Summary Care Record Policy

If you are registered with a GP Practice in England, you will already have an SCR unless you have previously chosen not to have one.

It includes the following basic information:

• Medicines you are taking
• Allergies you suffer from
• Any bad reactions to medicines

It also includes your name, address, date of birth and unique NHS Number which helps to identify you correctly.

You can now choose to include more information in your SCR, such as significant medical history (past and present), information about management of long term conditions, immunisations and patient preferences such as end of life care information, particular care needs and communication preferences.

Your SCR is available to authorised healthcare staff providing your care anywhere in England, but they will ask your permission before they look at it. This means that if you have an accident or become ill, healthcare staff treating you will have immediate access to important information about your health.

This Practice supports SCR however, as a patient you have a choice:

If you would like an SCR you do not need to do anything and an SCR will be created for you

If you do NOT want an SCR please complete the online SCR opt out form, or alternatively please get in touch with the practice to complete a paper form.

Remember, you can change your mind about your SCR at any time. Talk to our Practice if you want to discuss your option to add more information or decide you no longer want an SCR. If you do nothing we will assume you are happy for us to create a SCR for you.

Having an SCR that includes extra information can be of particular benefit to patients with detailed and complex health problems. If you are a carer for someone and believe that this may benefit them, you could discuss it with them and their GP Practice.

Only authorised, professional healthcare staff in England who are involved in your direct care can have access to your SCR. Your SCR will not be used for any other purposes.

These staff:

• Need to have a Smartcard with a chip and passcode
• Will only see the information they need to do their job
• Will have their details recorded every time they look at your record

Healthcare professionals will ask for your permission if they need to look at your SCR. If they cannot ask you because you are unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate, they may decide to look at your record because doing so is in your best interest. This access is recorded and checked to ensure that it is appropriate.

If you are the parent or guardian of a child under 16, and feel they are able to understand this information you should show it to them. You can then support them to come to a decision about having an SCR and whether to include additional information. You may request to opt them out of SAR; any opt-out requests on behalf of children will be carefully considered.

For information on how the NHS will collect, store and allow access to your electronic records visit the NHS website.

The Summary Care Record is an English NHS development. It consists of a basic medical record held on a central government database on every patient registered with a GP surgery in England. The basic data is automatically extracted from your GP’s electronic record system and uploaded to the central system GPs are required by their contract with the NHS to allow this upload. The basic upload consists of current medication, allergies and details of any previous bad reactions to medicines, the name, address, date of birth and NHS number of the patient

As well as this basic record additional information can be added, and this can be far reaching and detailed. However, whereas the basic data is uploaded automatically any additional data will only be uploaded if you specifically request it and with your consent.

Summary Care Records can only be viewed within the NHS on NHS smartcard controlled screens or by organisation, such as pharmacies, contracted to the NHS.

You have the right to object to our sharing your data in these circumstances and you can ask your GP to block uploads.

We are required by Articles in the General Data Protection Regulations to provide you with the information in the following 9 subsections. 

Data controller contact details

Violet Lane Medical Practice
231 Violet Lane
Croydon
CR0 4HN

• Telephone: 020 8688 0333
• Contact us via email

Data protection officer contact details

Email Umar Sabat

Purpose of the processing

Upload of basic and detailed additional SCR data

Lawful basis for processing

The processing of personal data in the delivery of direct care and for providers’ administrative purposes in this surgery and in support of direct care elsewhere is supported under the following Article 6 and 9 conditions of the GDPR:

Article 6(1)(e) ‘…necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority…’.
Article 9(2)(h) ‘necessary for the purposes of preventative or occupational medicine for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services...”

We will also recognise your rights established under UK case law collectively known as the “Common Law Duty of Confidentiality”*

Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data

The data will be shared with Health and care professionals and support staff in this surgery and at hospitals, diagnostic and treatment centres who contribute to your personal care.Such as: Croydon University Hospital, St Georges Hospital, St Helier Hospital

Rights to object

You have the right to object to some or all the information being processed under Article 21. Please contact the Data Controller or the practice. You should be aware that this is a right to raise an objection, that is not the same as having an absolute right to have your wishes granted in every circumstance 

Right to access and correct

You have the right to access the data that is being shared and have any inaccuracies corrected. There is no right to have accurate medical records deleted except when ordered by a court of Law.

Retention period

The data will be retained in line with the law and national guidance or speak to the practice.

Right to Complain

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, or by calling their helpline Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 (national rate)

There are National Offices for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, (see ICO website)

* “Common Law Duty of Confidentiality”, common law is not written out in one document like an Act of Parliament. It is a form of law based on previous court cases decided by judges; hence, it is also referred to as 'judge-made' or case law. The law is applied by reference to those previous cases, so common law is also said to be based on precedent.

The general position is that if information is given in circumstances where it is expected that a duty of confidence applies, that information cannot normally be disclosed without the information provider's consent.

In practice, this means that all patient information, whether held on paper, computer, visually or audio recorded, or held in the memory of the professional, must not normally be disclosed without the consent of the patient. It is irrelevant how old the patient is or what the state of their mental health is; the duty still applies.

Three circumstances making disclosure of confidential information lawful are:

• where the individual to whom the information relates has consented;
• where disclosure is in the public interest; and
• where there is a legal duty to do so, for example a court order.