1. About this notice
Mid West Eye Centre provides consultant-led ophthalmology care with Mr. Ivo R. Reyes Muñoz, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon. This notice concerns the personal information handled by the clinic through its website, communications and care administration.
For questions about how your information is handled, contact reception@midwesteyecentre.ie. Our website is midwesteyecentre.ie.
2. Information we collect
The information needed depends on your enquiry and the care or service you request. It may include:
- Your name, date of birth, contact details and other details needed to identify you correctly.
- Appointment requests, preferred dates and times, the reason for a consultation and correspondence about your visit.
- Referral letters, supporting documents and information supplied by you, a parent or authorised representative, or a healthcare professional involved in your care.
- GP or optometrist details provided with a referral or for care administration.
- Relevant symptoms, medical history, examination findings, treatment information and other health information needed for care.
- Technical information associated with website requests and system security, described below.
The appointment form identifies the details needed to progress your request. Without the necessary identity, contact and appointment details, we may be unable to arrange it. A referral upload is optional unless you indicate that you are submitting a referral. Please provide information relevant to your request and avoid including unnecessary information about other people.
3. Health information
Healthcare can involve information about your physical or mental health. This is special-category personal data under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), with additional protections. We limit its use to what is necessary for the relevant care or other lawful purpose. Access and sharing must reflect the sensitivity of the information and applicable duties of confidentiality.
4. How we use information
Personal information may be used to respond to enquiries; arrange and communicate about appointments; receive and administer referrals; provide and manage healthcare; maintain appropriate clinical and administrative records; support patient safety; meet applicable legal or regulatory obligations; and protect clinic systems against misuse.
Details supplied for an appointment request are used to review and administer that request. Submitting a request does not itself confirm an appointment.
5. Lawful processing
Different activities require different lawful grounds under Article 6 of the GDPR. Depending on the activity and the circumstances, relevant grounds may include taking steps at your request before providing a service or performing a contract; complying with a legal obligation; and legitimate interests in responding to enquiries, administering clinic services and protecting systems, balanced against your rights and interests.
Health information also requires a condition under Article 9. Where applicable, this may be the condition for medical diagnosis, treatment or management of healthcare services in Article 9(2)(h), subject to the required legal and professional-confidentiality safeguards. An ordinary lawful basis alone is not sufficient for health information.
If a particular use relies on your consent, that consent must be sought separately and you may withdraw it. Reading this notice or submitting an appointment request is not treated as blanket consent to other uses of your information. You can ask us which grounds apply to a particular use of your information.
7. Keeping information secure
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures intended to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, alteration or disclosure. Protection includes controlling access according to responsibilities and handling information with regard to its sensitivity. No website, email system or method of storage can offer an absolute guarantee of security.
For an initial privacy enquiry, describe your request without attaching detailed medical records or identity documents. If further information is needed, we can discuss how it should be provided.
8. How long we keep information
Information is kept for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it is held, taking account of applicable healthcare, legal and regulatory requirements. Relevant considerations include the type of record, continuity of care, professional record-keeping duties and the need to address a complaint or legal claim. Different categories of information may need to be kept for different periods. You can ask us about the retention criteria relevant to your information.
9. Your rights
Depending on the circumstances and the legal basis for processing, you may have the right to:
- Access your personal information and receive information about how it is used.
- Rectify inaccurate information or complete information that is incomplete.
- Request erasure where the legal conditions for deletion are met.
- Restrict processing in certain circumstances.
- Object to processing where that right applies, including certain processing based on legitimate interests.
- Receive and transfer information in a portable format where the portability requirements apply.
- Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
These rights are not absolute. For example, a request for deletion may not override healthcare or legal record-keeping obligations. Applicable restrictions and the rights of other people may also need to be considered. Where a request cannot be fulfilled, we will explain the relevant reasons.
10. Privacy requests
Email reception@midwesteyecentre.ie with a description of your request. We may need proportionate information to confirm your identity or a representative’s authority before releasing or changing personal information. We will respond within the time limits required by applicable data protection law.
Clinic opening hours: Monday–Friday, 09:00–18:00.
11. Raising a concern
Please contact us if you are concerned about the handling of your information. You also have the right to make a complaint to Ireland’s Data Protection Commission. The Commission provides guidance on raising a concern and the information it may need.
13. Changes to this notice
This notice may be updated to reflect changes in clinic services, website functionality or applicable requirements. The current version will be published on this page with its update date. Where required, further information about a change in how your information is used will be provided separately.