A Summary Care Record is an electronic record which contains information about the medicines you take, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.
Having this information stored in one place makes it easier for health care staff to treat you in an emergency or when you GP practice is closed.
Your information will be extracted from practices such as ours and held on central NHS databases.
As with all new systems there are pros and cons to think about. When you speak to an emergency doctor you might overlook something that is important and if they have access to your medical record it might avoid mistakes or problems, although even then, you should be asked to give your consent each time a member of NHS staff wishes to access your record, unless you are medically unable to do so.
On the other hand, you may have strong views about sharing your personal information and wish to keep your information at the level of this practice. Connecting for Health (CfH), the government agency responsible for the Summary Care Record have agreed with doctors’ leaders that new patients registering with this practice should be able to decide whether or not their information is uploaded to the central NHS computer system.
For existing patients it is different in that it is assumed that you want your record uploaded to the central NHS computer system unless you actively opt out.
For further information visit the NHS digital website.
If you choose to opt out of the scheme, please complete our Summary Care Record opt out form.
Your NHS Summary Care Record
When you register at Price’s Mill Surgery you need to tell us if you want to have a SCR or not, and how much information you want it to contain. Even if you made this decision at your previous surgery we need you to tell us.
An SCR has important information about your health in it:
- Medicines you take
- Allergies you have
- Any bad reactions to medicines in the past
If you have an accident or fall ill, you might need to see a doctor or nurse in places like accident and emergency departments and GP out of hours who do not know you.
They will be better equipped to treat you if they have this information.
If they do not know about your care, your SCR could:
- Stop them making a mistake, because they can see your medicines, allergies or what medicines make you ill
- Help them see your information straight away on a computer
Your SCR will be available to authorised healthcare staff whenever and wherever you need treatment in England. Healthcare staff treating you will ask if they can look at your SCR before they look at it, except in an emergency situation.
SCR with additional information
You can choose to have other useful information added to your SCR, including:
- Your illnesses and any health problems
- Operations and vaccinations you have had in the past
- How you would like to be treated – such as where you would prefer to receive care
- What support you might need
- Who should be contacted for more information about you
The more information doctors and nurses treating you have about you the better equipped they are to provide you with safe and effective care.
You need to make a decision
On your new patient registration form you must choose one of the following
options:
- Yes, I want a SCR with information about my medicines, allergies and past bad reactions only, or;
- Yes, I want a SCR with additional information included, or;
- No, I do not want a SCR
You are free to change your decision at any time by informing us.
For more information call 0300 303 5678 or visit www.digital.nhs.uk.