Introduction to Summary Care Records

Today, records are kept in all the places where you receive care. These places can usually only share information from your records by letter, email, fax or phone. At times, this can slow down treatment and sometimes make it hard to access information.

Summary Care Records are being introduced to improve the safety and quality of patient care. Because the Summary Care Record is an electronic record, it will give healthcare staff faster, easier access to essential information about you, and help to give you safe treatment during an emergency or when your GP surgery is closed.

For example, a person who lives in London is on holiday in Brighton. One evening, they're knocked unconscious in a car accident and taken to an accident and emergency (A&E) department. Under the current system of storing health records, it would be difficult for A&E staff to find out whether there are any important factors to consider when treating the person (such as any serious allergies to medications), especially as their GP surgery is likely to be closed. If healthcare staff cannot get the relevant health information quickly, some patients may be at risk.

A Summary Care Record is an electronic record that's stored at a central location. As the name suggests, the record will not contain detailed information about your medical history, but will only contain important health information, such as:

whether you're taking any prescription medication
whether you have any allergies
whether you've previously had a bad reaction to any medication

Access to your Summary Care Record will be strictly controlled. The only people who can see the information will be healthcare staff directly involved in your care who have a special smartcard and access number (like a chip-and-pin credit card).

Healthcare staff will ask your permission every time they need to look at your Summary Care Record. If they cannot ask you, e.g. because you're unconscious, healthcare staff may look at your record without asking you. If they have to do this, they will make a note on your record.

Do I have to have a Summary Care Record?

You can choose to have a Summary Care Record. If you would like one, you won't need to do anything. It will happen automatically.

You can choose not to have a Summary Care Record. Let your GP surgery know by filling in and returning an opt-out form (PDF, 25kb).

You'll be informed by letter when it's time for your local primary care trust (PCT) to introduce Summary Care Records. The letter will contain details about your choices and how to opt out of the scheme. If you opt out, you can rejoin the scheme at any time. An opt-out form is included with your letter.

More information about Summary Care Records is available at www.nhscarerecords.nhs.uk.

HealthSpace (personal electronic health record)

You will be able to look at your Summary Care Record at any time at a secure website called HealthSpace. You must register to use HealthSpace to keep it as secure as possible.
Other information that you can add to your HealthSpace account includes:

your weight
your blood pressure readings
your cholesterol level
the amount of alcohol you drink
any medication that you take
the date and time of any appointments you have

More information about HealthSpace is available at www.healthspace.nhs.uk or from your local primary care trust.

Comments

4 Comments about ‘Introduction to Summary Care Records’

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Comments are personal views. Any information they give has not been checked and may not be accurate.

twittwittweet said on 06 February 2012

I would like to see on this site an article explaining how the NHS maintain national records on the public.

I understand that whenever I change address or telephone number this is recorded on a central database.

How does this happen, how is the information used, who can access it and what safeguards are there in place?

I feel there needs to be transparency in NHS processes - Tell me how you use my information, so I can make informed decisions about what I supply the NHS.

Src said on 24 December 2011

Care homes and Summary care reports for the vulnerable:

Medical reports for an elderly relative was released without permission by the 'Care management team' to Care home personnel which resulted in my relative being taunted by 'carers' about the information contained within the reports. In addition my relative was subjected to treatment regimes which had not been consented to and suffered as a result.

The 'Care management team' comprised of the local Community care team which was the District nurse, the social workers and any other healthcare worker.

We had lasting power of attorney but the care homes were careful not to allow us access to my relative's files.

The NHS sidestep confidentiality and unilaterally decide who has access to a patient's records and what treatment regime to implement.

Mrssamantha said on 30 August 2011

I agree completely with your comments. I attempted to get my surgery to accept my opt-out form. They told me that the system was not set up and they would contact me when it started. I expressed concern that their letter to me might get lost in the post and I would lose out on opting out. I was told the letter would not get lost in the post!!!
I then sent many letters to the Patients Association over a period of at least a year expressing my concerns. I went round and round in circles and was unable to get them to understand what I was saying. (I don't think my communication is that poor, is it?).
Eventually I emailed the PA and was told, like you, that the records are now online.
What can I say? I am now writing to my MP but do not hold out much hope of getting very far - the damage has, as far as I am concerned, already been done.

Curly_Choo said on 13 November 2010

Why did the NHS not simply ask for patients to consent to the sharing of their medical records? I was destressed to find in return from a long holiday my records had been updated into the database and these are accessible by just about anyone in the NHS. This is my personal data. When I received treatment from my GP I expected what I told her would only be shared with her and the practice and not uploaded into a central database. The opt out is too late as the latest treatment records are captured in the system and can never be deleted. I find it a real concern that not only medical staff but administrators and also private companies can now buy this data for research and marketing. The NHS has let us down in not protecting our personal and sensitive data. I will trust my doctor less.