Barking and Dagenham residents registered with a local GP have had a letter from the NHS (during the week beginning Monday 19 April), asking their permission to store some of their important health information electronically and explaining how it will help deliver faster, safer care.

Known as a summary care record (SCR), it will give doctors and nurses access to information about patients’ allergies, medication and any bad reactions patients may have had to medication. Summary care records will make sure that medical professionals can find details of a patient’s essential medical history easily and quickly in an emergency.

The letter explains what the SCR is and how it will be used, and gives the patient the choice to opt out of the SCR scheme.

Chief Executive of NHS Barking and Dagenham Stephen Langford said:

“Introducing summary care records will help us to deliver better, safer care, because it means that clinicians won’t have to rely on incomplete information about the patients. It will particularly benefit elderly and vulnerable patients, as well as people who don’t speak English very well.”

Only staff directly involved in a patient’s treatment can access their summary care record, and the patient has to give their permission for it to be viewed.

To find out more, patients should contact the dedicated NHS Care Records Service information line on 0845 603 8510, the local Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on 0800 389 5360, or visit the website at www.nhscarerecords.nhs.uk

1.  The summary care record is part of a national programme to transform how the NHS uses information to support patient care.
2. By law, everyone working for the NHS must respect patient confidentiality and keep all information about patients secure. The NHS Care Record Guarantee for England, says how the NHS Care Records Service will collect, store and allow access to electronic records.

For further information, contact Zoë Anderson, NHS Barking and Dagenham Communications and Media Manager, on 020 8532 6220.