A new guarantee provides patients with assurances about how their privacy and safety will be protected when new electronic medical records are introduced.
The latest NHS care record guarantee acts as a commitment that patients’ records will be used in ways that respect their rights and promote their health and wellbeing. It also explains who can access records, how that access will be policed, and the options for patients to control who can view their records.
The guarantee is being updated at least once every 12 months as the NHS care records service (CRS) is being developed. Under the CRS, summary care records of each patient’s clinical history will be held on a national electronic database, with more in-depth details held locally where most care is delivered. The first phase of the scheme is due to be introduced in a small number of locations from early 2007, with national roll-out during 2008.
Taskforce supports CRS implementation
A new taskforce chaired by Harry Cayton, National Director for Patients and the Public, has been appointed to support the national implementation of the CRS. The taskforce will identify and address the concerns of patients and professionals about the creation of the summary care record.
To ensure that clinical quality and patient safety remain at the heart of all National Programme for IT (NPfIT) developments, NHS Connecting for Health (CfH) has also appointed Professor Michael Thick as its Chief Clinical Officer. Professor Thick will have responsibility for clinical governance and will help to manage the requirements of the CRS. Formerly a consultant surgeon and director of medical and surgical liver services and renal transplantation at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, he has also spent time as adviser on information and clinical governance and at the NHS Modernisation Agency. He is currently the National Medical Director for NHS CfH’s Choose and Book service.
Views of stakeholders
Part of Professor Thick’s role is to engage stakeholders in the NPfIT. New research shows that NHS staff continue to show high levels of support for the programme, despite recognising the challenges involved in delivering it.
The latest survey by Ipsos MORI reveals that most staff groups are as positive about the programme as when the first survey was conducted in September 2005. An overwhelming majority feel the NPfIT is important, and a similar proportion believe it will make it easier to plan services, and will bring benefits to patient care and the daily working lives of staff.
Soc Chiropodists & Podiatrists 19-Sep-2006
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