London Care Record: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General information about the London Care Record
Sharing of your information via the London Care Record
- What is data sharing in the London Care Record?
- What information will be shared in the London Care Record?
- What information will not be shared in the London Care Record?
Partners involved in the London Care Record
- Who can view my information on the London Care Record?
- Which organisations are involved in London Care Record?
- Can I see my information in the London Care Record online?
- Can I get a copy of my information on the London Care Record?
- Can the government or organisations involved with insurance or research view or use London Care Record?
- Will councils use information in London Care Record when assessing my benefits claims?
Restricting access to your information in London Care Record
- Can I refuse to have my information on the London Care Record? Will this affect my care?
- How do I request to stop sharing my information on London Care Record?
- Can I stop certain healthcare staff from seeing my information?
- In the past, I’ve said I do not want my information shared on ConnectCare or the Local Care Record. Do I need to ask that my information is also not shared on the London Care Record?
- If I have already opted out of Summary Care Record will this automatically apply to London Care Record?
- I am a patient at Oxleas and have NOT chosen to restrict sharing of my information in ConnectCare. How will the introduction of London Care Record impact the use of my data?
- What do patients do if they would like to make a complaint about improper use of the London Care Record?
Security
Other
- I’m new to the area – am I included?
- Is this the same as Summary Care Record (SCR)?
- Is this related to Care.data?
- Why is my information seen by other care providers when I don’t receive health or care services outside South East London (SEL)?
- What is the difference between the Local Care Record and London Care Record?
- Who can I contact for more information?
General information about the London Care Record
What is London Care Record?
In the past, health and social care workers from different local organisations involved in your care have not had a system in place to share important information about your care automatically.
To solve this problem, we have developed London Care Record. This is a single digital view of important information about you. This means, it displays information from separate record systems all in one place. Professionals who are involved in your care can see this information quickly and safely, so that they can treat and care for you.
London Care Record does not gather new information. It makes existing information more accessible, anywhere you receive care. This means those involved in your care, such as GPs, hospital staff, district nurses, and social workers will now have faster access to information about you when they’re caring or treating you. This helps them provide you with the most timely and efficient treatment.
How is London Care Record going to benefit you?
Completely confidential and secure, London Care Record helps doctors, nurses and other health and social care professionals directly involved in your care to make better, safer decisions.
Often when you see a care professional, important information about you is not available at that time. This can risk you repeating appointments or blood tests unnecessarily. It can also mean you are asked to repeat your medical information or history on many occasions. For example, if you are treated in the emergency department (A&E) at hospital, the staff might have to spend time contacting other organisations to get relevant information, such as allergies, medicine reactions, or the results of any tests at your GP surgery.
With the London Care Record the professionals treating you will be able to see your medical history at a glance. It means that front-line professionals can focus on providing you with the right treatment, rather than wasting time trying to get all the information they need. This will speed up treatment and may help to avoid unnecessary admission into hospital.
Sharing of your information via the London Care Record
What is data sharing in London Care Record?
The quality of your care can be improved by ‘data sharing’. This is when information about you is shared between local NHS and social care organisations who provide you with direct care. The people sharing this data are called the Direct Care Team.
The sharing of information has always happened with paper processes but digital systems are allowing us to share more relevant information about you with your Direct Care Team. This helps them be more efficient and supports decisions that they and you make about your care.
You can find an up to date list of organisations sharing or viewing data in the London Care Record here: London Care Record partners – OneLondon.
What information will be shared in the London Care Record?
London Care Record contains important information about you. This includes:
- Your name, date of birth, gender, address, contact details and NHS number to help identify you correctly
- The name of your GP Practice and GP to support primary care.
- Information about your appointments and hospital attendances
- Medicines you are taking plus details of medication reactions and allergies, immunisations and diagnoses.
- Test results, hospital referrals, admissions, discharges and clinics attended
- Social and mental health information and care plans
- You can find an up to date list of organisations sharing or viewing data in the London Care Record here: London Care Record partners – OneLondon
What information will NOT be shared in the London Care Record?
We will not share certain information that is not allowed to be shared by law. Special categories of personal data such as attendance at sexual health clinics, fertility treatment records, and records relating to gender reassignment will not be included. Only information shared by care providers can be viewed on the London Care Record.
You can find an up to date list of organisations sharing or viewing data in the London Care Record here: London Care Record partners – OneLondon
Partners involved in the London Care Record
Who can view my information on the London Care Record?
Only health, social and care professionals directly involved in your care can access your information, at point of care:
- Your GP
- A&E teams in London if you go there for an emergency
- The social care team looking after you in your home
Your data is being shared for Direct Care purposes only.
Access to your information is fully auditable. This means, there will be a record of who has looked at your information, what they looked at, and when.
You can find an up to date list of organisations sharing or viewing data in the London Care Record here: London Care Record partners – OneLondon
Which organisations are involved in London Care Record?
The London Care Record will include sharing of patient data from:
- GP practices
- Acute services, such as hospitals and A&E
- Community services
- Out of hours and NHS 111 providers
- Social care services
- Mental health trusts
Once fully rolled out, the London Care Record will include information from across London which includes:
- North East London
- South East London
- South West London
- North Central London
- North West London
Additionally, some out of London hospitals are connected like:
- Milton Keynes University Hospital
- Those in Hertfordshire and West Essex
You can find an up to date list of organisations sharing or viewing data in the London Care Record here: London Care Record partners – OneLondon
Can I see my information in the London Care Record online?
No, not yet. However, this is something we are keen to introduce at a later stage.
Can I get a copy of my information on the London Care Record?
Under the Data Protection Act 2018, you can request a copy of your record. To do this you need to contact each care organisation involved in your care to obtain a copy of your records, via their local Subject Access Request processes.
Can the government or organisations involved with insurance or research view or use London Care Record?
No. The London Care Record will only be used by health and care professionals involved in delivering your treatments or care. Third parties, companies or individuals not directly involved in your care will not be able to view or access your record.
Will councils use information in London Care Record when assessing my benefits claims?
No, only those involved in your care can view your health and care information on the London Care Record when delivering your care.
Restricting access to your information in London Care Record
Can I refuse to have my information on the London Care Record? Will this affect my care?
Patient health records have always been shared by letter, email, fax or phone. This meant that there could be a delay for professionals caring for you to access all the information they needed immediately for your treatment. Now, with London Care Record, all the information will be shared securely to let care professionals to provide fast, effective and safe care for you. Only health and care professionals who need to access your information will have access to your information.
You can object to your records being shared between services. To do this, you can speak to the person providing your care such as a GP, healthcare professional or social worker.
However, it’s important to know that:
- Not allowing access to your information might affect the quality of care you receive
- Only health and social care professionals involved in your care are allowed to access this information. These people view patient records to provide the best quality care they can
- In many situations, it is necessary to share information between services to deliver care.
There may be circumstances where an objection by a patient may not be upheld. For example:
- If it is in the public interest for information to be shared. For example, if there is a safeguarding issue, or in the case of an individual who might be at risk from harming themselves or a member of the public.
- If clinical care cannot be provided, for example, GPs providing appointments at the weekend need access to your GP record to provide you with safe effective care. In this instance, you may choose not to have the appointment.
- If this is not upheld this will be communicated to you, including the reason for the request not being upheld and details of how to complain to the Information Commissioners Office.
How do I request to stop sharing my information on London Care Record?
You have the right to object to your information being available through London Care Record. Patients can object to their records being shared between services. To do this, they can speak to the person delivering care such as their GP, healthcare professional or social worker.
For advice about data protection, privacy, data sharing issues and your rights or you want to stop sharing, you can contact the team via the contacts at www.lewishamandgreenwich.nhs.uk/london-care-record, or your health or social care team. If you do not have access to the website, you can call 020 3192 6011 and leave your name and number for someone to contact you.
Although patients have the right to object and request restrictions on sharing their records, there may be instances where this request will not be upheld due to a clinical need as determined by the direct care giver.
Can I stop certain healthcare staff from seeing my information?
Your health and care professionals have access to your data based on their job role. If you are concerned about sharing sensitive information, please talk to a GP or the healthcare professional treating you.
In the past, I’ve said I do not want my information shared on ConnectCare or the Local Care Record. Do I need to ask that my information is also not shared on the London Care Record?
No. If you have already requested to stop sharing on ConnectCare/Local Care Record, then you will not have to request again for London Care Record.
If I have already opted out of Summary Care Record will this automatically apply to London Care Record?
No, you will need to let us know if you want to stop sharing your information on the London Care Record.
I am a patient at Oxleas and have NOT chosen to restrict sharing of my information in ConnectCare. How will the introduction of London Care Record impact the use of my data?
ConnectCare is now becoming London Care Record. Your information can now be accessed by those involved in your care in other areas of London. Your key health and care information is viewable on the London Care Record.
What do patients do if they would like to make a complaint about improper use of the London Care Record?
Patients can talk to their health or care professional or GP if they have any concerns about improper use of London Care Record. An audit trail will be used to investigate this, and inappropriate access by staff members is taken very seriously and formal investigations would be carried out.
All health and care organisations have complaints procedures. If you want to make a complaint, please contact a health or social care professional involved in your care, or speak to the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) or complaints department at the hospital. Patients also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office about breaches of confidentiality.
Security
Is my information on the London Care Record secure?
Yes, your information is secure. London Care Record can only be accessed by registered health and social care professionals who are authorised to view it, and only at point of care.
By law, everyone working in health and social care or as part of NHS healthcare teams must respect privacy and keep all information safe. Information can only be accessed over a secure health and care network. An audit trail is maintained to record access to records.
The London Care Record is underpinned by an Information Sharing Agreement between all the health and care organisations involved. This means they commit to sharing information in a secure way that is compliant with General Data Protection Regulations, which provides the legal basis to share information between health and care services when it is needed to deliver care.
The use of information is strictly controlled and used by healthcare providers in accordance with the Data Protection Legislation, the Human Rights Act 1998, the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality, the NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice, the NHS Records Management Code of Practice and the NHS Information Security Code of Practice. All partners involved are compliant with the Data Security and Protection (DSP) toolkit.
Other
I’m new to the area – am I included?
If you are registered with a participating GP practice, or have received care from any of the other participating organisations, then you will have your information included automatically.
Is this the same as Summary Care Record (SCR)?
No, the national Summary Care Record is not the same as your information in London Care record. The London Care Record will provide a more detailed view of your health and care, and will only be available to professionals involved in your care when treating or caring for you.
Is this related to Care.data?
No, Care.data was a national NHS service which collects non-identifiable patient information from GP practices to help in planning and research. London Care Record is not linked to Care.data in any way.
Why is my information seen by other care providers when I don’t receive health or care services outside South East London (SEL)?
Only those directly involved in your care will have access to your information at point of care. So if you only received services in South East London, only South East London care providers can access your information when treating you.
What is the difference between the Local Care Record and London Care Record?
There are two technology solutions used in south east London to share health and care information with those professionals involved in your treatments and care. The London Care Record will bring more information into a single view, in a way that is easier to use to deliver your better, faster and safer care.
Who can I contact for more information?
You can read more about the London Care Record and its benefits on the London Care Record pages of this website. People without access to the website, can call 020 3192 6011 and leave their name and number for someone to contact you.
If you would like further information on the London Care Record please visit: London Care Record – OneLondon