BSGE Members & Website UsersĀ 

Last Updated: 31st October 2023

You can download the BSGE Privacy Notice for BSGE Members and Website Users in pdf.

Introduction

The British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy (ā€œBSGEā€/ā€weā€/ā€ourā€) is committed to protecting your privacy and meeting our legal obligations when;

  • Applying and become a member of BSGE (the ā€œBSGE Membershipā€),
  • Using the visiting or contacting us through our website.

This privacy notice explains what personal data BSGE collects from individuals who apply to and become members of our society, visit our website, contact us using our web forms, by email or through one of our social channels; or subscribe for our newsletter or other marketing communications (ā€œyouā€/ā€yourā€). It also explains what information we collect automatically when you visit our website.

Separately to BSGE membership services, BSGE has developed an endometriosis database for the benefit of patients and for scientific research purposes. For details about the data that is processed, please refer to separate privacy notices for endometriosis patients and endometriosis centre staff.

As an information led organisation, we place great importance in ensuring the quality, confidentiality, integrity and availability of the data we hold, and in meeting our data protection obligations where we process personal data. BSGE is committed to protecting the security of your personal data. We use a variety of technical and organisational measures to help protect your personal data from unauthorised access, use or disclosure.

We update this privacy notice from time to time in response to changes in applicable laws and regulations, to our processing practices and to products and services we offer. When changes are made, we will update the ā€˜Last Updatedā€™ date at the top of this page. Please review this privacy notice periodically to check for updates.

Personal data we collect when you register to become a BSGE member

The BSGE exists to improve standards, promote training and encourage the exchange of information in minimal access surgery techniques. The BSGE Membership application enables you to access information, education and training as well as sharing knowledge and experiences with other members who provide minimally invasive surgery in gynaecology.

When you first apply to become a member we may collect, store and use the following kinds of information: personal information that you provide to us for the purpose of applying to become a BSGE member (including your name, email, address, mobile phone, bank/card payment information,

Upon acceptance of your BSGE membership, you may disclose further personal data such as the name of the trust you work for, your linked hospital, GMC number, details of any BSGE council memberships and bursaries), and any other information that you choose to send to us, such as an identity photograph.

Personal data we collect using the web form

When you contact us using the web form on our website, a corporate email account (such as bsge@rcog.org.uk) or through one of our social channels (including Twitter) we collect the information you provide to us. This typically includes your name, job title, email, contact number, topic of your enquiry and any additional information you include in your message.

When you visit our website (https://www.bsge.org.uk/) we may collect limited personal data automatically through the use of cookies on our website.Ā  A cookie is a small text file used to store limited information about the user. We may also automatically collect information including the IP address of your organisation or ISP, your browser family, operating system family and version, your country and continent and your web page viewing path including page response times and download times. This information does not include personal data and is used only help us improve the performance of our website and to troubleshoot problems.

Cookies & social media links

We may use cookies to distinguish you from other website users and to improve your overall experience. When you use the website, certain information may be stored locally on your device using cookies or similar technologies such as objects stored in the deviceā€™s local storage. They help us to identify how our users use the Application, and so that we can continue to develop and improve it.

Cookies do this by storing information about your preferences on your device, including the device model, manufacturer, screen resolution, device capabilities, service provider, country and city location data. We use certain cookies, which we have set out below:

  • Cookies which are strictly necessary and enable the Application to function correctly and deliver content. These cookies do not gather information about users that could be used for marketing or remembering sites that users have visited on the internet.
  • Cookies which ensure Performance & Functionality and understand user preferences.

Our website includes social media links to enable you to share our content through your preferred social media site or by email direct from one of our web pages. These features may collect your IP address and the page you are visiting on our website and may set a cookie on your device.

When you use one of these buttons or links, you are sharing information to another website or service (such as Twitter) and this privacy notice will no longer apply. Please read the privacy notices provided by the particular social media website you are sharing through before posting any personal data using these links.

For further information about the cookies used, please refer to our cookie policy.

How we use your personal data when you become a member

Personal information submitted to us will be used for the purposes specified in this policy. We may use your personal information to:

  1. administer the membership society,
  2. improve your user experience by personalising the membership services provided to you,
  3. enable your use of membership services available to members,
  4. send you general administrative (non-marketing) communications,
  5. send you email notifications which you have specifically requested;
  6. send you our newsletter and other marketing communications relating to our organisation (if you have opted in),
  7. deal with enquiries and complaints made by or about you relating to BSGE Membership,
  8. verify and keep the membership database secure and prevent fraud and ensure compliance with the terms and conditions governing the Membership.

Notwithstanding the above we will not, without your express consent, provide your personal information to any third parties for the purpose of direct marketing.

How we use your personal data on making a web enquiry

We use the personal data you provide to us to respond to your enquiry and, if you have agreed to us doing so, we use it to subscribe you to our newsletter and contact you with research reports, insights and other BSGE news and information.

You can unsubscribe from our newsletter and associated communications at any time by contacting us at bsge@rcog.org.uk.

Basis for using your personal data

When we use your personal information we are required to have a lawful basis for doing so. There are various different legal bases upon which we may rely, depending on what personal information we process and why. The legal bases we may rely on include:

  • consent: where you have given us clear consent for us to process your personal information for a specific purpose
  • legal obligation: where our use of your personal information is necessary for us to comply with the law (not including contractual obligations)
  • vital interests: where our use of your personal information is necessary to protect you or someone elseā€™s life
  • public task: where our use of your personal information is necessary for us to perform a task in the public interest or for our official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law
  • contract: where our use of your personal information is necessary for a contract (e.g. out of hours service agreement with a GP surgery) we have with you, or because you have asked us to take specific steps before entering into a contract
  • legitimate interests: where our use of your personal information is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party (unless there is a good reason to protect your personal information which overrides our legitimate interests).

For further details on when we collect personal information, what we collect as well as how we use it, please read the following sections.

When information is collected What information we ask for How and why we use your information

When you contact us either via the web form or by phone

Contact details: your name (first & last name), email address, phone number, message.

We ask for this information in order to respond to you query and communicate with you about the services we provide.

We rely on legitimate interest as the lawful basis for collecting and using your personal information to identify areas for developing new services and manage the societies affairs.

When you sign up to receive BSGE newsletters

Contact details: your name (first & last name), email address.

For future marketing purposes we rely upon consent from you to inform you about events, training resources, and other services provided by BSGE.

When you apply for and use BSGE membership services.

Contact details: Title, name (first and last), billing email address, Trust name (optional), address & post code, country, username & password and debit / credit card details.

We ask for this information in order to consider your application to join BSGE.

Processing is necessary for compliance with a contract to which BSGE provides its member services.

We rely on legitimate interest as the lawful basis for collecting and using your personal information to identify areas for managing current member relationships, develop new services and manage the societies affairs.

When you apply for access to anonymised scientific data from the endometriosis database for research purposes.

Contact details: Title, name (first and last), position, work organisation name and address of the custodian and study sponsors.

We rely on legitimate interest as the lawful basis for collecting and using your personal information to consider your application to access the anonymised data.

When you apply to attend a BSGE organised event.

Contact details: Title, name (first and last), billing email address, Trust name (optional), address & post code, country, username & password and debit / credit card details.

Delegate information: Name (first & last), grade, speciality, base hospital.

We ask for this information in order to deliver the event services that we have agree to provide to you. Processing is necessary for compliance with a contract to which BSGE provides member services.

We rely on legitimate interest as the lawful basis for collecting and using your personal information to identify areas for managing current member relationships, develop new services and manage the societies affairs.

For purposes of protecting the safety of members we rely upon protecting the vital interests of the member during BSGE events.

Sharing your data

When you become a BSGE member we will share your contact details (name, email address, organisation name) with the membership secretary of other relevant international societies, such as the ESGE and AAGL. This means we may transfer the personal data we collect about you to USA. To ensure that your personal data receives an adequate level of protection if we transfer it to the USA, we have put in place a data sharing agreement which includes the International Data Transfer Addendum to the European Commissionā€™s Standard Contractual Clauses for International Data Transfers (Addendum). The IDTA Addendum along with supplementary transfer tools, constitute appropriate measures to ensure that your personal data is treated by those third parties in a way that is consistent with, and which respects the EU and UK laws on data protection. If you require further information about this, you can request it from bsge@rcog.org.uk Please note only consultant members have access to AAGL corporate membership and we only share the information that we need to in order to fulfil our purposes.

BSGE services operates predominantly in the UK but has a global membership base. To respond properly to your enquiry, it is possible that we will share your data with other third party suppliers, including those based in countries outside the UK and European Economic Area (the ā€œEEAā€) where the data protection laws are not equivalent to those within the UK. We do so by using the International Data Transfer Addendum to the European Commissionā€™s standard contractual clauses for international data transfers (Addendum) approved by the UK Government which contractually oblige our group companies in those countries to the standard expected within the UK and EEA.

It is possible that we may be required to share your data to comply with applicable laws or with valid legal processes, such as in response to a court order or with government or law enforcement agencies.

Security of your information

We will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information. We will store all the personal information you provide on our secure (password and firewall protected) servers.

While we use SSL encryption to protect data in transit, transmission of information over the internet is inherently insecure, and we cannot guarantee the security of data sent over the internet.

You are responsible for keeping your password and other login details confidential. We will not ask you for your password (except when you log in to the Application). If you lose your password or give it out, your personal information may be compromised. If that happens, please use the ā€œForgot Passwordā€ button on the Applicationā€™s login page to change your password immediately. We cannot be held responsible for your failure to keep your password secure and failure to do so may violate the terms in our ā€˜Legal Informationā€™ section.

How long we keep your data

We will retain your personal data for as long as it necessary for the purpose of our relationship or until you object to us processing it or withdraw your consent.

Your Rights

Individuals whose personal data we hold, and process have the following rights:

  • You have the right of access to your personal data and can request copies of it and information about our processing of it.
  • If the personal data we hold about you in incorrect or incomplete, you can ask us to rectify or add to it.
  • Where we are using your personal data with your consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time.
  • Where we are using your personal because it is in our legitimate interests to do so, you can object to us using it this way.
  • In some circumstances, you can restrict our processing of your data, request a machine-readable copy of your personal data to transfer to another service provider and compel us to erase your personal data

If you wish to exercise your rights, please contact us at bsge@rcog.org.uk.

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request for access is clearly unfounded or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with the request in such circumstances.

In addition to the above, please note that you have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissionerā€™s Office if you are concerned about the way in which we are handling your personal data.

How to contact us

You can contact BSGE in relation to data protection and this privacy notice by writing to:

Vice President,Ā BSGE,Ā 10-18 Union Street,Ā LondonĀ SE1 1SZ.

Alternatively, you can email us at bsge@rcog.org.uk.