There is a new Health Record for all patients in the NHS. GP practices across Worcester are working with the NHS to create a centrally held Summary Care Record of recent medications, any allergies you may have and any adverse reactions to a medication you have had in the past you may have had in past, called a Summary Care Record (SCR). The Summary Care Record will help emergency doctors and nurses when you contact them when the surgery is closed.
Information will be extracted from practices such as ours and held on the central NHS database.
As with all new systems there are pros and cons to think about. When you speak to an emergency doctor you might overlook something important and if they have access to your Summary Care Record it might avoid mistakes or problems, you will be asked to give your permission to view your SCR whenever a Healthcare Professional requires access, unless you are medically unable to do so.
On the other hand, you may have strong views about sharing information and may not wish to allow NHS Healthcare Professionals access, in which case you can Opt-Out of having an SCR created for you. If you are a new patient joining the practice you will have the option to opt-out of having an SCR and should fill in the A4 sheet explaining SCR in your Registration Pack.
All existing patients would have received a letter informing them about the creation of Summary Care Records and informed they could op-out if they wished. All patients can opt-out of having an SCR at any time, just inform your GP Surgery.