Privacy Notice
This notice explains how Manchester Spines Ltd handles personal data when Mr Irfan Siddique is instructed as a medical expert. It covers people examined for a medicolegal report ("claimants" or "clients"), the solicitors and other organisations who instruct us, and visitors to this website.
Who we are
The controller is Manchester Spines Ltd (company number 08280500), Suite 2, Parkway 5, Parkway Business Centre, 300 Princess Road, Manchester M14 7HR. We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office under registration number ZA033870. For any question about your data, contact admin@thespinaldoc.com.
If you are being examined for a report
Your solicitor, or the organisation dealing with your claim, instructs Mr Siddique to examine you and write an independent report for the court. To do this we use:
- Identity and contact details, such as your name, date of birth, email address and mobile number. We use these to arrange your appointment and to check your identity when you attend.
- Health information: your medical records, imaging, and what you tell Mr Siddique at your appointment, including what he finds when he examines you.
- Information about your claim from the letter of instruction, such as the date and circumstances of an accident.
Our legal basis. We process your data because it is necessary for our legitimate interests, and those of the parties and the court, in having expert medical evidence prepared for legal proceedings (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f)). Where we have a contract with the instructing party, we also rely on that contract (Article 6(1)(b)). We process health information because it is necessary for establishing, exercising or defending legal claims, or whenever courts are acting in their judicial capacity (Article 9(2)(f)).
Contacting you directly. When your solicitor books your appointment, they confirm that you agree to us contacting you about it. We will email you your appointment details and appointment letter, and any changes to them.
If you instruct us
We hold the name, firm, email address, telephone number and reference of the people who instruct us. We use them to manage instructions, send confirmations, and issue and chase invoices. Our legal bases are our contract with you (Article 6(1)(b)), our legitimate interests in running our practice (Article 6(1)(f)), and our legal obligations, for example for tax records (Article 6(1)(c)).
Who we share data with
- The instructing party, who receives the report. Under the court rules, the report may then be disclosed to other parties in the case and to the court.
- Our service providers, who process data only on our instructions:
- Microsoft, for email, appointment booking, and secure document storage and upload (Microsoft 365)
- Cloudflare, which hosts this website. The website itself does not collect personal data.
- Others where the law requires it, for example a court order or a regulator such as the General Medical Council.
Microsoft 365 data for our account is stored in UK or European data centres. Where any provider transfers data outside the UK, appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the UK International Data Transfer Addendum or a UK adequacy decision.
How long we keep data
We keep medicolegal reports, the records supplied to us and our examination notes for 7 years after the case concludes, or longer if a court or regulator requires it. Booking information that never results in an appointment is deleted within 12 months. Financial records are kept for 6 years, as tax law requires.
How we keep data secure
Records are sent to us through secure upload links or encrypted portals, and are stored in our Microsoft 365 account, which is protected by multi-factor authentication. Only Mr Siddique and staff working directly for him can access them.
Your rights
You have the right to request a copy of your personal data, and to ask us to correct it, delete it or restrict how we use it. You can also object to how we use it. Some rights are limited where data is held for legal proceedings. For example, we cannot alter a report that has been served on the court, although a correction can be made by addendum. To make a request, email admin@thespinaldoc.com. We will reply within one month.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, please contact us first. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint, telephone 0303 123 1113.
Website and booking page
This website uses no analytics or advertising cookies. Cloudflare may set a strictly necessary security cookie to protect the site from attack. The online booking page is provided by Microsoft Bookings, and Microsoft's privacy statement applies to it: privacy.microsoft.com.