Privacy notice

Who is responsible

The responsible party under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) is Dr Sivuyile Tshayingwe, general practitioner, 3 Matakata Street, Mbekweni, Paarl, 7655. He is also the practice’s Information Officer.

This website

This website is for information only. It has no forms, no accounts and no booking system, and it does not set cookies or use analytics that track you. The hosting provider keeps standard server logs (such as your IP address and the pages requested) for security and to keep the site running.

The map on the contact page is loaded from Google Maps only when you press “Show map”. When you do, Google’s own privacy policy applies to that map. Links to WhatsApp, Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps open those services, which have their own policies.

When you contact the practice

When you phone, WhatsApp or email the practice, we use the details you give us to reply, to arrange your appointment and to provide care. Clinical information you share becomes part of your medical record, which the practice must keep under the National Health Act and the Health Professions Council of South Africa’s record-keeping guidelines. It is kept confidential and stored securely for as long as those rules require. We do not sell or share your information with anyone outside your care, except where the law requires it or you ask us to (for example, a referral letter you ask us to send to another practitioner).

We use WhatsApp (Meta) and Gmail (Google) to communicate with patients. Messages and documents you send or receive through these services are stored by those companies on servers outside South Africa, under their own privacy terms. If you would rather not use them, phone us or come to the practice.

Giving us your details is voluntary, but without your name, a contact number and the medical information that matters to your care we may not be able to treat you or reach you about your results.

Your rights

Under POPIA you may ask what information we hold about you, ask for it to be corrected, or object to how it is used. Send requests to the Information Officer, Dr Sivuyile Tshayingwe, at drstshayingwe@gmail.com or at 3 Matakata Street, Mbekweni, Paarl, 7655. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa) at POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za.