1. Who we are
The Village Doctor is the medical practice of Dr R.M.S. Kajee (MBChB), HPCSA registration number MP 0570664, practice number 0172642, at Block A, Rochester Place, 173 Rivonia Road, Sandton, Johannesburg. For this notice, “we”, “us” and “the practice” mean The Village Doctor, operated by [legal name of the person or entity that operates the practice, e.g. Dr R.M.S. Kajee / company name and registration number].
Under POPIA we are the responsible party: we decide why and how your personal information is processed. Doctors are also bound by a duty of confidentiality under the National Health Act 61 of 2003 and the ethical rules of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).
2. Information Officer
Our Information Officer is responsible for making sure we comply with POPIA and for handling requests and complaints about your personal information.
| Information Officer | [Full name] |
|---|---|
| Deputy Information Officer | [Full name, or remove this row] |
| [privacy email address] | |
| Telephone | (011) 883 3882 |
| Address | Block A, Rochester Place, 173 Rivonia Road, Sandton, Johannesburg |
| Registered with the Information Regulator | [Yes – registration date / reference] |
3. What this notice covers
This notice explains how we handle personal information about:
- people who visit this website or send us an appointment request through it;
- people who contact us by phone, WhatsApp or email; and
- our patients, including information in their medical records.
4. Information we collect
Information you give us
- Appointment requests: your name, phone number, email address (optional), preferred contact method, the service you are interested in, a preferred date and time, and any short message you add.
- When you become a patient: identity details (name, ID or passport number, date of birth), contact details, next of kin or emergency contact, medical aid details, employer details where relevant for billing or occupational health, and your health information (medical history, symptoms, examination findings, test results, diagnoses, treatment, prescriptions and vaccinations).
- Messages: what you send us by WhatsApp or email.
Please don’t send detailed medical information, ID numbers or payment details through the website form, email or WhatsApp. We will collect what we need during your consultation.
Information from others
With your knowledge we may receive information from laboratories, other doctors and specialists, hospitals, your medical scheme, or a parent or guardian.
Information collected automatically
Our web host keeps standard server logs (IP address, browser type, pages requested and the date and time) for security and to keep the site working. We do not use analytics or advertising tracking on this website.
5. Why we use it and our legal grounds
We only process personal information for specific, lawful purposes (POPIA sections 9–13) and collect no more than we need.
| Purpose | Legal ground under POPIA |
|---|---|
| Responding to enquiries and appointment requests | Your consent (s11(1)(a)) and taking steps at your request before providing a service (s11(1)(b)) |
| Providing medical care, referrals and follow-up | Performing our agreement with you (s11(1)(b)); health information processed by a medical professional bound by confidentiality (s32(1)(a)) |
| Billing and medical aid claims | Performing our agreement with you (s11(1)(b)); s32(1)(b) for medical schemes |
| Keeping medical records and meeting legal and HPCSA obligations | Complying with the law (s11(1)(c)) |
| Protecting your life or health in an emergency | Protecting your legitimate interests (s11(1)(d)) |
| Keeping our systems and website secure | Our legitimate interests (s11(1)(f)) |
We do not use your information for direct marketing and we do not sell it.
6. Health information and children
Health information is special personal information under POPIA. We process it only as allowed by section 32, as part of your care, and treat it as confidential under the National Health Act and HPCSA rules. We share it only with your consent, where the law requires it, or where it is needed for your treatment.
For patients under 18, we process personal information with the consent of a parent or guardian, or as otherwise allowed by POPIA (sections 34 and 35) and the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, including where a child may lawfully consent to their own medical treatment.
7. Who we share it with
We share personal information only where needed for the purposes above:
- your medical scheme or its administrator, for claims and authorisations;
- laboratories, radiology practices, specialists and hospitals involved in your care;
- our service providers (“operators”), such as our practice-management and billing software provider, IT support, website host and email provider, who must keep it confidential and secure under a written agreement (POPIA sections 20 and 21);
- authorities where the law requires it — for example notifiable medical conditions reported to the Department of Health; and
- anyone else you ask us to share it with.
Our current operators are: [list — e.g. practice-management system, billing bureau, web host, email provider].
8. Information sent outside South Africa
Some services we use, such as email, WhatsApp (Meta) and Google, may store or process information on servers outside South Africa. Where this happens we rely on section 72 of POPIA — for example, that the recipient is bound by laws or agreements giving similar protection, or that the transfer is needed for a service you asked for.
9. How we protect it
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to keep personal information secure (POPIA section 19), including restricted access to records, password-protected systems, secure storage of paper records, confidentiality undertakings from staff and encrypted (HTTPS) connections to this website.
Email and WhatsApp are convenient but are not fully secure channels for sensitive clinical information. Please use them for appointments and general enquiries only.
10. How long we keep it
We keep personal information only as long as we need it or the law requires (POPIA section 14), then destroy or de-identify it securely.
| Record | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Website appointment requests and messages from people who do not become patients | [e.g. 12 months] |
| Adult patient records | At least six years after the record becomes dormant (HPCSA guidelines) [practice to confirm] |
| Records of patients who were minors | Until the patient’s 21st birthday, or six years after becoming dormant if longer [practice to confirm] |
| Records of patients who are mentally impaired | Until the patient’s death [practice to confirm] |
| Records relating to occupational illness or injury | 20 years after treatment ends [practice to confirm] |
| Billing and accounting records | [e.g. 5 years, as required by tax law] |
| Web server logs | [per web host – e.g. 30–90 days] |
11. Your rights
Under POPIA you have the right to:
- know whether we hold personal information about you and ask for a copy (section 23);
- ask us to correct, update or delete information that is inaccurate, out of date, excessive or unlawfully obtained (section 24) — medical records may need to be kept by law even if you ask for deletion;
- object to processing based on legitimate interests (section 11(3));
- withdraw consent you have given, without affecting processing that has already taken place;
- not receive direct marketing without your consent (section 69); and
- lay a complaint with the Information Regulator (section 74).
12. Making a request
Contact our Information Officer using the details in section 2. We may ask you to prove your identity before we act on a request, to protect your information. We will respond within a reasonable time.
- Objections may be made on Form 1 and requests for correction or deletion on Form 2 of the POPIA Regulations.
- Requests for access to records are handled under the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA) — see the PAIA section. A prescribed fee may apply to copies.
13. Complaints and the Information Regulator
Please contact us first so we can try to resolve your concern. You also have the right to complain to the Information Regulator:
| Website | inforegulator.org.za |
|---|---|
| POPIA complaints | POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za |
| General enquiries | enquiries@inforegulator.org.za |
| Telephone | 010 023 5200 · 0800 017 160 (toll free) |
| Address | Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191 |
14. Cookies and third-party services
This website does not set its own cookies and does not use analytics or advertising trackers.
- Google Fonts: the site loads typefaces from Google, which receives your IP address when pages load.
- Google Maps: the map on our contact page loads only if you click “Show map”. Google may then set cookies under its own privacy policy.
- WhatsApp: WhatsApp links open a chat with the practice in WhatsApp, operated by Meta under its own terms. We do not receive anything until you send a message.
15. If something goes wrong
If we believe your personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, we will notify the Information Regulator and you as soon as reasonably possible, as required by section 22 of POPIA.
16. Changes to this notice
We may update this notice from time to time. The latest version is always on this page, with the date it was last updated.
Last updated: 31 October 2026.