Privacy policy

Last reviewed: 6 October 2026

Who we are

Grow Care Agency Limited ("we", "us") is the data controller for the personal information described in this notice. Our registered address is 6 Humble Walk, Ebbsfleet Valley, Kent, DA10 1DR. You can contact us about privacy by email at admin@growcareagency.co.uk or by phone on 07412 556546. Privacy questions and requests are handled by our Registered Care Manager.

The information we collect

• People we care for. Contact and identity details, next of kin and emergency contacts, care needs assessments, care plans, daily notes, medication records, and information about your health, disabilities and wellbeing. Some of this is special category (health) data.
• Family members and representatives. Names, relationship, contact details, and any information you give us when arranging or discussing care.
• Enquiries. The details you provide when you call, email or send an enquiry through this website.
• Carers and job applicants. Application details, right to work, references, DBS checks (criminal record information), training and qualifications, and employment records. Enquiries and applications sent through this website, including any documents you upload, are stored securely in our Google Workspace account.
• Website visitors. This site is a set of static pages. It does not run advertising or third-party analytics trackers. Standard server logs (IP address, page requested, timestamp) are kept by our hosting provider for security and troubleshooting.

Why we use it, and our lawful basis

• To provide and manage care - performance of our contract with you, and our legitimate interests in running the service. For health data we rely on the provision of health and social care (UK GDPR Article 9(2)(h)), and on protecting someone's vital interests in an emergency.
• To respond to enquiries - our legitimate interests in answering people who contact us, and taking steps to enter into a contract.
• To recruit and employ carers - taking steps to enter into a contract, our legal obligations (safer recruitment, right to work), and our legitimate interests in safeguarding.
• To check criminal records - DBS information is used only for safer recruitment and safeguarding, under the conditions set by the Data Protection Act 2018.
• To meet legal and regulatory duties - including our obligations to the Care Quality Commission, safeguarding authorities, and HMRC.
• With your consent - where we ask for it, we explain what we want to use and why. You can say no, and you can withdraw consent at any time.

Who we share it with

We share personal information only where it is necessary, with:

• the carers and care managers involved in delivering your care;
• health and social care professionals where needed for your care, such as GPs, district nurses, pharmacists, hospitals and local authority social care teams;
• the Care Quality Commission and safeguarding authorities, where we are required or permitted to;
• our service providers (for example IT, hosting and secure record systems), who act only on our instructions;
• emergency services, where someone's safety requires it;
• a credit reference agency, for people who pay for their own care: we may share the name and address of the person paying, and of anyone guaranteeing payment.

When you sign our care service agreement, you agree to us sharing your details with the agencies, professionals and people involved in delivering or inspecting your care, as set out above.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.

How long we keep it

We keep care records for the periods set by health and social care records retention guidance (generally at least eight years after care ends, and longer where the law requires). Recruitment records for unsuccessful applicants are kept for a short period and then deleted. Enquiry records are kept only as long as needed to deal with the enquiry and any follow-up.

Your carer writes a record of each visit. Unless your care plan says otherwise, these notes stay in your home while they are in use. They remain our records, and come back to us when your care ends so we can keep them safely for the required period.

Keeping it secure

Access to records is limited to staff who need it. We use secure systems, train our team in confidentiality and data protection, and have procedures for reporting and managing any data breach, including notifying the Information Commissioner's Office and affected people where required.

Every member of staff also signs a confidentiality agreement as part of their contract. It requires them to:

• keep papers, laptops and storage devices with personal information secure, and return them when they leave;
• check who a caller is before discussing anyone's information on the phone;
• never discuss confidential matters where they can be overheard;
• keep your information confidential even after they stop working for us.

A breach of confidentiality is treated as misconduct or gross misconduct and can lead to dismissal.

How our team handles your information

Every carer and member of staff signs our Client Interaction and Professional Boundaries Policy, which sets clear rules for protecting the information of the people we support:

• staff collect only the information formally needed to deliver your agreed care package, and nothing beyond what is in your care plan;
• all client information is recorded and stored only through our approved systems and care planning processes, never on personal devices or notes;
• staff never ask for or keep your bank, financial, property or will details;
• carers do not exchange personal phone numbers, emails or social media with clients or families, never accept friend requests from clients, and never use personal WhatsApp, texts or messaging apps. All contact goes through our office on 07412 556546 or admin@growcareagency.co.uk;
• if anyone other than your carer needs to visit, for example a supervisor checking quality, we give you as much notice as we can, and we always ask for your consent before any quality monitoring in your home. Satisfaction surveys are optional;
• any breach of these rules is treated as a potential safeguarding concern, investigated, and can lead to dismissal and referral to the relevant authorities.

Your rights

You have the right to ask for a copy of your information, to have it corrected, to ask us to delete it or restrict how we use it, to object to certain uses, and to data portability. These rights have limits, particularly for care records we must keep by law. To make a request, contact us using the details above. We will respond within one month.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

Changes to this notice

We may update this notice. The date at the top shows when it was last reviewed.