Summary Care Records
A Summary Care Record is a short summary of your GP medical records. It tells other health and care staff who care for you (for example an Emergency Department or Minor Injury Unit) about the medicines you take and your allergies. This means they can give you better care if you need health care away from your usual doctor’s surgery:
- in an emergency
- when you’re on holiday
- when your surgery is closed
- at out-patient clinics
When you are treated away from your usual doctor’s surgery, the health care staff there can’t see your GP medical records. Looking at your SCR can speed up your care and make sure you are given the right medicines and treatment. Staff will ask your permission to look at it (except in an emergency where you are unconscious, for example) and only staff with the right levels of security clearance can access the system, so your information is secure.
There are 2 versions used in Oxfordshire:
- The Summary Care Record: used nationally across England.
- The Oxfordshire Care Summary: used locally across Oxfordshire.
Summary Care Record
This is an electronic record used nationally across England and is available to authorised healthcare professionals who care for you in urgent or emergency situations . This might be if you are ill when you are away from home or when your GP surgery is closed. It is based on your GP record and contains key information to support emergency care such as: medicines you take; any allergies you have; or any bad reactions you have had to medicines.
In England a Summary Care Record is automatically created for you unless you opt out.
You can opt to include Additional Information, including significant medical history, medication, management of long term conditions, end of life care, immunisations and communication preferences (Sensitive information like fertility treatment STIs, pregnancy terminations etc are not automatically included unless you request them to be included).
We recommend that you OPT IN to Additional Information being included in your SCR. Use our form here
The Oxfordshire Care Summary
The Oxfordshire Care Summary is similar, but contains additional information for healthcare providers you may have need to use in Oxfordshire (e.g. A&E, Out of Hours doctor, District Nurse etc)
For us to book an appointment for you at the “HUB” for same day Urgent appointments (day time) or evening appointments you MUST have signed-up to the Oxfordshire Care Summary Record – you cannot “sign-up” on the day as it takes 48 hrs plus for the system to make your clinical records available.
We recommend that you OPT IN to this. Use our form here
An information leaflet is available here
Children Under 16 Years
A patient or guardian can request to opt out children under 16 ultimately it is the GPs decision whether to create the records or not, because of their duty of care to the child. If you are the parent or guardian of a child under 16 and feel that they are able to understand, then you should make this information available to them.
