Sunderland City Council is the first local authority in the North East and North Cumbria area to connect to the health information exchange across the region.
400 GP practices, five NHS trusts and the North East Ambulance Service are connected to the system, with Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust being the latest trust to join the system, in February. North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust is also due to start sharing records later this month, too.
The Great North Care Record has seen over 1 million views since November 2020, with shared care records being viewed over 7,000 times a day, on average.
The connected services share information such as medications, hospital visits, referrals and letters. The new addition of Sunderland City Council will see a link between local NHS and adult social care services in Sunderland.
In 2021, patients will be able to start accessing hospital records through the NHS App, and a population health management and research module will be introduced to the system.
Steve Cram OBE, said: “I have personal experience from both my parents living with health conditions in later life, which is why I have chosen to support the Great North Care Record.
“Having something like this back then, instead of bouncing between different services and having to go over a complicated medical history would have made a tremendous difference to the care they received. I fully support the work the project is doing and am delighted that Sunderland gets to benefit first.”
Dr Raj Bethapudi, GP Partner and Chief Clinical Information Officer at Sunderland CCG, added: “GP records typically hold the most information about patients. Sharing a summary of records with other health and social care colleagues will help to provide more joined-up care to our patients. Colleagues in other organisations can only access records when they have a clear reason to do so, and patients can choose to opt out at any time.”
Emma Anderson, Head of Therapies at Sunderland City Council, commented that previously it was challenging trying to find information about clients. She said: “We wouldn’t always know if a client has been admitted to hospital without having to making lots of telephone calls to try and track them down. Having access to this information, with the patient’s permission means we can be sure we are offering them the most appropriate care.”
To find out more, please visit www.greatnorthcarerecord.org.uk
