Privacy Policy

Industrial Health Medical Screening Services (Pty) Ltd, hereinafter referred to as “IHSS”, “we”, “us”, or “our”.

1. Introduction and Scope

This Privacy Policy outlines how Industrial Health Medical Screening Services (Pty) Ltd collects, uses, stores, discloses, and protects your Personal Information and Special Personal Information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (PoPIA) and other applicable South African privacy laws. This Privacy Policy applies to:
  • Visitors to our website and users submitting online queries or request forms.
  • Corporate clients, employers, representatives, and contractors.
  • Employees, job applicants, and individuals receiving occupational health screening, medical surveillance, and related clinical services.

2. Categories of Information We Collect

Depending on your relationship with IHSS, we may collect and process both Personal Information and Special Personal Information:

A. General Personal Information

  • Contact & Identification Data: Full name, company name, telephone number, email address, physical/postal address, job title, and role.
  • Website Enquiry Data: Information provided via our website booking, quotation, or contact forms (e.g., service required, number of employees, screening location, message details).

B. Special Personal Information (Health & Medical Records)

Due to the nature of our occupational medical screening services, we collect sensitive medical data. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Occupational Health & History: Medical history, occupational history, exposure profiles, hazard exposure records (noise, dust, chemicals, etc.).
  • Clinical Examination & Screening Results: Physical examination results, blood pressure, BMI, blood glucose, cholesterol, and urine analysis.
  • Specialized Occupational Test Results: Audiometry (hearing tests), spirometry (lung function tests), occupational chest X-rays, visual acuity and vision screening, biological monitoring (e.g., lead, mercury, solvent levels), drug and alcohol screening, and TB screening results.
  • Fitness Assessments: Medical certificates of fitness (e.g., Annexure 3 for construction, PrDP driver medicals, working at heights, forklift operator fitness).

3. Purpose of Processing Personal Information

We process your personal and medical information only for lawful, defined purposes related to our occupational health services, including:
  1. Service Provision & Medical Assessment: Conducting pre-employment, periodic, exit, return-to-work, and fitness-for-duty medical examinations.
  2. Medical Surveillance & Monitoring: Monitoring employee health indicators over time in relation to occupational exposures (e.g., noise, airborne hazards, biological hazards).
  3. Statutory & Regulatory Compliance: Fulfilling legal requirements under South African occupational health and safety laws (e.g., Mine Health and Safety Act, Construction Regulations, General Safety Regulations, Employment Equity Act).
  4. Enquiries & Quotations: Responding to website enquiries, providing cost proposals, and scheduling clinic or mobile/on-site visits.
  5. Reporting to Employers: Providing employers with required legal fitness outcomes and statutory certificates while respecting medical confidentiality obligations.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process your personal information under the following legal bases established by PoPIA:
  • Consent: Where you have given explicit consent to the processing of your personal and health information.
  • Contractual Obligation: Processing necessary to conclude or perform under a contract (e.g., corporate health service agreements).
  • Legal Duty: Compliance with legal obligations under South African occupational, health, and labor legislation.
  • Legitimate Interests: Protecting the legitimate health and safety interests of workforces, workplaces, and individuals.

5. Disclosure and Sharing of Information

IHSS respects the confidential nature of health data. We do not sell or trade your Personal Information. We may share information only in the following circumstances:
  • Employers / Corporate Clients: Employers receive occupational medical certificates of fitness, medical restriction guidance, and statutory surveillance outcomes necessary for job placement and workplace safety compliance. Individual private medical details outside statutory requirements remain confidential.
  • Qualified Healthcare Professionals & Specialists: Radiologists, occupational medical practitioners (OMPs), and medical specialists involved in reviewing test results or providing clinical referrals.
  • Third-Party Service Providers: Vetted service providers who support our operations (e.g., IT systems, secure cloud storage, diagnostic laboratories), subject to strict confidentiality and PoPIA compliance agreements.
  • Legal & Regulatory Authorities: Statutory bodies or regulators where required by South African law or court order.

6. Information Security and Safeguards

We implement robust organizational, technical, and physical security measures to safeguard your Personal and Special Personal Information against unauthorized access, loss, destruction, or disclosure. Safeguards include:
  • Confidential medical record administration and access controls.
  • Secure electronic storage and encryption for clinical records.
  • Physical security at our permanent clinics in Mpumalanga and Gauteng, as well as on mobile screening units.
  • Strict confidentiality protocols for all clinical and administrative personnel.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal and health records only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which they were collected or as required by statutory medical recordkeeping legislation (such as occupational health legislation requiring long-term retention of medical surveillance records). Once retention obligations expire, records are securely destroyed or anonymized.

8. Your Legal Rights Under PoPIA

Subject to statutory limitations and medical record retention laws, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:
  • Right of Access: Request confirmation or copies of the personal information we hold about you.
  • Right to Correction/Rectification: Request the correction, updating, or deletion of inaccurate, incomplete, or out-of-date information.
  • Right to Object: Object to the processing of your personal information on reasonable grounds, subject to legal or contractual limitations.
  • Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw previously granted consent for processing (without affecting processing conducted prior to withdrawal).
  • Right to Lodge a Complaint: Lodge a complaint with the South African Information Regulator if you believe your privacy rights have been infringed.

9. Cookies and Website Analytics

Our website may use essential cookies and basic analytics tools to improve site functionality and user experience. You can adjust your web browser settings to decline or manage cookies if desired.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions, requests, or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy or how your personal information is handled, please contact us via email: