Summary Care Record to
benefit millions of patients with long term conditions, say patient groups
A year on from a
Ministerial review that confirmed the importance of Summary Care
Records in supporting urgent and emergency care, patient groups
are advocating its use to improve care for the millions of people
with long term conditions they represent.
The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign recently recommended that their
patients consider adding important information about their
conditions to their Summary Care Record to improve their
experience of hospital care. Mencap, Asthma UK, Diabetes UK and
the British Lung Foundation are also now looking to raise
awareness among their members about how the record could benefit
patients when they are being treated by doctors and nurses in an
emergency who may unfamiliar with their particular condition.
The Summary Care Record is a secure, electronic patient
record which is currently being introduced in England. Last
October’s review, commissioned by Health Minister Simon Burns,
restricted the record to carrying basic information about
medications, allergies and bad reactions to drugs. So for example,
patients with asthma would no longer need to be asked to repeat
their medical history while struggling to breathe. Patients can
however speak to their GP about adding extra information they may
want the NHS to know about them in an emergency to their Summary
Care Record.
The main issue identified by patient groups which the SCR
could help remedy is patients having difficulties communicating
their needs; whether it is a nurse not knowing how to tell if a
patient with learning disabilities and limited verbal skills is in
pain to ensuring a doctor unfamiliar with neuromuscular conditions
does not deliver inappropriate treatment that could leave a
patient permanently needing to use a wheelchair.
Following the Ministerial review, patients can easily opt out of
having a Summary Care Record if they wish to by using the opt out
form and freepost envelope included in letters being sent to
patients or by consulting their GP. As an added safeguard,
patients will always be asked their permission before their SCR is
viewed.
Health Minister, Simon Burns, said:
“I am delighted that, a year on from our review, patients and
groups representing them are seizing the initiative in exploring
how the Summary Care Record can best meet their needs. They have
given us valuable insights into just how crucial it is that
clinicians have the right information at the right time to deliver
the safest, most effective care."
“With the Summary Care Record, patients are very much in the
driving seat. They can decide, in discussion with their
clinicians, what extra information, over and above core data about
medications and allergies, they may want the NHS to know about
them in an emergency. This has the potential to transform the
experience of healthcare for millions of patients with long term
conditions and for their families and carers."
Medical Director, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh said:
“It is heartening that, a year on from our
review, trust and confidence in the Summary Care Record is
building. Patients with long term conditions come into frequent
contact with the NHS, often needing unplanned and emergency care
from clinicians unfamiliar with them or their specialist
condition. It cannot be right that some of these patients feel
they have to carry around medication information on scraps of
paper or are asked to accurately recall important health
information when they are ill and vulnerable."
“The Summary Care Record offers patients the reassurance that
they can easily make the most crucial information about their
condition available to anyone treating them.”
Neil Churchill, Chief Executive Officer of Asthma
UK, said:
“Summary care records are a vital step forward in delivering safe
and effective patient care. Patients with asthma can have long and
detailed medical histories and it is unrealistic to expect them to
repeat these whilst they are struggling to breathe, and causes
unnecessary pain and stress. As a consenting patient with a
long-term condition, I expect my medical details to be available
wherever they are needed, which will ensure my safety in
emergencies and improve consistency and quality of care whichever
part of the NHS I deal with.”
Caroline Stevens, Interim Chief Operating Officer
at the British Lung Foundation said:
“The
Summary Care Record will bring many benefits for patients but
especially those with a lung disease who are often admitted to
hospital in an emergency if their condition flares up
unexpectedly. The records will mean that healthcare professionals
have the most current information and will be able to treat
patients quickly, efficiently and accurately. We will be working
to raise awareness of the record amongst all of our members.”
Nic Bungay, Director of Campaigns, Care and
Support at the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign said:
“We see the great potential for Summary Care Records to
support staff across the NHS in dealing with rare conditions, such
as muscular dystrophy, and are committed to raising awareness of
the scheme amongst our supporters. Our recent report into hospital
care for neuromuscular patients, Hospitals in Focus, highlighted a
multitude of incidences when patients would have benefitted from
being enabled to present information on their conditions in a
formal way."
“We encourage patients to take ownership over the records and to
communicate the ways in which they feel the record could best be
used to support individual care.”
David Congdon, Mencap’s head of campaigns and
policy, said:
“For patients with a learning disability, the potential
benefit of the Summary Care Record would be if they are able to
add key information about their needs that they want clinicians to
know at the point of treatment. This could be important
information about how they communicate, for example, how they show
they are in pain. The record could also provide contact details
for their carer."
“Mencap’s landmark Death by Indifference report in 2007, and
subsequent reports and inquiries, have shown that people with a
learning disability face discrimination within the health system,
and in some cases die needlessly. Consequently, information in a
patient’s Summary Care Record could prove vital for health
professionals, especially in cases where a person communicates
non-verbally and is therefore reliant on health
professionals
having sufficient knowledge and understanding of
them to provide good and safe healthcare.”
Bridget Turner, Head of Policy and Care
Improvement at Diabetes UK, said:
“Summary
Care Records are an important part of improving access to
information which could prove vital in emergency situations to
ensure people with diabetes receive timely and appropriate
treatment. We will be looking raise awareness about the record
among our members over the coming months.”
Notes to editors:
1) To date, 8.8 million SCRs have been created and 33.5
million patients written to. There are twelve areas in England
where over half of the patient population has a record.
2) The current recorded opt out rate is 1.24 per cent.
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk