Privacy policy

Summary

Medical Justice is committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about how we use your data. We will only use the information that we collect about you lawfully.

This page tells you about how Medical Justice collects and uses the information relating to all website users. This includes people providing their data as donors, subscribers, or prospective volunteers.

This privacy statement also gives a general explanation about how we use personal information about our clients and people referred to us when data is provided via this website. If you would like more detailed information about how we use clients’ data, please contact us at info@medicaljustice.org.uk to request a copy of our client privacy policy.

Information about Medical Justice

We are a charity (registration no 1132072). We offer independent medical advice and assessments to people in immigration detention and write medico-legal reports which can be used to identify significant medical concerns, support asylum claims, and outline any clinical difficulties caused by detention.

We also advocate against the use of detention for immigration purposes. This means we undertake research and work with other organisations to campaign against detention.

Why we collect personal information

We need to collect personal information in order to work effectively as a charity and to offer help to people in detention. Where we have agreed to provide a medico-legal report then we also use this data to enable us to adhere to our legal contract to provide this service.

The type of information we collect via this website

We collect and retain the personal information you have given us via this website. The type of information you provide arises from the various ways of interacting with Medical Justice: making a referral for casework assistance, providing a financial donation, offering to help on a voluntary or campaigning basis or asking to be updated about our work.

The personal information we collect can simply include your contact details if you wish to be on a mailing list and updated about our work. We also retain the financial details of people who have provided a donation to support us.

If you are offering to volunteer for us, we will collect and retain your contact details provided by this website and will forward an application form to request information about your work history, qualifications and gender.

If you are making a referral for clinical assessment and advice, the data we collect and retain will include sensitive information about the detained person’s medical situation, immigration position, age, nationality, language, legal representation, and, any individuals or organisations offering support. The website also offers the chance to upload documents concerning to provide additional information to support the referral and we will also retain these.

We also collect anonymous, non-identifiable data about the use of our website. Google Analytics provides Medical Justice, like most other webmasters, with aggregated statistics of website traffic. This enables us to understand how the website is being used.

Is your information shared?

Medical Justice will only share information about you where you have given your explicit consent to do so or if this is required by law.

In situations of clinical urgency, we may convey our concerns directly to a responsible healthcare organisation without consent, but this policy is discussed with all Medical Justice clients in advance.

Our legal basis for processing your data is:

(a) Your consent.

You are able to remove your consent at any time, unless we need to retain your data for legal reasons. If you would like to remove your consent, please contact our data protection officer and we will discuss your individual situation with you.

(b) We have a contractual obligation.

How we store your personal information and keep it safe

The security and storage of your data is very important to us. All the information we collect from you is stored by us on secure servers, which are protected by firewalls and access controls.

Our staff receive training about how to look after your data and we have carefully considered policies and procedures in place to ensure that your information is kept safe.

Donations made via this website are processed by third party providers JustGiving or directly by Medical Justice via the relevant banks. All transactions are encrypted and covered by the direct debit guarantee. We suggest you review the privacy policy of JustGiving for the most up to date information about their approach to your data.

Your data protection rights

Your rights under GDPR:

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on 25 May 2018, replacing the Data Protection Act 1998. These rights under GDPR include:

To be informed about how we obtain and use your information
To ask for a copy of the information we hold about you
To have any incorrect information we hold about you corrected
To request us to restrict processing of your personal data
To request to have your information deleted
To object to the processing of your data
To have information you have provided to us returned to you or sent to another organisation in a way that is structured and accessible
If you have given us specific consent for the purpose of processing your data (e.g. for audit purposes) the right at any time to withdraw that consent

You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, Medical Justice should respond promptly and within one month.

Please contact us at info@medicaljustice.org.uk or on 020 7561 7498 if you wish to make a request.

Concerns about your data

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, we hope you will first contact us to discuss this. You can raise any concern with our data protection officer, Emma Ginn.

You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.

The ICO’s address:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk