Privacy Notice

FertilityUK provides information on fertility awareness for planning and avoiding pregnancy. We have a network of accredited practitioners and provide training in fertility awareness methods for health professionals.  This privacy notice explains how we use any personal information we collect about you through this site and if you use one of our services. We understand that privacy is important to you and we undertake to look after your personal information in accordance with the 1988 Data Protection Act. We never sell any information about you to any other party.

What information do we collect about you?

We do not use cookies on this site. You are free to browse the site, contact your local practitioner or download any of our resources and we do not collect any information about you. We will only have information about you if you willingly provide it. If you use the contact form then you are asked for your name and email address and to provide any personal details you feel relevant to allow us to respond to your query. Data submitted via the contact form is collected by Jane Knight, Specialist Fertility Nurse Counsellor and Director of FertilityUK jknight@fertilityuk.org

If you are registering for a training course, this is done online through PHAST www.phast.org.uk where you may be asked for your name, address, telephone number, email address, professional role, skill level and how you wish to use the information from the course. This information is required to allow us to give you further information about training events. Once you are registered on a course, PHAST will share the information you provide with FertilityUK trainers but the information is not shared with any other party.

Links to other websites

This site contains a few links to other sites. This privacy notice only applies to the FertilityUK site. If you use one of the links, please read the privacy notice on the linked site.

Working with a Practitioner

Practitioners who are trained by FertilityUK predominantly work within NHS services so consultations are free and practitioners are governed by NHS policies; however, others work independently and may charge fees – please discuss the fee schedule and privacy policy with the practitioner concerned.

You will be required to disclose personal information to your practitioner - this may include: your name, address, telephone number and email, age (DOB), occupation, marital status, information about your physical and mental health. If you are using fertility awareness as a family planning method, detailed information will be kept about your menstrual cycle, the indicators of fertility, factors causing disruption to your cycles and patterns of intercourse. Some of this information is highly sensitive, but it is required to ensure that you understand the limits of the fertile time and are using the guidelines correctly.

Consultations are private and confidential. You may be given a unique identification number to aid anonymity. No information will be shared outside your consultation without your specific permission unless there are very exceptional circumstances where legally or ethically the practitioner might have to give information to other authorities – for example if the practitioner believes there is a serious risk of harm for you or someone else, or if you disclose information relevant to a serious crime. The disclosure would be discussed with you first.

At times you or your practitioner may wish to have a second opinion about your charts – for example with a supervisor, or your charts may be of interest for teaching purposes. You will always be asked for your consent before any information is shared and all identifying information will be removed to protect your anonymity.

Sensitive data collected during consultations is normally stored securely electronically, but it may be stored in paper-based systems in locked cabinets. Speak to your practitioner directly about how your personal information is stored. Records are normally stored for seven years and then they are destroyed.

Please note that Fertility UK cannot accept liability for individual practitioners. We provide training and updating for practitioners but practitioners are responsible for their own practice and continuing professional development.

Your rights of access to your personal information

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Act (May 2018), you have the right to access a copy of any information we hold about you. If you would like a copy of your information, please contact Jane Knight jknight@fertilityuk.org You should expect to get a response within six weeks and there is no fee. You can make any corrections to the information we hold; or, if you choose, you can have the data erased. You will then be informed of the corrections or deletion.

Changes to our privacy notice

This privacy notice is updated as needed. Last updated 7th May 2019

Contact us

If you have any questions or comments about this privacy notice please contact Jane Knight jknight@fertilityuk.org