Help with Care Limited, a company registered in England and Wales, is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy. If you have any questions about how we handle your data, contact us at hello@helpwithcare.org.uk or +44 20 8194 1984.
This policy applies to everyone who interacts with Help with Care. Because different people use the service differently, it is organised into three parts below, followed by information that applies to everyone.
If you browse helpwithcare.org.uk without registering, we collect very little about you. If you use a contact form or register your interest, we collect the details you provide, your name, email, and any message, so we can respond.
We do not currently use any cookies to track your activity on this site. If that changes in future, for example to help us understand how our pages are used, we will update this policy and ask for your consent first.
We do not sell or share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.
If you register as a provider, we collect your professional details, including your organisation name, professional registration or accreditation, service area, and contact details, so we can list you in our provider network and involve you in the residents' care records you are part of.
We share this information with residents and care coordinators as part of the service, and we may share it with regulators where legally required. We do not sell your data or share it for marketing purposes.
This is where most of the detail in this policy applies, since it involves health and care information.
Who the data belongs to. The resident, the person receiving care, is the data subject. Their information belongs to them, and decisions about sharing it are theirs to make, or to be made on their behalf only by someone with the legal authority to do so, such as a registered Lasting Power of Attorney for health and welfare. A family member or unpaid carer who does not hold that legal authority cannot consent to sharing the resident's information simply by virtue of being their carer.
What we collect. Depending on your situation, we may collect: the resident's name, address, and contact details; information about their health and care needs; details of their GP, care providers, and the people involved in their care; and, separately, the contact details of any carer named on their record.
Why we collect it, and our legal basis. We collect this information to coordinate care between the resident, their carers, and the health and care professionals involved. Health information is special category data under UK data protection law. We process it on the basis of the resident's explicit consent, or that of someone with legal authority to give it on their behalf, or, in an emergency, where necessary to protect someone's vital interests.
How we share information with third parties. We only share a resident's information with third parties, for example a research trial, an experimental treatment, or a new equipment provider, where the resident (or someone with legal authority to decide for them) has given written agreement, and under their guidance about what may be shared and with whom.
We only continue sharing with a given third party for as long as the resident has agreed, and only for a current, active episode of treatment or care. Before we share information with a new third party for the first time in a new care episode, we check with the resident (or their legally authorised representative) that they still wish to share, rather than assuming an earlier agreement still applies. For ongoing long-term care, we review this periodically to make sure consent remains current and valid, rather than treating an initial agreement as permanent.
The carer's own information. Where a carer is named on a resident's record, we hold the carer's own contact details so they can be included in coordination. This is the carer's own personal data, governed by their own consent, separate from the resident's health information.
How long we keep it. We keep your information for as long as you are registered with Help with Care, and for a period afterwards as required by law or to resolve any dispute, after which it is securely deleted.
Your rights. Under UK data protection law, you have the right to ask us what information we hold about you, to correct it if it is wrong, to ask us to delete it, to object to or restrict how we use it, and to ask for a copy in a portable format. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@helpwithcare.org.uk. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk) if you are unhappy with how we have handled your data.
Keeping your information secure. We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse.
Children's data. Where Help with Care coordinates care involving a child, we collect only the information necessary for that coordination, with consent from a parent or legal guardian, and apply the same protections as for any other resident.
Where your data is processed. Help with Care currently operates only in the United Kingdom, and your information is processed and stored within the UK. If Help with Care begins operating outside the UK, or takes on international enquiries, this section will be updated to explain any international transfer safeguards.
Cookies. We do not currently use tracking, analytics, or advertising cookies on this site.
Changes to this policy. We may update this policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated date.
If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your information, contact us at hello@helpwithcare.org.uk or +44 20 8194 1984.