Summary Care Records
The summary care record will initially consist of basic information from the patient record, such as your date of birth, address, details of allergies, current prescriptions, and bad reactions to medicines. Then, each time a patient uses an NHS service, more information may be added to it.
In Norfolk, many patients have had summary care records (SCR) created, and these can be accessed (with patient consent) by hospitals, A&E departments, the out of hours services, 111 and the ambulance service. Please complete our online ‘opt out’ form if you would like to opt out of this service.
More information about the summary care record can be found on the NHS Care Records website.
Enhanced summary care records
Additional information can be added to your SCR by your GP (this is known as an enhanced summary care records) and is a summary of information about your medical history.
An enhanced summary care record can include the following:
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Your long team health conditions e.g. asthma, heart problems, or rare medical conditions.
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Your relevant medical history, such as clinical procedures that you have had, why you need a particular medicine, the care you are currently receiving, and clinical advice to support your future care.
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Your healthcare needs and personal preferences – You may have a particular communication needs, a long term condition that needs to be managed in a particular way, you may have legal decisions, or have preferences about your care that you would like to be known.
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Immunisations – Details of previous vaccinations, such as tetanus and routine childhood jabs.
Please note that specific sensitive information such as any fertility treatments, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy terminations or gender reassignment will not be included, unless you specifically ask for any of these items to be included.
How will additional information help me?
Essential details about your healthcare can be very difficult to remember, particularly when you are unwell. Having additional information in your enhanced summary care record means that when you need healthcare, this information will be available to the clinician providing treatment to you, no matter which NHS organisation they work for.
There are already clear benefits for your care from having medication, allergy and adverse reaction information available through your regular SCR. If you choose to add additional information through the enhanced summary care record, this can further increase the quality of your care. Additional information can also empower you if you need some help to communicate your complex care needs.
- The NHS has produced a leaflet to provide further information on the enhanced summary care record.