SCAN policies

The following disclose our user policies for this web site: www.scan.uk.net

PRIVACY POLICY

Please take a moment to read the following Privacy Policy. This should be read in conjunction with our User Policy and Discussion Forum Policy. Please note that words which are defined in our User Policy also apply to this Privacy Policy. If there is anything you do not understand then please Contact Us.

1. This Privacy Policy

We are committed to protecting your privacy online. This Privacy Policy sets out how we treat your personal information, allowing you to make informed choices about the personal information that you provide to us via our Website or otherwise in relation to SCAN.

IMPORTANT: By accessing and using our Website and submitting any personal information to us via or in relation to our Website, or your registration as a Member, you will automatically be taken to have read, understood and accepted this Privacy Policy.

If you do not want us to collect, use and/or transfer your personal information in this way then you should (depending on what it is you object to) cease to access and use our Website and/or Contact Us and ask for your registration as a Member, to be deleted.

This Privacy Policy may be amended from time to time, and we therefore suggest that you review it periodically.

2. What we mean by personal information

Personal information means any data from which you can be identified (including information such as your name, postal address, email address and password) and which relates to you. All personal information that we obtain from you in relation to our Website or your membership of SCAN will be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of this Privacy Policy and the Data Protection Act 1998.

3. Personal information that we collect

When you register as a Member, we ask you to provide us with various details about you, including your name, email address, postal address, telephone number, job title, and any other information we consider to be relevant from time to time. As indicated when we collect such information, some of the information is mandatory for your registration as a Member and some is collected on a voluntary basis. Whether or not you choose to provide us with such voluntary information will not impact on your Membership of SCAN.

We also ask you to provide information as to your gender, ethnicity and number of years of experience, however this information is collated on a voluntary and anonymous basis for statistical purposes and equal opportunities monitoring only.

We also collect personal information when you submit personal information contained in any Content that you may submit to us (including posting messages on a Discussion Forum), and/or when you email, write to, or telephone us. From time to time we may also request additional information, either by contacting you directly or through our Website. There will be no obligation on you to provide this additional information.

Finally, we use session cookies to store information about your current session on our Website. We also use cookies to control your access to the site and to collect and store your log in details. No personal information is stored in the cookies other than your name. We may also use cookies to collect statistical information about your use of our Website. Please see below for more information About Cookies.

4. How we use your personal information

Your personal information is used by us so that we can:-

• administer and support our Website and your registration as a Member;
• provide you with access to the appropriate areas and functions of our Website;
• post or email your copies of SCANbites and other information we consider may be relevant to you in your capacity as a specialist in addiction psychiatry;
• contact you from time to time, in order to ask for your views on our Website and/or any of the Content; and
• notify you occasionally about important changes or developments to our Website.

We may use information provided by you (such as what you think about our Website and improvements that you would like to see made) or statistical information collected, so that we can improve our service to you or make your visits to our Website more rewarding.

We may also use information collected from surveys, messages posted on the Discussion Forums and any other information you give to us, in reports we may produce from time to time, in relation to addiction psychiatry and related issues. However, we will not include in any such report or otherwise publish any such information which identifies you (either expressly or by implication) without your prior consent.

5. Personal Information we provide to other parties

Except in very specific circumstances, we do not disclose any of your information to other parties without your consent.

Otherwise, we reserve the right to give your personal information to a third party without your consent where:

• the disclosure is required by law, such as where there is a court order, or a statutory obligation requiring us to make such a disclosure; and/or
• we believe that such disclosure is necessary in order to assist in the prevention or detection of any criminal action (including fraud) or it is otherwise in the overriding public interest, or is otherwise permitted by law.

6. How we protect your personal information

We are strongly committed to data security and we take reasonable and appropriate steps to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or corruption. We have put in place physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information you provide to us.

These steps include communicating this Privacy Policy to the SCAN team. Only authorised staff under strict controls will have access to any personal information.

However, while we strive to protect your personal information, due to the nature of the internet we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us. With this in mind, we urge you to take every precaution to protect your personal information while you are on the internet.

7. How long we keep your personal information

We will keep and use your personal information as described above for as long as:

1. you are registered as a Member; or
2. any current SCAN records reference you,

and for up to 7 years afterwards, in order to deal with any consequent queries, complaints or claims you may have. After this period your personal information will be expunged from our systems, unless there is a specific legal reason or requirement to keep the information for longer, for example if it is relevant to any current or potential legal proceedings. We may keep statistical or anonymised information (from which you cannot be identified) for longer periods.

8. Updating your personal information

You are entitled to see the information held about you and to amend or update any inaccuracies in your personal information. Please note that we are entitled to charge a £10 fee for providing you with access to your personal information. If you would like to review or update your personal information please Contact Us.

9. Liability

Please read carefully the paragraphs entitled Disclaimers, Our Liability and Your Liability in the User Policy, as they also apply to this Privacy Policy.

10. About cookies

Cookies are small files stored in your computer’s hard drive by your web browser. When you access our Website our computer server will access these cookies so that it can recognise your computer, and make using our Website easier for you. For example, cookies allow us to remember your username and password to save you having to retype it every time you visit our Website.

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can alter your settings to allow you to be prompted every time a cookie is sent to you or you can choose not to receive cookies at all. However, please note that if you have ‘disabled’ cookies in your browser this way you may not be able to use certain features on our Website, and in some cases you may not be able to log on to the Website at all.