Health Staff urged to switch to new NHS patient record service

Health and care professionals are being urged to make the move to the new version of an NHS patient record service.

The National Care Records Service (NCRS) will replace the Summary Care Record application (SCRa) when it closes at the end of September 2023.

SCRa is currently used by over 15,000 organisations and 115,000 health and care professionals to access patient medical information. However it is built on older technology and is not aligned with the more modern working practices of health and care professionals.

NCRS can be used in clinical, office or mobile environments over the internet, as well as via the Health and Social Care Network.

Stephen Koch, Executive Director for Platforms at NHS England, said: “The new NCRS has been created with both mobile and internet technology in mind, to better meet the needs of modern healthcare settings and meet accessibility standards in a way the previous system was unable to.

“By working closely with end users, we have designed the new service to provide a quick and secure way to access national patient information to improve clinical decision-making and healthcare outcomes for patients.

“We’ve taken steps to ensure the switch over to NCRS is as quick and simple as possible and hope users will take this opportunity to join the thousands of other health and care staff who have already switched to the new system to benefit from the new features available.”