1. Introduction
This Cookie Policy explains how ASHA Healthcare uses cookies and similar technologies on www.ashahealthcare.co.uk. It sets out what cookies we use, what they do, and how you can control them.
Please read this policy alongside our Privacy Notice, which explains in more detail how we handle personal information, the lawful bases we rely on, how long we keep information, and the rights you have.
2. What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer, tablet or phone when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work properly, to remember your preferences, and to give website owners information about how their site is being used.
We also use technologies that work in a similar way, including local storage, pixels and tracking tags. Where this policy refers to cookies, it means all of these technologies.
Cookies set by us are called first-party cookies. Cookies set by another organisation whose service appears on our website, such as an embedded video or an analytics tool, are called third-party cookies.
3. How we use cookies
We use cookies for the following purposes.
| Category | What these cookies do | Do we need your consent? |
|---|---|---|
| Strictly necessary | These cookies are needed for the website to work and for services you have asked for. They keep the site secure, keep your session active as you move between pages, and remember your cookie choices. | No — these are essential and cannot be switched off |
| Functional | These cookies remember choices you make, such as accessibility settings, so that we can give you a better experience. | Yes |
| Analytics | These cookies help us understand how visitors use our website, which pages are most useful, and where people have difficulty, so that we can improve it. The information is used in aggregate and does not identify you personally. | Yes |
| Embedded content | These cookies are set by third-party platforms when content such as a video or a map is included on one of our pages. | Yes |
| Marketing | These cookies help us understand whether our online advertising is effective and may be used to show you relevant advertising on other websites. | Yes |
4. The cookies we use
The table below lists the cookies used on our website. We review it at least once a year and whenever we make changes to the site.
4.1 Strictly necessary
| Cookie | Set by | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cookie consent | ASHA Healthcare | Stores your cookie preferences so you are not asked again on every page | 12 months |
| Session cookie | ASHA Healthcare | Keeps your session active while you move between pages | When you close your browser |
| Security token | ASHA Healthcare | Protects online forms against misuse | When you close your browser |
| __cf_bm | Cloudflare | Distinguishes genuine visitors from automated traffic and helps protect the site | 30 minutes |
4.2 Functional
| Cookie | Set by | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference cookies | ASHA Healthcare | Remembers display and accessibility choices such as text size | 12 months |
4.3 Analytics
| Cookie | Set by | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics | Distinguishes one visitor from another so that visit numbers can be counted | 2 years |
| _ga_[container ID] | Google Analytics | Maintains session state for analytics reporting | 2 years |
| _gid | Google Analytics | Distinguishes visitors for short-term reporting | 24 hours |
4.4 Embedded content
| Cookie | Set by | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | YouTube | Set when a video embedded on our site is played; estimates bandwidth and remembers preferences | 6 months |
| YSC | YouTube | Records views of embedded videos | When you close your browser |
| NID | Set by Google Maps where a map is embedded on our site | 6 months |
4.5 Marketing
| Cookie | Set by | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| _fbp | Meta | Measures the effectiveness of advertising and supports advertising on other sites | 3 months |
| bcookie, lidc | Identifies the browser and routes requests, supporting advertising and analytics | 12 months / 24 hours |
5. Third-party services
Where a third-party service is used on our website, that organisation may set its own cookies and will handle any information it collects under its own privacy and cookie policies. If you would like to know more, we recommend reading them.
| Third party | Why we use it | Their policy |
|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics | To understand how our website is used and improve it | policies.google.com |
| Google Maps | To show the location of our services | policies.google.com |
| YouTube | To display video content on our pages | policies.google.com |
| Meta | To measure the effectiveness of our advertising | meta.com |
| To measure the effectiveness of our advertising and recruitment activity | linkedin.com | |
| Cloudflare | To keep the website secure and available | cloudflare.com |
Some of these providers may transfer information outside the United Kingdom. Where that happens, appropriate safeguards are in place. Further detail is set out in our Privacy Notice.
6. Managing your cookies
6.1 Our cookie banner
When you first visit our website, a banner will ask for your cookie preferences. Cookies that are not strictly necessary will not be set until you accept them. You can accept all cookies, reject all cookies that are not essential, or choose which categories to allow.
Rejecting non-essential cookies is as easy as accepting them, and it will not limit your access to information about our services.
6.2 Changing your mind
You can change your preferences at any time by selecting the cookie settings link in the footer of any page on our website. Any change takes effect immediately.
6.3 Using your browser
You can also manage cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to see what cookies are stored, delete them, and block cookies from being set in future. The help section of your browser will explain how.
Please note that if you block all cookies, including those that are strictly necessary, parts of our website and many others may not work properly.
7. Cookies and your personal information
Some cookies collect information that could identify you, either on its own or when combined with other information. Where that is the case, we handle that information in accordance with UK data protection law and our Privacy Notice.
Our use of cookies is also governed by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, which require your consent before non-essential cookies are placed on your device.
We do not use cookies to collect health information or any other special category data, and we do not use cookies to identify individual residents, patients or people using our services.
8. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time, for example if we add a new tool to our website or if the law changes. The version number and date at the top of this policy show when it was last updated. Where a change is significant, we will make this clear on our website.
9. Contact us
If you have any questions about this policy or about how we use cookies, please contact us.
Address: 77 Bancroft Lane, Mansfield NG18 5LL
Email: megan.tranter@ashahealthcare.co.uk
If you are unhappy with how we have dealt with a query about cookies or your personal information, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office. Details of how to do this are available at ico.org.uk.
