Cookie Policy
How UGMC uses cookies and similar technologies on this website
1. What cookies are
Cookies are small text files that a website stores on your device when you visit it. They let a site remember information about your visit, such as your preferences or whether you have already been shown a particular message. Similar technologies covered by this policy include local storage and pixel tags used by embedded content.
This Cookie Policy should be read alongside our Website Privacy Notice, which explains in more detail how UGMC handles personal data generally.
2. Why UGMC uses cookies
As a healthcare institution, we keep cookie use to what is necessary to run the website safely, and only add optional cookies where they genuinely improve the service. We use cookies to:
- Keep you securely signed in to staff and patient-facing tools, and protect forms from cross-site request forgery.
- Understand, in aggregate, how the website is used so we can find and fix problems and improve content.
- Support embedded content such as maps and videos on department and location pages.
Optional cookies are never activated before you make a choice in the cookie banner or settings panel.
3. Cookie categories
We group cookies into the categories below. You can turn optional categories on or off at any time — see Section 5.
| Category | Purpose | Can be disabled? |
|---|---|---|
| Necessary | Required for the website to work. Covers session cookies, CSRF protection and sign-in for staff areas. These cannot be switched off. | No |
| Analytics | Helps us understand how the website is used (e.g. Google Analytics) so we can improve it. No analytics cookies are set until you allow this category. | Yes |
| Functional | Enables embedded content such as Google Maps and YouTube videos. Without this, embedded content is not loaded. | Yes |
4. How long cookies last
Your cookie preference itself is remembered for 365 days, after which you will be asked to confirm your choices again. Individual third-party cookies (for example, from Google Analytics) may have their own, shorter or longer, expiry periods set by that provider. Some cookies are "session" cookies and are deleted automatically when you close your browser — this applies to the cookies that keep you signed in.
5. Managing your preferences
You can change your cookie choices at any time:
- Use the "Cookie Settings" link in the website footer, or the button above, to reopen the preferences panel.
- Use your browser's own settings to block or delete cookies — this may affect how parts of the site work.
Necessary cookies cannot be turned off, because the website cannot function without them.
6. Changes to this policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time, for example when we add a new optional service. Material changes will be reflected by an updated "last revised" reference on this page. Questions about this policy can be sent to privacy@ugmc.ug.edu.gh.
University of Ghana Medical Centre Limited | Cookie Policy