Clinic · Legal
PAIA Manual
Version of 5 August 2026
What changed: First published version. The prescribed fee schedule is still to be confirmed.
This manual is published by Sophias salon in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2 of 2000 ("PAIA"). It explains what records the clinic holds and how to ask for access to them, including your own medical record.
1. Particulars of the private body
- Trading name
- Sophias salon
- Legal entity
- To be confirmed: legal entity
- Registration number
- To be confirmed: registration number
- Physical address
- To be confirmed: physical address
- Telephone
- To be confirmed: telephone
2. Information Officer
Sophias salon has not yet published the name of its Information Officer. Under POPIA the head of the practice is the Information Officer by default, so requests and complaints are still received and dealt with in the ordinary course. Send them to drsophieramsaroop.aesthetics@gmail.com and they will reach the responsible person.
3. The PAIA Guide
The Information Regulator (South Africa) has compiled a guide, under section 10 of PAIA, on how to use the Act. It is available free of charge from the Regulator. Its contact particulars are still being verified, so this page does not print them; the clinic will give you the current details on request.
4. Records held by the clinic
| Category of record | Available on request? |
|---|---|
| Your own patient file: intake forms, consultation notes, treatment history | Yes, to you or your authorised representative |
| Consent forms you have signed | Yes, to you |
| Clinical photographs of you | Yes, to you |
| Invoices and payment records relating to you | Yes, to you |
| Another patient's records | No — protected by the mandatory privacy ground in PAIA |
| Staff, employment and payroll records | Subject to a PAIA request and the grounds for refusal |
| Company statutory, tax and financial records | Subject to a PAIA request and the grounds for refusal |
| Supplier and service-provider contracts | Subject to a PAIA request and third-party consultation |
5. How to make a request
- Complete Form 2 (Request for Access to Record of Private Body), available from the Information Regulator's website.
- Send it to the Information Officer at drsophieramsaroop.aesthetics@gmail.com, or hand it in at the clinic.
- Include proof of identity. If you are requesting someone else's record — for example as a parent or under a power of attorney — attach proof of your authority.
- Say which record you want, in what format, and which right you are seeking to exercise or protect.
- The clinic responds within 30 days, which may be extended by a further 30 days in the circumstances PAIA allows. You will be told in writing if that happens.
A request for your own personal information does not attract a request fee. Access fees for copying, searching and preparation apply at the rates prescribed by regulation. The clinic does not reproduce the amounts on this page, because the prescribed schedule is amended from time to time and a stale figure would mislead you about what a request costs — you receive a written estimate based on the schedule in force before any chargeable work begins.
- Prescribed fee schedule
- To be confirmed: prescribed fee schedule
6. Health records — an important note
Where a record contains information about your physical or mental health, PAIA section 61 allows the clinic to release it to a medical practitioner you nominate, rather than directly to you, if it believes disclosure directly to you would cause serious harm to your health. In that case the practitioner decides what is communicated to you.
7. Grounds for refusal
Access may be refused on the grounds in Chapter 4 of Part 3 of PAIA, including the mandatory protection of another person's privacy, of a third party's commercial information, of legally privileged records, and of records relating to research. The clinic gives written reasons and explains your remedies.
8. Remedies
If access is refused, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa) or apply to a court with jurisdiction under section 78 of PAIA. The Regulator's contact particulars are still being verified, so they are not printed here; the clinic will give you the current details on request.
- Regulator
- Information Regulator (South Africa)
- Physical address
- To be confirmed: physical address
- Postal address
- To be confirmed: postal address
- PAIA complaints
- To be confirmed: paia complaints
- Website
- To be confirmed: website