The international surgical journal with global reach

Privacy Policy

bjs.co.uk (the “Website”) is owned by the BJS Society Limited (“BJS”) (registered address: Druces LLP, Salisbury House, London Wall, London EC2M 5PS, UK) and is published by John Wiley & Sons Limited (the “Publisher”) (registered office: The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, England. Registered company number: 641132).

BJS and the Publisher (“we”, “our”) recognise the importance of protecting any information we collect about users of the Website (“you”, “your”) and take all reasonable steps to maintain the security, integrity and privacy of your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.  By submitting your information to the Website you consent to the practices described in this policy.  The information we learn about you will help us to enhance and develop the Website to make it a truly valuable Website for the surgery community.

In relation to the personal data we collect, BJS is the Controller and the Publisher is the Processor (as defined in the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679).

How we collect information

  • When you register to access selected areas of the Website
  • When you have consented to sign up to our E-mail Alerting Service
  • When you submit a manuscript to, or are reviewing manuscripts for, the British Journal of Surgery (the “publication”)

We do not collect personal data about you automatically through the use of ‘cookies’.  We [may] use cookies or similar technologies to analyse trends, administer the website, track users’ movements around the website, and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. You can control the use of cookies at the individual browser level, but if you choose to disable cookies, it may limit your use of certain features or functions on our website or services.  For more information on cookies, please click here.

Information you provide

  • Identity data – includes your name, title, affiliation
  • Contact data – includes email address, postal address and telephone number, including updates to such details provided by you
  • Profile data – includes your surgical specialty

Use of your information

We may use your information in the following ways:

  • To comply with legal obligations
  • To enforce our Terms & Conditions
  • To provide you with information about our products and services that you request from us
  • To notify you about changes or updates to the Website, our product and services
  • To provide navigational and transactional information to our carefully chosen partners in the form of anonymous, aggregate usage statistics that do not reveal your personal identity
  • To perform our obligations in any contract we enter into with you
  • When you submit a manuscript to, or are reviewing manuscripts for, the publication, your contact details will be used for the regular operations of the publication, including, when necessary, sharing with the Publisher and partners for production and publication. The Publisher has practices in place to ensure that steps are taken to maintain the security, integrity, and privacy of the personal data collected and processed. You can learn more at https://authorservices.wiley.com/statements/data-protection-policy.html.

International transfers

We may transfer your personal data outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) where it may be stored on local servers.   Whenever we transfer personal data of residents within the EU or UK out of the EEA, we ensure at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:

  • We will only transfer your personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data by the European Commission.
  • We enter data protection agreements which give personal data similar protection as it has in Europe.

Disclosure and sharing of your information

We will not disclose any information obtained about you to any third party without your express consent, except where necessary in connection with services provided by third parties who are required to comply with this policy or in response to lawful requests by public authorities and government agencies or as required by law.

Retention of your information

Personal information will not be kept longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. This means that, unless information must be retained for legal or archival purposes, personal information will be securely destroyed, put beyond use or erased from our systems when it is no longer required or, where applicable, following a request from you to destroy or erase your personal information.

Security of your information

Any information collected on the Website will be adequate, relevant and not excessive for the purposes for which it is collected.  It will be kept accurate and up to date, based on information you provide.  We will use appropriate physical, technical and administrative safeguards to protect your information.  Access to your information will be restricted to only those who need to know that information and is required to perform their job function.  We also train our employees about the importance of maintaining the confidentiality and security of your information.

Please be aware that identifiable personal information, including your name and e-mail address, which are voluntarily disclosed by you on bulletin boards or in chat areas accessible to other users of the Website, may be collected or disclosed by other users and we take no responsibility for such collection and disclosure.

This Website may include links to third-party websites.  In using such links, please be aware that each third-party website is subject to its own privacy and data protection policies and is not covered by our Privacy Policy.

Your rights

You have the right to make a written request to be informed whether or not we hold or process any of your personal information (by emailing privacy@wiley.com).  In your written request, you may:

  • Request that we provide you with details of your personal information that we process, the purpose for which it is processed, the recipients of such information, the existence of any automated decision-making involving your personal information, and what transfer safeguards we have in place;
  • Request that we rectify any errors in your personal information;
  • Request that we delete your personal information if our continued processing of such information is not justified;
  • Request that we transfer your personal information to a third party;
  • Object to automated decision-making and profiling based on legitimate interests or the performance of a task in the public interest (in which event the processing will cease except where there are compelling legitimate grounds, such as when the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract between us);
  • Object to direct marketing from us; and
  • Object to processing for purposes of scientific, historical research and statistics.

Where applicable under your local laws, we will not use your personal information for marketing purposes, nor disclose your information to any third parties, unless we have your prior consent, which we will seek before collecting your personal information. You can exercise your right to prevent such processing by checking certain boxes on the consent forms we use when collecting your personal information. If at any point you wish to review or change your preferences you can use the “opt-out” or unsubscribe mechanism or other means provided within the communications that you receive from us or by sending an email to privacy@wiley.com.

Alterations to privacy policy

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time without notice. Any changes to the Privacy Policy will be posted on this page. Your continued use of the Website will be deemed to be conclusive of acceptance of such modification.

Updates to your personal data

You must notify us promptly of any changes to your personal data so that we can keep your personal data accurate and up to date.  You should send your changes to privacy@wiley.com.

Questions or concerns

Any comments, complaints or questions concerning this policy or complaints or objections about our use of your personal information should be addressed by directing your comments to privacy@wiley.com.