A Summary Care Record is a secure electronic summary of core information such as medications, allergies, adverse reactions and key health information derived initially from the patient’s GP record and added to as necessary by other healthcare staff treating the patient.

The first records to be created in London are due to be uploaded in Southwark at the Princess Street Group Practice on 19 November. Everyone living in the capital will be written to, outlining the initiative, and offering them the choice to opt out of having a Summary Care Record created.

The records have already been trialled in a number of regions across England, with Strategic Health Authorities across the country now planning to implement them. For example, East of England SHA expects to introduce them by the end of 2010.

The early adopters already show evidence of improving out-of-hours care, ensuring that doctors have reliable, relevant, up-to-date information at their fingertips in situations where time is critical. The Summary Care Record means that clinicians no longer have to rely on patient testimony, which can often be incomplete or inaccurate. Elderly and vulnerable patients and those for whom English is a second language will particularly benefit.

Summary Care Records can be enriched with extra information such as a patient’s wishes about End of Life care. In Bury, one of the Summary Care Record early adopters, around 60 patients have done this.

Health Minister Mike O’Brien said:

“Having the right information at the right time can make all the difference to patients’ experience of urgent care. Summary Care Records can improve the quality and safety of treatment provided as well as increasing people’s comfort and reassurance. We are particularly interested in the experience at Bury which has incorporated End of Life wishes for a substantial number of patients. Moving the NHS from good to great needs improvements such as this.”

Ruth Carnall, Chief Executive of NHS London, said:

“Getting hold of health records for London’s highly mobile population often presents real challenges to doctors and nurses when patients need out-of-hours and emergency care. The Summary Care Record has demonstrated clear benefits elsewhere in the country and NHS London is keen to bring these to the capital.”

Maireade Bird, 60, from Birmingham, has opted to have a Summary Care Record. She suffers from a chronic lung condition, Bronchiectasis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). She said:

“I’m on around 11 medications. I’ve been in situations where I’ve been taken ill away from home and neither myself nor my husband could remember all the details. I also struggle to communicate sometimes because my condition means I often get short of breath. Summary Care Records can really help in such situations. Vital information about me will be instantly available to people treating me anywhere in the country.”

Summary Care Records are also shortly due to be created at two GP practices in Chingford, east London. Dr Phil Koczan, is a GP at one of these sites, the Churchill Medical Centre, and is also Clinical Lead for the London Programme for IT.

He said: “As a London GP, I see many people on a lot of different medication and with long-term, complex conditions. Summary Care Records will give myself and my patients real peace of mind knowing that important information is accessible when it’s needed.”