🩺 NHS Data Sharing: How It Will Improve Your Care

🌍 The Problem Today

At the moment, your health information is stored in many different places:

• Your GP (General Practitioner) has one record.

• Hospitals keep their own records.

• Community services (like district nurses or physiotherapists) have separate notes.

• Social care also keeps its own information.

This can cause problems:

• You may be asked to repeat your story again and again.

• Doctors don’t always see the full picture (medications, allergies, past test results).

• Sometimes tests are repeated unnecessarily.

📅 The Timeline for Change

Today (2025)

• Records are mostly separate.

• Some areas already share basic information like your medicines and allergies through a “Summary Care Record.”

👉 What it means for you: You still have to repeat information at most appointments.

2026 – Shared Care Records in Every Area

• Every region (called an Integrated Care System, or ICS) will have a Shared Care Record.

• This links together information from GPs, hospitals, community teams, and social care.

• Hospitals using modern systems like Epic (a type of electronic patient record – MFT has installed this already) can also start sharing directly with other Epic hospitals.

👉 What it means for you: Doctors can see more of your health record without asking you to repeat everything.

2028 – Linking Across the Country

• Regional Shared Care Records will start to connect with each other.

• Epic hospitals across the UK will share records more easily using Care Everywhere (Epic’s sharing tool).

• Community services and “virtual wards” (hospital care at home) will be fully connected.

👉 What it means for you: If you are treated in another part of the country, staff there will be able to see important parts of your health record straight away.

2030 – One Joined-Up NHS Record

• The NHS plans to give every patient a longitudinal record – one joined-up health and care record that follows you everywhere.

• This will combine information from GPs, hospitals, community services, mental health teams, and social care.

• Patients will also be able to see much more of their own record through the NHS App.

👉 What it means for you: Wherever you go in the NHS, staff can see your medical history safely. You’ll feel your care is joined-up, and you can also check your record yourself.

✅ Your Patient Journey: Step by Step

• Today: “I have to explain my medication list every time. I’m not sure my hospital knows what my GP prescribed.”

• 2026: “When I go into hospital, the doctor can already see my GP record and community nurse notes.”

• 2028: “I was treated far from home, and the hospital could see my recent test results straight away.”

• 2030: “Wherever I go, the NHS staff have the full picture. I can see my record too on the NHS App.”