Patient Record

Important information about online access to patient records

The NHS wants to give people better ways to see their personal health information online. We know that people want to be able to access their health records. It can help you see test results faster. It also lets you read and review notes from your appointments in your own time.

From 1 November 2022, some patients over the age of 16 may be able to see new information from your doctor (GP) on your online account, though the NHS app, website or another secure record access app. This information may include notes from your appointment as well as test results and letters. 

You may not be able to view this information at times; this will depend on your practice policies and security systems. In addition, before giving access to records, your doctor may want to talk to you first, for example, about test results or to make sure that having access is of benefit to you, as there may be sensitive information on your record. They may also want to talk to patients who might benefit from support to make a decision about access to their records. If you have any concerns or if you need support or more information, please talk to practice staff or your doctor.

These changes only apply to people with online accounts. If you do not want an online account, you can still access your health records by requesting this information through reception. The changes also only apply to personal information about you. If you are a carer and would like to see information about someone you care for, speak to reception staff.

It’s very important that you protect your login details to the NHS App, website or other online services. Don’t share your password with anyone as they will then have access to your personal information. You should also make sure you log off as soon as you have finished viewing your record, as this may not happen automatically for some apps.

If you do not want to see your health record, or if you would like more information about these changes, please speak to your doctor or practice staff.

Sharing Your Medical Record

Increasingly, patient medical data is shared e.g. between GP surgeries and District Nursing, in order to give clinicians access to the most up to date information when attending patients.

The systems we operate require that any sharing of medical information is consented to by patients beforehand. Patients must consent to sharing of the data held by a health provider out to other health providers and must also consent to which of the other providers can access their data.

e.g. it may be necessary to share data held in GP practices with district nurses but the local podiatry department would not need to see it to undertake their work. In this case, patients would allow the surgery to share their data, they would allow the district nurses to access it but they would not allow access by the podiatry department. In this way access to patient data is under patients' control and can be shared on a 'need to know' basis.

Emergency Care Summary

There is a Central NHS Computer System called the Emergency Care Summary (ECS). The Emergency Care Summary is meant to help emergency doctors and nurses help you when you contact them when the surgery is closed. It will contain information on your medications and allergies.

Your information will be extracted from practices such as ours and held securely on central NHS databases.   

As with all systems there are pros and cons to think about. When you speak to an emergency doctor you might overlook something that is important and if they have access to your medical record it might avoid mistakes or problems, although even then, you should be asked to give your consent each time a member of NHS Staff wishes to access your record, unless you are medically unable to do so.

On the other hand, you may have strong views about sharing your personal information and wish to keep your information at the level of this practice. If you don’t want an Emergency Care Summary to be made for you, tell your GP surgery. Don’t forget that if you do have an Emergency Care Summary, you will be asked if staff can look at it every time they need to. You don’t have to agree to this.