The Norfolk and Waveney Shared Care Record (ShCR) officially launches soon as health and care organisations work together to improve care services for the people and communities across the area. 

The new digital record viewing system is part of a system-wide drive to deliver better, safer care for people by enabling health and social care professionals to see a holistic view of a person’s care and treatment across all settings in our local area.

After undergoing rigorous testing and training, staff across health and social care will be able to view a person’s most important data for the purposes of direct care. The first phase of the rollout will make mental health information from Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT) and GP information from across Norfolk and Waveney practices, visible to professionals in Adult Social Care, Integrated Care 24 (IC24) and East Coast Community Healthcare (ECCH). Additionally, Adult Social Care data recorded by Norfolk County Council staff will be visible to NSFT, IC24 and ECCH.

In the summer, the second phase of the rollout will include our three Acute Hospitals, 111/Out of Hours, Community Health providers (Norfolk Community Health and Care, (NCHC) Cambridgeshire Community Services (CCS) and ECCH) and Children Services, as they begin to share data in the ShCR. It will be at this point when Primary Care staff across Norfolk and Waveney will have access to all the above information.

Ian Riley Director of Digital and Data at the NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) said: ‘Patients have told us they don’t want to keep repeating their story and our clinicians have told us they want the most up to date and complete records. The Shared Care Record is an important step forward in meeting these requests and improving care outcomes for people by ensuring important health and care information is readily available and accessible at different points of care.’

The ShCR enables the secure, electronic sharing of health and social care data between health and care professionals across partner organisations across the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care System. The data is provided through NHS Digital assured processes and access is restricted through Role Based Access Controls which means that only those involved in a person’s direct care can see their most important information.

The ShCR aims to:

• Improve outcomes and provide quicker diagnosis
• Improve productivity and efficiency
• Improve quality outcomes
• Improve patient safety and experience
• Support integrated care and service transformation

Staff in Norfolk County Council’s Adult Social Care team have been piloting the new system since December 2022, with access to GP information about the people they are working with.

Matching technology compares the person’s date of birth and NHS number against the NHS spine and then returns a live feed of GP data. Staff have been using this information to support the triage of referrals and the assessment of vulnerable adults.

Cllr Bill Borrett, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care at Norfolk County Council and Chair of the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) said: ‘This is a real step forward, since the staff in Norfolk County Council’s Adult Social care teams have been piloting the new system people should only need to tell their story once, with all those working across the health and social care system having the information they need at their fingertips to put the right help and support in place as quickly as possible.’

‘Not only does this have the potential to prevent people’s needs escalating, it will improve efficiency and productivity. It is a significant step forward in securing the partnership working we want to see as an ICS.’

Dr Toral Thomas, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist and Chief Clinical Information at NSFT said: ‘We are so excited to be able to optimise care with careful information sharing for service user benefit. Physical health and mental health are equally important  – and the shared care record allows for better continuity, less repetition by patients and more holistic care for everyone in our community.’

Daniel Hubbard, Regional Operations Manager at IC24 said: ‘The Shared Care Record is an important step forward in improving patient care and experience. It will allow our clinicians access to an accurate record to inform better decision making, reduce repetition for the patient and arrive at the right outcome earlier when they are most in need.’

Adele Madin, Director of Operations for ECCH, said: ‘This will make a real difference to patients as it means they should only have to tell their healthcare story once. Our community clinicians will be able to see how they have been treated previously and act accordingly, whether that care was in hospital, by their GP, social care teams or mental health practitioners. It will ensure people receive the very best care, first time and every time.’

For more information about the ShCR, including how to opt-out, please visit:https://improvinglivesnw.org.uk/ShCR