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Smith & Nephew Plc respects the content and intention of the UK Data Protection Act 1998, and is registered with the Information Commissioner, registration number: Z6562707.

We believe in an ethical approach to our business communication, and hate spam as much as anyone. Therefore we have some guiding principles by which we work. You can read on about the detail of what types of data we keep, and what we do with it, but this absolute commitment we make to all that we interact with:

• We will not divulge your personal information to others without your consent.
• We will keep your data securely, and regularly monitor our methods and approaches to endeavour to implement best-practice approaches in this space.
• We will always make it easy for you to stop us communicating with you, whenever you want to.

The remainder of this document sets out our approach to privacy, including defining:

• what information we collect
• how we use the information
• how you can find out what information we have about you?
• what we do to keep your data safe
• the "small print".

what information do we collect?

There are two types of information we collect from our users.

individuals' submitted data

This is information that you knowingly provide, usually for an explicit purpose. This information we will keep secure, and will only use for the purpose for which you gave us permission. We may occasionally ask your permission to use the information for another purpose, but you may always decline this request.

An example always makes life easier! You might provide your e-mail address to us, when you ask us a question on our services. We will reply to that request, using your e-mail address, which we have filed securely. We will not use your e-mail address for any other purpose without your consent. We might ask your permission to send you details of other similar services, or to send you our newsletters. However, if you refuse, we will only use your e-mail address to answer the original query.

From time to time we may ask for your participation in surveys, polls or questionnaires, and contents or competitions. Participation is voluntary and should you choose to participate, you agree to us collecting and using the information you provide. We may publish trends and findings as a result of surveys, and may quote particular pieces of information. We will announce the winner of any contest. If a contest or survey is sponsored (as defined on the survey or contest itself) we will share the results with the sponsor.

information we collect from individuals as they browse the site

We automatically track the behaviour and information about users who browse our websites. This is to allow us to improve our services, and to offer you a smooth and personalised experience.

We only use information that you are already disclosing, usually via the browser that you choose to use. Many people are not aware that this information is being provided, but most browsers are set to give it out by default. This information includes the language you've chosen, the browser you're using, and the IP address you're browsing from.

there is no way we can personally identify you from this sort of information

If you don't want to provide this sort of information, you must either learn how to browse the web in a more secure fashion, making use of particular browsers and IP address re-routers, or you must not use our site. We don't believe providing this information is a security risk. It is just to improve your short and long-term experience of this site. We hope you feel comfortable with us using this information, and would be very happy to hear any concerns you might have. Just get in touch.

We may use cookies to improve your experience. You are welcome to reject these cookies if your browser permits it. However, rejecting them may degrade your overall experience. We do not store personal information in cookies.

what do we use your information for?

We try to get better at what we do! We use your information to respond to queries from you, improve our sales and marketing efforts, to analyse site usage statistics, and to customise our site's layout and content to make it more responsive to our customers.

We use your e-mail address to get in touch with you, about things that you've asked us to. This might be queries, sales material, newsletters and ad-hoc promotions. We always offer an opt-out of such communications, and we always respect our users' choice. We will usually tell you the likely frequency of any such communications, so you can make an informed choice.

By providing us with your personal data, you consent to our processing your sensitive personal data (such as health data) for these purposes. You also consent to our transferring your information to countries outside of Europe if necessary for such purposes. If we do make such a transfer we will, if appropriate, put a contract in place to ensure that your information is protected.

how you can find out what information we have about you?

If you have any queries at all about the information we hold, and what we do with it, please use any of the methods on our contact page to get in touch. We'll be happy to help you.

You can see our official data usage statement on the Information Commissioner's website. Our registration number is Z6562707. For further information regarding your rights to information please go to the Information Commissioner's Office website here.

what we do to keep your data safe

We do our best to keep your information secure. However, our site is just like the rest of the internet - inherently insecure and unencrypted. Once we receive your information, we secure it in a database. However, you have to transmit it to us over the internet or via e-mail. This should always be considered insecure. Do not transmit information you couldn't disclose publicly without contacting us first to discuss a better way to communicate. We consider any information you transfer to us via unencrypted e-mail or over the internet via an unencrypted web page to be potentially compromised.

the small print

Our privacy policy is based on the requirements of the UK Data Protection Acts of 1984 and 1998. Unfortunately we cannot guarantee that we won't be forced to disclose information that we hold about you. We may be forced to disclose information to the government or third parties, but we will seek to keep you informed where we are permitted. Therefore you must authorise this potential disclosure if you wish to use the site, and use of the site implies your acceptance of this condition.

We don't sell your data to anyone without your express permission. We may aggregate personal information, but the information we provide to 3rd parties will not personally identify you.

We do not keep personal information of minors, and we require that people under the age of 18 request a parent or guardian to act on their behalf.

If we need to change the way we use your data, we will notify you via the e-mail address you have provided, prior to making such changes. It is your responsibility to keep your e-mail address with us up to date.

This site is owned by Smith and Nephew Plc. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use and disclose information that you may provide to us through this site. Please be sure to read this entire Privacy Policy before using the site, or submitting information through the site. This site is intended for use by adults over the age of 18.