Sharing care records across south east London

Health and care organisations across south east London are improving care by connecting two successful electronic care record systems.

Since 2015, King's Health Partners staff have been able to get fast, safe access to electronic care records through the Local Care Record. This system connects GP practices in Southwark, Lambeth and Bromley with Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital (including the Princess Royal University Hospital) and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts, and helps professionals from a range of services to get accurate information about the people they are caring for - helping them to offer the right care at the right time.

A similar system, Connect Care, has been operating in Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham. Work is now underway to link the two systems together so that information can be shared between health and care services across south east London – Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark. 

Currently, these two separate systems offer a secure way of sharing information electronically between local staff. This means that not everyone uses the same system and information can only be shared in pockets of south east London. So, for example, the records of a patient living in Lewisham but  receiving treatment from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust would not be immediately available to the staff looking after them or making the referral.

Work is underway to link these two systems together – connecting up some 15,000 care professionals across six boroughs to benefit approximately two million people. Only relevant information will be securely and instantly shared between the staff who need it.

Some of the benefits of linked these systems will include reduced delays in treatment and smoother transfers between services, helping staff spend more time on care delivery and improvements to the quality and safety of care.

The way records are accessed will stay the same, with new information and access to the other portal from within existing Local Care Record or Connect Care systems.

Information sharing across south east London is expected to launch in early 2018.

Find out more about the Local Care Record.

Find out more about Connect Care.