Leeds Care Record is now being rolled out after a successful pilot phase across Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, Leeds York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and three quarters of the Leeds GP Practices to date. With the aim to improve care, the secure virtual health and social care record will be accessed by care professionals directly involved in a person’s care.
Over the past few months health professionals who have been working with the Leeds Care Record have been able to provide a better and more joined-up care to their patients. By accessing up-to-date and accurate information it has improved efficiency. It has also helped to avoid unnecessary or duplicate tests and procedures, and reduce paperwork for doctors, nurses and other staff, giving them more time to spend on patient care.
Leeds Care Record will hold certain information about a patient or service user, for example:
- Address and telephone numbers – so we have one set of contact details for you
- A list of diagnosed conditions – to make sure your health or social care professional have an accurate and complete record of your care
- Medication – so everyone treating you can see what medicines you’ve currently been prescribed
- Allergies – to make sure you aren’t prescribed or given any medicines you could have an adverse reaction to
- Test results – to speed up your treatment and care
- Referrals, clinic letters and discharge information – to make sure the people caring for you have all the information they need about other treatment you’re having elsewhere
There are over 300 clinical computer systems in Leeds. They all hold clinical information about patients who have used services provided by their GP, at a local hospital, community healthcare, social services or mental health teams. Each record may hold slightly different information. The Leeds Care Record brings together certain important information from all of these systems so that health information held about a patient can be in one place.
Leeds Care Record is a secure computer system that will still keep all health records strictly confidential. They will only be looked at by care professionals who are directly involved in a patient’s care. Over time the project will also involve social care and community teams to allow for an improved joined up care system across the city.
Leeds Care Record is a different data sharing project to care.data which is a national programme aiming to create a substantial picture of the nation’s health. For more information about care.data please go to www.nhs.uk/caredata.
Dr Jason Broch, clinical chair of NHS Leeds North Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) , said,
“The rolling out of Leeds Care Record is an exciting time for health and social care professionals across the city. As a GP it will be so helpful to see up to date and more complete health records from across all the organisations that are dealing with patients in your care. Over time it will allow for a more joined up approach with the ultimate aim of providing an even better service.”
You can choose not to have a Leeds Care Record. It is your choice but sharing your care information through a Leeds Care Record will make it easier to provide the best quality care and support for you. If you have any doubts about your records being shared you can talk to the information governance team at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Their telephone number is 0113 20 64102.
For further information visit leedscarerecord.org or follow us on twitter @LeedsCareRecord
