About the SCR
One of the main aims of the NHS is to improve the safety, quality and efficiency of patient care. The availability of the SCR can support this and provide benefits to both NHS healthcare staff and patients. By giving healthcare staff treating patients in an emergency faster and easier access to essential information that helps them to support the effective treatment to patients in an emergency.
Historically, there has been little or no information available to clinical staff when patients are seen out of hours or in an emergency, for example in Out-of-Hours GP Services or Emergency Departments.
The SCR Public Information Programme (PIP) informs patients and the public about SCRs and the choices they have. The PIP will precede the creation of the SCRs, to allow patients to express their preferences – patient's can choose not to have an SCR and it is through this process that they can advise their GP of this.
A patient's SCR will contain essential health information about any medicines, allergies and adverse reactions derived from their GP record. Where a patient and their doctor wish to add additional information to the patient's Summary Care Record, this should only be added with the explicit consent of the patient.
Once SCRs are created, authorised NHS healthcare staff in urgent and emergency care settings that need access to the information will begin to view these records when delivering clinical care.
Patients will also be able to access their SCR using the secure website HealthSpace, thus enabling them to have a degree of control of their healthcare and records.
The SCR Scope document (PDF, 53kB) describes the scope of the SCR and is aimed at individuals within organisations that have responsibility for the management and control of SCR usage.