Shared Care Records are joining up patient information across different care settings in London, supporting NHS clinicians to deliver safer and more effective care to patients.
Known as the London Care Record (LCR), it has recently been piloted across three Integrated Care Boards in London to join up information across different care settings and support clinicians in delivering safer and more effective care to patients; reducing delays to treatment and a loss of precious hours in care delivery due to duplication of workload.
The LCR is a collection of patient information that eligible care providers can access for a more holistic view of a patient’s health enabling more joined up care for service users as they move through different parts of the health and social care system.
“The LCR offers benefits to both service users and care providers” explains Harpreet Shergill, Senior Programme Manager at NHS England – London.
“Service users receive the care they need more quickly, improving the patient experience and patient outcomes. Care providers can make more confident and efficient decisions about a patients’ care, freeing up valuable time and resources.
“Additionally, by eliminating duplicate assessments and unnecessary referrals, efficiencies are realised across the entire health and care system, ultimately supporting better patient outcomes.”
The LCR pilots completed in mid-February.
To access the LCR, eligible care providers will need to have completed the annual Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) to Standards Met to prove that they are keeping patient data safe and protecting themselves adequately from cyber-attacks. More information about the DSPT and how to register is available at https://www.dsptoolkit.nhs.uk/Help/3
London Care Record in action
Michael Armstrong, Managing Director at Havering Care Homes has been part of the LCR pilot and has seen the benefits in action.
“When we are waiting on medication to be delivered, we no longer need to call the pharmacy and then the GP to establish if the prescription has been raised by the GP and sent to the pharmacist. We can now see this information automatically in the London Care Record saving my team a lot of time which can now be better spent with our residents.”
Sutton Court Care Home in south-west London also took part in one of the LCR pilots.
“When our residents are discharged from hospital…we can have access to this information automatically in the London Care Record which helps to prevent…delays.” explains Marie Bannister, Registered Manager.
“We find this to be a much better outcome for the residents but also frees up beds quicker at the hospital.”
A third pilot site for the LCR was Heathlands Care Home in north-east London. Registered Manager Ronniel Alarilla had this to say about the benefits he experienced by using the LCR:
“Recently one of our residents had to be admitted to hospital. Thanks to the London Care Record we could see the patient summaries from both the London Ambulance Service and Emergency Department so could check their condition which gave the team peace of mind. Crucially it also gave us the information we need to effectively plan their care when they return to the home.”
