IF I DO NOT HAVE A SUMMARY CARE RECORD
You have decided that you do not want to have a Summary Care Record. The NHS will
do its best to provide you with safe, efficient care whether or not you have a Summary
Care Record. The purpose of this information sheet is to ensure that you are clear what
your decision could mean for your NHS care.
The Summary Care Record’s purpose is to ensure that anyone treating you has basic but
important information about you - especially when care is unplanned, urgent or during
evenings and weekends. At first this would be limited to your current medications,
known allergies and any bad reactions to medicines in the past. When you next see
your GP, important information about conditions such as asthma or diabetes could be
added if you agreed. Over time, other significant information such as referrals,
discharges, and test results will be added.
The information in your Summary Care Record could save you and the NHS time, but
could also one day be lifesaving.
With a Summary Care Record doctors and nurses would know at a crucial time:
• what medications you are taking, especially if they are many and complex
• what medications have not agreed with you in the past
• whether you have any allergies
• that new medications they prescribe may react badly with things you are already taking
• that you have a condition that means you shouldn’t have certain medicines
In addition, you would have the benefits of:
• 24 hour access to your own Summary Care Record to check it for errors and to see
what those who are treating you have recorded if you chose to view it through
HealthSpace
Service • peace of mind that wherever in England you needed care, anyone treating you would
have essential information even if you were distressed or didn’t remember details.
And later on, as your Summary Care Record developed, you would be able use it to:
• see your test results as they come in
• check that your referral letters have been written
• remind yourself about important things said to you about your treatment
Records • inform NHS staff about your needs and how you want to be treated
Care
NHS
RISKS AND PROTECTIONS
Staff disclosing information. The NHS already shares information widely and most NHS
staff are honest and trustworthy. There are occasional problems with staff accessing
records and disclosing information inappropriately. With the new NHS systems, the
number of staff who will have an opportunity to look at your clinical records when they
shouldn’t will be greatly reduced. Only staff with special security cards can log onto the
new NHS systems. This allows the NHS to track precisely who has done or seen what -
and you can ask for this information. Unlike today, staff will have to be involved in your
care to access your records and they will only see information appropriate to their role.
Hackers. Safeguards that will protect the Summary Care Record from hackers have
been designed by security experts. They are far stronger than the safeguards in place
anywhere within the NHS today.
Wrong information. It is important that the information about you is accurate. All
data that goes into a Summary Care Record will have to pass quality controls. Once you
could access it, you too could check it and point out any remaining errors.
Access by the state. No other part of government would have direct access to your
Summary Care Record. As now, any information from your record that the NHS gives to
others, such as the police, would be very strictly limited by law. In fact, the Summary
Care Record gives the opportunity to improve things by ensuring that any such
disclosures follow consistent procedures and are recorded and monitored.
More control by the patient. The greatest safeguards for your Summary Care Record
are that you will be able to see it yourself, know who else has seen it, and have more
control than ever before over what it contains and who has access. You can ask for it to
appear as a blank screen, or ask for information to be removed or not added in the
first place. Later on, additional controls will allow you to let staff see some parts of
your Summary Care Record, but not others.
We hope that the information provided has made clear the practical results of your
decision. Please be assured that the Department of Health is committed to honouring
your decision and doing all it can to ensure you get the best healthcare possible. You
can, of course, change your mind at any time. We urge you to review your decision
from time to time.
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NHS Connecting for Health is supporting the NHS to deliver
better, safer care by providing linked computer systems.
Gateway reference 7940!"!#$%!%&'!()*((+
Request for all clinical data to be withheld from
the Summary Care Record.
To be completed by the individual (data subject) making the request. Please
complete in BLOCK CAPITALS
Title___________ Surname/family name ____________________________________
Forename(s)___________________________________________________________
Address ______________________________________________________________
Postcode ___________ Tel no ____________ Date of birth ____________________
New NHS No (If known)____________________________
WHAT DOES IT MEAN IF I DO NOT HAVE A SUMMARY CARE RECORD?
! Clinicians treating you may not be aware of your current medications in order to
treat you safely and effectively
! Clinicians treating you may not be made aware of current conditions and/or
diagnoses leading to a delay or missed opportunity for correct treatment.
! Clinicians may not be aware of any al ergies/adverse reactions to medications
and may prescribe or administer a drug/treatment with adverse consequences
If you have any questions or if you wish to discuss your options or concerns please
phone the dedicated NHS Care Records Service Information Line on 0845 603 8510.
If you remain unsure about whether or not to have a Summary Care Record, please attend a
patient information drop in session or contact your practice.
UNDER SECTION 10 OF THE DATA PROTECTION ACT I REQUEST THAT MY PERSONAL
DATA ARE NOT ADDED TO THE NEW NHS SUMMARY CARE RECORD SERVICE
DATABASE. I confirm that I have read “If I do not have a Summary Care Record” and
that I understand the consequences of taking this action and have carefully considered
the implications of this for my health care.
I understand that I may change my mind at a
future date and can have a summary record created for me if I do.
Signature ___________________________________ Date____________________
Actioned by practice:
Date:
Please return this form to the GP Practice where you are registered. If you register with a
different Practice prior to the new Practice having gone through the process of creating
Summary Care Records you will need to complete a new form for the new Practice.
