Currently each NHS organisation responsible for your care keeps its own records about you and your treatment. This information is currently stored on a combination of paper-based and computer systems. You may have noticed that you can often be asked the same questions about your medications or your condition when you are at different NHS organisations for treatment, or even within the same place if you are at a different clinic or department.
NHS Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group is starting to create and later link up electronic records via a secure computer system. At first this will enable us to improve the sharing of information within NHS Stockport and later with other organisations where you may receive care, such as hospitals and clinics. This will mean that the health-care staff treating you will be able to get a better understanding of your needs.
The NHS is introducing an improved way of storing and managing important medical information electronically, called Summary Care Records. NHS Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group is taking part in this scheme meaning that key information from GP records will be start to become available electronically to staff treating you out of hours or in an emergency across England.
If you decide to have a Summary Care Record it will contain important information about any medicines you are taking, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines that you have had. Giving healthcare staff access to this information can prevent mistakes being made when caring for you in an emergency or when your GP practice is closed.
You may want to add other details about your care to your Summary Care Record. This will only happen if you ask for the information to be included. You should discuss your wishes with your GP.
If you have a Summary Care Record, NHS staff will ask you if they can look at it every time they need to. In a rare situation where you are unable to give your permission to NHS staff to view your SCR (for example, if you were unconscious) then a clinician can still access your SCR if they decide that this is in your best interests. Tighter security controls are used to monitor accesses made to records under these circumstances.
How will having a Summary Care Record benefit me?
Before the NHS Summary Care Record initiative, records were kept in all the different places where you receive care. These organisations can usually only share information from your records by letter, email, fax or phone. At times, this can slow down your treatment. The Summary Care Record is a quicker way to get important information to the NHS staff treating you, including in an emergency and when you use out-of-hours services when your GP practice is closed.
By using your Summary Care Record, healthcare staff will be able to share important information such as allergies and medications when necessary, giving a more complete and accurate picture of your health history.
Locally, healthcare staff in out of hours providers, A&E departments and Walk-in Centres around England, along with other health care sites, will have quick access to your records so they can provide safer and more effective care.
Access to your Summary Care Record will only be available to authorised NHS staff if they are involved in your treatment and there are strict security measures in place to ensure this.
How is Summary Care Record different the Stockport Health Record?
The National Summary Care Record and Stockport Health Record share some similarities, such as the ability to share clinical information and robust controls over access to this data.
The Stockport Health Record is a more detailed record, but is limited to staff and patients within Stockport only.
How will I know when a Summary Care Record will be created for me?
Summary Care Records are being rolled out to practices in Stockport in phases. Information on when you practice will be going live will be available on this site or at the practice as details are confirmed.
All patients over the age of 16 registered at these practices will be receiving a letter, information leaflet and opt- out form through the post.
If you would like to have a Summary Care Record you don’t need to do anything. If you do not want to have a Summary Care Record you can opt out and no record will be created for you.
You can opt- out by filling in the opt- out form enclosed in your information pack (or accessible below) and send it back to the freepost address.
Summary Care Record Leaflet
Summary Care Record Opt Out Form
More information is available about the NHS Care Records Service:
- Online at www.nhscarerecords.nhs.uk
- By calling the national NHS Care Records Patient Information Line:
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