Manchester Fertility Services Limited (we, us and our) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy notice provides information on how we collect and process your personal data when you receive fertility services from us, or visit our websites or engage with us via any other medium including social media, email, telephone or in person.
1 Important information and who we are
Manchester Fertility Services Limited is the data controller and responsible for your personal data. We operate under the names of Manchester Fertility, Essential Fertility and Amelya.
If you have any questions about this privacy notice or our data protection practices, please contact us using the following details:
Email: [email protected]
Post: Amelia House, 3 Oakwood Square, Cheadle Royal Business Park, Cheshire, SK8 3SB.
You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.
Changes to the privacy policy and your duty to inform us of changes
We keep our privacy policy under regular review. This version was last updated in September 2024.
It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us.
Third-party links
Our websites 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. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave one of our websites, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.
2 The data we collect about you
Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).
We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you as follows:
- Identity Data including first name, maiden name, last name, username or similar identifier, marital status, title, date of birth and gender.
- Contact Data including billing address, delivery address, email address and telephone numbers.
- Technical Data includes internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access this website.
- Usage Data includes information about how you use our website and services.
- Financial Data including includes bank account and payment card details.
- Marketing and Communications Data includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences.
- Transaction Data including details about payments to and from you and other details of products and services you have purchased from us.
- Special Categories of Personal Data including details about your race or ethnicity, sex life, sexual orientation, information about your health, medical records and treatment plans, genetic and biometric data.
We also collect, use and share Aggregated Data such as statistical or demographic data. Aggregated Data could be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data will not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your Usage Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific website feature. However, if we combine or connect Aggregated Data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy policy.
We do not collect any information about criminal convictions and offences.
3 How is your personal data collected?
We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:
- Direct interactions: You may give us your Identity and Contact Data by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, social media, phone, email or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you:
- request information about our services or book appointments;
- receive fertility services from us;
- request marketing information to be sent to you; or
- give us feedback or contact us.
- Automated technologies or interactions: As you interact with our website, we will automatically collect Technical Data and Usage Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies, server logs and other similar technologies. Please see our cookie policy at https://www.manchesterfertility.com/cookie-policy/ for further details.
4 If you fail to provide personal data
Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with fertility services). In this case, we may have to cancel a product or service you have with us, but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.
5 How we use your personal data
We will only use your personal when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:
- Performance of a contract: where we need to perform the contract, we are about to enter into or have entered into with you.
- Legitimate interests: where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. Legitimate interests means the interest of our business in conducting and managing our business to enable us to give you the best service/product and the best and most secure experience. We make sure we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before we process your personal data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your personal data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by law).
- Legal obligation: where we need to comply with a legal obligation.
- Research: we may process your personal data (including Special Categories of Personal Data) to carry out research. When we use your data for research purposes, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as using the minimum amount of data needed or making sure you cannot be identified by the data.
- Consent: where we have your explicit consent to share your personal data with a third party or to process it in another manner. Where we rely upon consent, you have the right to withdraw consent at any time by contacting us.
We have set out below, in a table format, a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified what our legitimate interests are where appropriate.
Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground, we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out in the table below. The table sets out firstly the personal data we process in relation to all data subjects, then specific processing in relation to patients.
Purpose / Activity | Type of data | Lawful basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest |
1. All data subjects | ||
To manage our relationship with you which will include: a) Replying to requests for information b) Notifying you about changes to our terms or privacy policy c) Asking you to leave a review or take a survey | a) Identity | Performance of a contract with you Necessary to comply with a legal obligation Necessary for our legitimate interests (to keep our records updated and to study how potential customers use our services) |
When requested, to provide you with focussed information about our services | a) Identity | Performance of a contract with you Article 9 condition for processing Special Categories of Personal Data: health or social care under Article 9(2)(h) UK GDPR |
To administer and protect our business and websites (including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, system maintenance, support, reporting and hosting of data) | a) Identity | Necessary for our legitimate interests (for running our business, provision of administration and IT services, network security, to prevent fraud and in the context of a business reorganisation or group restructuring exercise) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation |
To deliver relevant website content and advertisements to you and measure or understand the effectiveness of the advertising we serve to you | a) Identity | |
To use data analytics to improve our website, services, marketing, customer relationships and experiences | a) Technical | Necessary for our legitimate interests (to define types of customers for our services, to keep our website updated and relevant, to develop our business and to inform our marketing strategy) |
To make suggestions and recommendations to you about services that may be of interest to you | a) Identity | Necessary for our legitimate interests (to develop our services and grow our business) |
To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations | a) Identity | To comply with our legal obligations Article 9 condition for processing Special Categories of Personal Data: public interest in the area of public health (Article 9(2)(i) UK GDPR) or health care (Article 9(2)(h) UK GDPR) |
To enable us to participate in research programmes | a) Identity (limited in so far as possible to non-identifiable information) | Legitimate interests in conducting and participating in research Article 9 condition for processing Special Categories of Personal Data: scientific or historical research and statistical purposes under Article 9(2)(j) UK GDPR |
2. Patients | ||
To register you as a new patient and, when requested, to provide you with focussed information about our services | a) Identity | Performance of a contract with you Article 9 condition for processing Special Categories of Personal Data: health or social care under Article 9(2)(h) UK GDPR |
To deliver our services, including: a) Managing payments, fees and charges b) Collecting and recovering money owed to us c) Informing you about charges for ongoing storage of gametes and embryos | a) Identity | Performance of and entry into a contract with you Necessary for our legitimate interests (to recover debts due to us) |
Notifying you of ongoing storage charges for gametes and embryos and asking for your consent to continue storing gametes and embryos | a) Identity | Performance of a contract with you Necessary to comply with a legal obligation |
Communicating with other healthcare professionals about your care | a) Identity | Necessary for our legitimate interests (to ensure that other healthcare professionals involved in your care are aware of your treatment) Article 9 condition for processing Special Categories of Personal Data: health or social care under Article 9(2)(h) UK GDPR |
To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations | a) Identity | To comply with our legal obligations Article 9 condition for processing Special Categories of Personal Data: public interest in the area of public health Article 9(2)(i) UK GDPR |
Where we consider that we need to take steps to protect an individual (who is a child or at risk) from neglect or to protect their physical, mental or emotional well being, which may include sharing data with relevant third parties. | a) Identity | Our legitimate interests in ensuring the wellbeing of our patients and connected people Article 9 condition for processing Special Categories of Personal Data: This type of disclosure of information about fertility treatment is also permitted by the HFEA where we are satisfied it is necessary to make to avert an imminent danger to health |
To communicate with third parties (such as referrers, introducers and funders) in order to update them upon treatment we provide to you, and to provide your details to third party providers of services where you tell us that you wish us to do so. | a) Identity | Consent Article 9 condition for processing Special Categories of Personal Data: consent |
Marketing
We strive to provide you with choices regarding certain personal data uses, particularly around marketing and advertising.
Promotional offers from us
We may use your Identity, Contact, Technical and Usage Data to form a view on what we think you may want or need, or what may be of interest to you. This is how we decide which services and offers may be relevant for you (we call this marketing).
You will receive marketing communications from us if you have requested information from us or purchased services from us and you have not opted out of receiving that marketing.
Third-party marketing
We will get your express opt-in consent before we share your personal data with any third party for marketing purposes.
Opting out
You can ask us or third parties to stop sending you marketing messages by contacting us at any time.
Where you opt out of receiving these marketing messages, this will not apply to personal data provided to us as a result of a service purchase, service experience or other transactions.
Cookies
You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly. For more information about the cookies we use, please see our cookie policy at https://www.manchesterfertility.com/cookie-policy/.
Change of purpose
We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.
If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.
Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.
6 How we share your personal data
We may share your personal data within our group and with the parties set out below:
- Service providers acting as processors who provide IT and system administration services.
- Professional advisers including lawyers, bankers, auditors and insurers who provide consultancy, banking, legal, insurance and accounting services.
- HM Revenue & Customs, regulators and other authorities based in the United Kingdom who require reporting of processing activities in certain circumstances.
- Your general practitioner (GP) and other medical professionals.
- Regulatory authorities such as the HFEA and the CQC.
- Third party organisations who refer you to us for treatment so that we can update them upon whether you have proceeded with treatment. Where a third party is acting as a controller, we will ask them to ensure that they provide you with a privacy notice.
- Third party organisations for the purpose of participating in research.
- Third parties to whom we may choose to sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or our assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. If a change happens to our business, then the new owners may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this privacy notice.
- If you are a patient, we may disclose your personal data to other providers of related services such as the provision of donor gametes so that records they are required to keep by regulatory authorities such as the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) can be kept and updated and so that where appropriate they can assist us with updating your records.
We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. Where a third party is acting as a controller we will ask them to ensure that they provide you with a privacy notice. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.
In addition to complying with data protection legislation, we comply with the HFEA's requirements of in relation to confidentiality and privacy of information about fertility treatment and only share this information where permitted to under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 and the HFEA's guidance.
7 International transfers
We may transfer, store, and process your personal data outside the UK. Whenever we transfer your personal data out of the UK, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented.
- We will only transfer your personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data.
- Where we use certain service providers, we may use specific contracts approved for use in the UK which give personal data the same protection it has in the UK.
Please contact us if you want further information on the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your personal data out of the UK.
8 Data security
We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions, and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.
9 Data retention
How long will you use my personal data for?
We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you.
To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.
10 Your legal rights
Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data, including the right to:
- Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a "data subject access request"). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.
- Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.
- Request erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.
- Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground as you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and freedoms.
- Request restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in the following scenarios:
- If you want us to establish the data's accuracy.
- Where our use of the data is unlawful, but you do not want us to erase it.
- Where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
- You have objected to our use of your data, but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.
- Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.
- Withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.
If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us.
No fee usually required
You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we could refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.
What we may need from you
We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.
Time limit to respond
We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it could take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.