

Where a third-party provider processes personal information on our behalf, we take appropriate steps to ensure that information is handled securely and in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

9. Website and cookies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to help the website function correctly and to understand how visitors use it.

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website.

We may use cookies to:

Ensure the website functions correctly
Remember relevant preferences
Understand how visitors use the website
Improve website performance and user experience

You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings.

Please be aware that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the website.

10. Online analytics and advertising

We may use website analytics tools to understand how visitors interact with our website and to help us improve our online services.

Depending on the services used, this may include information such as:

Pages visited
Website interactions
Device or browser information
General location information derived from an IP address

We do not use your clinical or health information for advertising purposes.

Where non-essential cookies or tracking technologies require consent, they will only be used in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

11. Social media and online enquiries

If you contact us through a social media platform, that platform will process information in accordance with its own privacy policy.

We do not control how third-party social media platforms process your information.

Please avoid sharing sensitive health information through social media messages where possible.

For appointment or clinical enquiries involving sensitive information, we recommend contacting GQ Foot Clinic directly.

12. Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you may have rights in relation to the personal information we hold about you.

These may include:

The right to access your personal information
The right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
The right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances
The right to object to certain types of processing
The right to withdraw consent where processing relies on consent
The right to request deletion of personal information in certain circumstances

Some rights are subject to legal exceptions.

For example, we may be required to retain clinical records even where you request deletion.

If you would like to exercise any of your rights, please contact us at: hello@gqfootclinic.co.uk

13. How we protect your information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.

Access to patient and clinical information is restricted to those who require it for legitimate clinical, healthcare or administrative purposes.

While we take appropriate precautions to protect your information, no electronic system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

14. Children's privacy

Our services may be provided to children where appropriate.

Where required, consent will be obtained from a parent or person with parental responsibility before collecting or processing information relating to a child.

Where a young person is able to provide valid consent in their own right, this will be considered in accordance with applicable legal and professional guidance.

15. International transfers

Some third-party service providers may process or store personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where this occurs, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that suitable safeguards are in place in accordance with UK data protection legislation.

16. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in:

Our services
The way we process information
The third-party providers we use
Legal or regulatory requirements
The latest version of this Privacy Policy will be made available on our website.

17. Contact information

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, how your information is handled or the personal information we hold about you, please contact:

GQ Foot Clinic
22 Hope Place
Liverpool
L1 9BG

Email: hello@gqfootclinic.co.uk

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in adhering to our policies. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us.