St Helens Shared Care Record

Many people think their GP, hospital or social care records are available to all professionals involved in their care and treatment but this is not the case.  Each professional you see keeps a separate record which can mean that sometimes important information is not communicated between health and social care services as well as it should.

In St Helens the local GPs, hospitals, community, mental health and social care services have been working together to improve this and have launched the St Helens Shared Care Record - a computer system where all the separate health and care records are shared together in one place.

As long as your GP practice has signed a data sharing agreement, health and social care workers directly involved in a your care will be able to see a full record containing all the relevant information recorded about you such as details of your GP appointments, medication prescribed, diagnoses and tests results, allergies and the treatments and care you receive.  With all this information together in one place, professionals can make the best clinical and care decision.

The benefits to patients are:

• You get the right treatment and care as the professionals you see have the most up to date and accurate information about a person
• We can reduce duplicate appointments and tests and the time taken to chase things up with other providers
• You don’t have to keep repeating your medical or social care history.

All the information is stored using the most secure technology available and covered by strict confidentiality guidelines and the Data Protection Act 2018.  The shared care record is accessed through a secure NHS network and not the internet and only people directly involved in your care will be able to see your shared care record.

Patients can’t access the system or see their shared care record.  However, you can still make an informal request to see your summary medical record at your GP surgery.

You can choose to not have their record shared with anyone outside your GP surgery.  To find out about how to opt out please click here

To see how the Shared Care Record benefits patients, read Ed’s story here