The Summary Care Record is an electronic record which will give healthcare staff faster, easier access to essential information about you, to help provide you with safe treatment when you need care in an emergency or when your GP practice is closed.

Everybody can choose not to have a Summary Care Record − you will need to fill in an Opt Out Form and return it to your GP.

Healthcare staff will ask your permission every time they need to look at your Summary Care Record. If they cannot ask you, for example if you are unconscious, they may look at your record without asking you. If they have to do this, they will make a note on your record.

About your Summary Care Record

If you decide to have a Summary Care Record it will contain important information about any medicines you are taking, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines that you have had. Giving healthcare staff access to this information can prevent mistakes being made when caring for you in an emergency or when your GP practice is closed.

You may want to add other details about your care to your Summary Care Record. This will only happen if you ask for the information to be included. You should discuss your wishes with the healthcare staff treating you.

How will I benefit from having a Summary Care Record?

Healthcare staff will have quicker access to information about any medicines you are taking, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.
This means they can provide you with safer care during an emergency, when your GP practice is closed, or when you are away from home in another part of England.

Children and the Summary Care Record

Children will automatically have a Summary Care Record made for them.
If you do not want your child to have a Summary Care Record you will need to fill in an Opt Out Form (on behalf of your child) and return it to your child’s GP practice.
In some circumstances your GP may feel it is in your child’s best interests to have a Summary Care Record.

For example, if your child has a serious allergy that healthcare staff treating your child should know about.
For more information visit The NHS website.