Your privacy
Your privacy
Facts in [square brackets] are not yet confirmed. This page follows the 10 Nov 2026 draft and should not be read as a final notice while those brackets remain.
Walvisbay Family Practice CC ("the practice", "we") runs this website. The doctors responsible are [NAMES OF RESPONSIBLE PRACTITIONERS, HPCNA REG. NOS. TBC]. This notice explains what we collect through the website, why, who sees it, where it is stored and how long we keep it. It covers the website only. Your medical records at the practice are kept under the practice's patient confidentiality rules and are not stored on this website.
Who to contact: [NAME / ROLE TBC], admin@wbfamilypractice.com, 064 203 251, [PRACTICE ADDRESS AS VERIFIED TBC].
You never have to use the website. You can always phone reception on 064 203 251 instead.
What we collect
When you request an appointment (Request an appointment page):
- the service and doctor you choose, and any preferred day or time you write in
- your full name, date of birth, mobile number and email address
- whether you are a new patient, and the reason for your visit, if you give one
When you send a message (Contact page): your name, email address, phone number, the topic you choose and your message.
When you use "Chat with reception": what you type in the chat. The chat is answered by an automated assistant run by Anthropic, and practice staff can read it and take over. [Anthropic's country, retention and whether messages are used to train models: TBC.] Your browser does not keep the chat access token; that token is stored in an httpOnly cookie issued by this website.
The service, topic or reason you choose can reveal something about your health. Please give only what reception needs, and keep medical details for your consultation.
Technical records: our hosting provider keeps routine technical logs, such as your device's internet address and the time of each visit, to keep the site secure. These are kept for [PERIOD TBC].
What we don't use: the website sets no advertising or tracking cookies. The chat uses one httpOnly cookie so only your browser can read that chat, and a short-lived session marker for the consent tick. The map on the Contact page is provided by Google, and Google may set its own cookies when it loads; see Google's privacy policy.
Why we use it
- to arrange, confirm or change your appointment
- to reply to your message or chat
- to contact you about the request you made
- to check the quality of our chat replies. Only practice staff do this.
We do not use website information for marketing, and we do not sell or share it with advertisers.
Your consent
We only send your details to our service providers if you tick the consent box on the form or in the chat. The box is never ticked for you. If you don't want to tick it, phone reception instead.
Who sees it
- Reception and the staff member dealing with your request. Accounts staff see only what they need for billing questions.
- Your doctor, if your request relates to your care.
- Service providers who run the website and messages for us: [hosting: Vercel Inc.; ticket storage: TBC; SMS: TBC; email: TBC; chat: Anthropic, country TBC]. They may use your information only to run that service for us, [under written confidentiality terms: TBC].
Website requests in the staff console are visible to signed-in practice staff. An administrator can see every desk. Other staff accounts are limited to their own desk. [Password rules beyond a hashed password, and whether 2-step sign-in is required: TBC.]
Where it is stored
What you send through the website forms and the chat is stored in a database run by Supabase in Frankfurt, Germany. The website itself runs on servers of Vercel Inc. in the United States, which pass your request to that database. To produce a reply, the chat assistant sends what you type to OpenAI in the United States. Traffic may pass through other countries on the way [for example Brazil: TBC]. Our [ticket, SMS, email, chat] providers are [NAME, COUNTRY TBC]. Laws in those countries may allow their authorities to require access.
Children and teenagers
If you are booking for a child under 18, you must be their parent or legal guardian, and you give consent for them. Teenagers aged 16 or 17 may contact us themselves, and we will not share their information with a parent without their written permission.
How long we keep it
- Appointment requests and messages: [PERIOD TBC] after your request is dealt with, then deleted.
- Chat messages, website tickets and appointment records stored on this website: the site is built to delete them after 90 days. [Practice confirmation that this job is running in production: TBC.]
- If your request becomes part of your medical record, it is kept with your record. Medical records are kept for at least six years after your last visit, and longer for children, in line with HPCNA guidelines.
Your choices
You can ask us what website information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it where we don't need it for your care. Once a request becomes part of your medical record we can't delete it, but we will add any correction you ask for. You can also ask for a copy of your medical record.
Contact [NAME / ROLE TBC] at admin@wbfamilypractice.com or on 064 203 251. We will reply within [X, suggested 10, TBC] working days.
If you are unhappy with how we handled your information, contact [NAME / ROLE TBC]. You may also complain to the Health Professions Councils of Namibia.
Keeping it safe
[Publish the full security statement only once it is confirmed (TBC):] Only named practice staff with their own password-protected accounts can see website requests, and each sees only what they need for their job. If your information is lost or seen by someone without permission, we will tell you as soon as we reasonably can.
We will never send test results through the website, chat or email unless you have agreed to it. We will phone you instead.
No way of sending information online is completely secure, so please don't send detailed medical information through the website.
In an emergency: Emergency number TBC. You can also go to Welwitchia Hospital casualty.
Changes
We will update this page if anything changes. Last updated: [DATE TBC].