Emyr Wyn Jones explains why patient information held by GPs is being shared with staff in emergency and urgent care services in England

Summary care records (SCRs), which have been created for more than 53 million people in England, contain clinical information from patients’ GP electronic records and can be accessed by authorised healthcare workers in other settings. The information is available for viewing at any time day or night, anywhere in England, as long as strict information governance processes that protect patients’ confidentiality are followed. As this article explains, enabling SCR viewing in an organisation is straightforward and requires no major capital funding. Early findings indicate that access to information in SCRs increases patient safety, improves the quality and effectiveness of care, and can save healthcare staff and their organisations time and money.