Last updated: 14 June 2026
Optimum Sports & Wellness Institute ("OSWI", "we", "us" or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use and protect it, and the rights you have under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 ("POPIA"). It applies to this website and to the personal information we collect when you contact us or receive care at our Polokwane and Soweto branches.
By using this website or providing us with your personal information, you agree to the practices described in this Policy. If you do not agree with this Policy, please do not use this website or submit your information to us.
Optimum Sports & Wellness Institute is a multidisciplinary medical practice with branches at 51 Burger Street, Pietersburg Medical Centre, Unit 2, Polokwane, 0699 and 35 Brittlewood Street, Dlamini, Soweto. We are the responsible party (as defined in POPIA) for the personal information we process. For any privacy-related queries, or to exercise any of your rights under this Policy, you can reach us at info@oswi.co.za or on (015) 004 1729.
Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following personal information:
Contact and identity details — your name, email address, telephone number, and any details you choose to share when you complete an enquiry form, request an appointment, or contact us by phone, email or WhatsApp.
Health and medical information — where you become a patient, we collect the health information necessary to provide care, such as your medical history, symptoms, diagnoses, treatment records, and medical aid details. This is special personal information under POPIA and is treated with particular care (see "How we handle your health information" below).
Website and technical information — when you visit this website, we may automatically collect limited technical information such as your IP address, browser type, the pages you view, and the date and time of your visit. We use this to keep the website secure and to understand how it is used.
We use your personal information only for legitimate purposes connected to our practice, including to:
respond to your enquiries and schedule appointments; provide medical care and related health services; communicate with you about your care, appointments or follow-ups; process medical aid claims where applicable; keep accurate patient and practice records as required by law and professional rules; and improve our website and services.
We will only process your personal information where we have a lawful basis to do so under POPIA — for example, with your consent, because it is necessary to provide the care or service you have requested, to comply with a legal or professional obligation, or to protect your vital interests in a medical emergency.
As a medical practice, we are bound by patient confidentiality and the ethical rules of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), in addition to POPIA. Your health information is kept confidential and is only accessed by the practitioners and staff directly involved in your care, or by others where you have consented or where the law requires or permits it.
We may share your health information with your medical aid scheme for the purpose of processing claims and obtaining authorisations, and with other healthcare providers involved in your treatment (such as a referring or referred practitioner, laboratory or hospital) where this is necessary for your care. We will not share your health information for marketing purposes.
We retain patient records for the periods required by law and HPCSA guidelines. Where the law sets a minimum retention period for medical records, we are obliged to keep your records for at least that period even if you ask us to delete them.
We will only send you marketing or promotional messages where you have agreed to receive them, or where the law otherwise permits us to do so. You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by contacting us at info@oswi.co.za. Opting out of marketing will not affect communications that relate directly to your care, such as appointment reminders.
We do not sell or rent your personal information. We may share it with trusted service providers who help us run our practice and website (for example, our IT and hosting providers, or the provider that processes our online enquiry forms), who are required to keep it confidential and use it only for the purposes we specify. We may also disclose personal information where we are required or permitted to do so by law, or to a competent authority in response to a lawful request, or where necessary to protect a person's safety.
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against loss, unauthorised access, and misuse, including secure storage and restricted access. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to safeguard your information and to keep it accurate and up to date. If a security breach affects your personal information in a way that poses a real risk to you, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required by POPIA.
This website uses cookies and similar technologies to help the site function properly and to understand how visitors use it (for example, through analytics). You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect how parts of the website work.
You have the right to: request access to the personal information we hold about you; request that we correct or delete personal information that is inaccurate, outdated or no longer required (subject to any legal retention obligations, including for medical records); object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances; and withdraw any consent you have given, without affecting processing that has already taken place.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@oswi.co.za. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.
If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your personal information, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa): Email POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za · Website inforegulator.org.za.
Where we provide care to a patient who is a minor, we collect and process their personal information with the consent of a parent or legal guardian, except where the law allows a minor to consent to their own treatment. We take particular care with children's personal information.
We may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practice or in the law. The latest version will always be published on this page, with the "Last updated" date shown at the top. We encourage you to review it periodically.
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us:
Email: info@oswi.co.za
Telephone: (015) 004 1729 (Polokwane) · (011) 935 7175 (Soweto)
Address: 51 Burger Street, Pietersburg Medical Centre, Unit 2, Polokwane, 0699