The new IT platform securely connects records from hospitals, GPs, mental health services and social care providers, ensuring professionals have the most up-to-date information when they need it.
Mike Whiteside, Chief Clinical Information Officer at DBTH, said: “For colleagues, this means easier access to key patient details, fewer delays in retrieving information and better coordination between teams. With a complete view of a patient’s history, we can reduce duplication, streamline discharge planning and provide safer, more personalised care.
“Only identified clinicians – doctors, nurses and allied health professionals – will receive access. The system does not store information but securely connects existing records in real time. Patients do not need to take any action, but they have the option to object to inclusion if they wish.”
Nominated colleagues at the Trust will be able to log into the new shared care record via their existing clinical portal where they will be able to see a menu link to the YHCR. The Trust has established a communications plan to help roll-out the new platform across teams and departments.
In other developments, more information is being added into the shared care record by a neighbouring health service organisation, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (STH). STH has added information including inpatient discharge summaries, outpatient clinic letters and emergency department discharge summaries. The more information in the shared care record, the more useful it becomes to users.
The YHCR is being rolled out via the SYSCR programme, part of the national Connecting Care Records initiative. Currently, there are 13 local NHS organisations and local authorities involved in advancing the programme in South Yorkshire, across the Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield areas.
For further information, please visit the South Yorkshire Shared Care Record programme webpage: https://syics.co.uk/digital_innovations/shared-care-record
To contact the South Yorkshire Shared Care Record programme team, please email: syicb.scr@nhs.net