Following the success of a pilot programme last summer, the NHS in south west London is supporting a programme across the capital to connect care homes to information about their residents to ensure they provide the best possible care.
In 2022 a pilot programme began connecting the first 28 care homes in the capital to the London Care Record which provides instant access to key information about their residents from a range of health and care settings across London. This includes hospital discharge summaries, their medications, previous medical history or plans for their care.
The London Care Record has already made a positive difference for those care homes that were part of the pilot programme. It saves staff time and helps them provide the best and safest care possible for their residents.
Ryan Spencer, London Care Record Lead for the NHS in south west London
The pilot programme helped to improve the care residents received while also saving care home, GP surgery and hospital teams valuable time.
As a result, the OneLondon Board – a collaborative of London’s five integrated care systems and the London Ambulance Service – took the decision to roll out access to the London Care Record to more of the Capital’s 1,500 care homes.
This is a major project so it will take some time and it will be rolled out on a phased basis over the next couple of years.
Ryan Spencer, London Care Record Lead for the NHS in south west London, said: “The London Care Record has already made a positive difference for those care homes that were part of the pilot programme.
“It saves staff time and helps them provide the best and safest care possible for their residents.
“So we’re delighted to be playing a leading role in giving more care homes in our area access to the London Care Record to ensure more care home staff, and more importantly their residents, will also benefit.”
Some of the key findings included:
- The London Care Record was used around 2,000 times by care home staff with the most viewed information being hospital discharge summaries, diagnostic reports, laboratory results and care plans.
- Access to more complete information helped staff provide more effective care to residents, reduced unnecessary ambulance call outs and hospital admissions and supported faster discharges from hospital.
- It also saved care home staff, as well as GP surgery teams and hospital staff, valuable time by reducing the need to spend time on the phone checking key information that is available to view within the London Care Record.
To be eligible to access the London Care Record care homes must meet important standards for keeping confidential data safe and protecting themselves from cyber-attacks (compliant with what is known as the data security and protection toolkit).
They must also have agreed to other data security and safety requirements and relevant staff must have completed training in how to use the London Care Record appropriately.