Before launch — only visible to you while logged in to WordPress. This policy describes exactly what this website does today. Please check it, and supply the four details below; patients never see these notes.
- Who legally runs the practice: the owner’s name or the company name and number, to add under “Who we are”.
- ICO registration number: practices that hold patient data must pay the ICO data protection fee. Add the number under “Who we are”.
- Your web host and email provider: their names, and whether they store data in the UK. Add them under “Who we share it with”.
- Patient privacy notice: if the practice has one for clinical records (most do, and NHS practices must), link it in the “Patient records” section.
Ask a professional to review the final version if you are unsure. It reflects UK GDPR and PECR as generally applied to a small practice website, but it is not legal advice.
Last updated: 14 October 2026
This policy explains what personal information the Ghaffar Dental Care website collects, why, how long we keep it, and the rights you have over it. It covers this website only. How we look after your dental records once you are a patient is explained to you at the practice.
Who we are
Ghaffar Dental Care is the data controller for the personal information collected through this website. That means we decide how it is used and we are responsible for looking after it.
- Address: 66 New Chapel Street, Blackburn, BB2 4DT
- Telephone: 01254 485431
- Email: info@dental.smartwebix.com
If you have any question about this policy or your information, please contact us using the details above.
What we collect
When you ask for an appointment
The appointment form on our Contact Us page asks for:
- your name and phone number;
- your email address, if you choose to give it;
- the date and time you would prefer, if you choose to give them;
- your agreement that we may store these details to arrange your appointment.
When you send the form, our website also records the date and time it was sent and your device’s IP address, which helps us spot and stop misuse of the form.
The form does not ask about your health, and we ask you not to include medical details in it. We will talk about your dental health with you in person.
When you simply visit the website
We do not ask for any personal information and do not use analytics, advertising or tracking tools. Like any website, our hosting provider’s servers automatically record technical information about each visit, such as your IP address, the page requested and the time, to keep the website running and secure.
Why we use it, and our lawful basis
We use the details you send through the appointment form only to contact you and arrange your appointment. We rely on:
- Your consent, which you give with the tick box on the form. You can withdraw it at any time by contacting us; this does not affect anything we did before you withdrew it.
- Taking the steps you have asked for before we provide care, namely contacting you to book an appointment.
We keep the technical information about visits, and IP addresses sent with the form, because we have a legitimate interest in keeping the website secure and working.
We never sell your information, never use it for marketing without asking you first, and never use it to make automated decisions about you.
Emails we send and receive
When you send the appointment form, a copy of your details is emailed to the practice so a member of our team can call you. If you gave your email address, we also send you an acknowledgement confirming what you sent us. These emails stay in the practice’s email account and are handled like any other correspondence with the practice.
How long we keep it
- Appointment requests made through this website are deleted from the website automatically 12 months after they are sent.
- IP addresses recorded with the form are deleted automatically after 30 days.
- If you become a patient, the details you give us become part of your dental record, which we keep for the periods required of dental practices by law and professional guidance.
Who we share it with
Only the practice team who arrange appointments can see the information you send. We do not share it with anyone else except the companies that provide services we need to run the website, who act only on our instructions:
- Our website hosting provider, which stores the website and the appointment requests on its servers.
- Our email provider, which carries the emails described above.
- Google, which provides the map on our Contact Us page, described under “Cookies and other technologies” below.
We may also share information if the law requires us to.
To be supplied: name the hosting and email providers here, and say whether they store data in the UK.
Cookies and other technologies
Cookies are small files a website saves on your device. This website uses as few as possible.
| Name | Set by | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
cookie_notice_accepted |
This website | Remembers whether you accepted or declined cookies, so we don’t ask on every page. Set only when you make a choice. | 1 month |
| WordPress login cookies | This website | Keep practice staff signed in to manage the website. Never set for visitors. | Until sign-out, or up to 14 days |
Google Maps. Our Contact Us page can show a map provided by Google. The map only loads if you choose “Show map” or accept cookies; until then nothing is sent to Google. Once it loads, Google may set its own cookies and receive your IP address, and decides how it uses that information; see Google’s privacy policy. You can also open our location in Google Maps instead, using the link beside the map.
The lettering on this website is stored on our own website, so loading a page does not contact Google.
If you load the map, Google may process your information outside the UK. Google states that it protects such transfers with safeguards recognised under UK data protection law.
You can change your cookie choice at any time with the “Update consent” button at the bottom of any page, and you can delete cookies through your browser’s settings.
Keeping your information safe
This website is served over an encrypted connection (https), so details you send through the form cannot be read in transit. Access to the website’s management area and to appointment requests is limited to practice staff and protected by passwords.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the information we hold about you;
- ask us to correct anything that is wrong or incomplete;
- ask us to delete your information;
- ask us to limit how we use it, or object to how we use it;
- ask for information you gave us in a format you can take elsewhere;
- withdraw your consent at any time.
To use any of these rights, contact us by phone, email or letter using the details at the top of this page. There is no charge, and we will reply within one month. We may need to confirm who you are before we act on a request.
Patient records
This policy covers the website only. When you become a patient, we hold your dental records under separate arrangements that we explain to you at the practice. Please ask us if you would like a copy.
Children
If you are booking for a child, please fill in the appointment form yourself as their parent or guardian.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first so we can put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection regulator:
- Website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
- Helpline: 0303 123 1113
Changes to this policy
We will update this page if the way our website uses personal information changes, for example if we add new features. The date at the top shows when it was last changed.