GP Connect - Non-clinical access to residents’ GP records

Who can access GP Connect?

Accessing a Digital Social Care Record (DSCR) was previously just for clinicians. Person Centred Software is very pleased to announce that Registered Managers and Non-Clinical staff are now eligible to have access to residents’ GP records via their integration with GP Connect.

This has come from the continued success of enabling registered nurses to have clinical access to over 9,000 residents’ GP records since February 2021.

Digital Social Care announced the following:

‘’We’re now expanding access to GP Connect in adult social care settings in order to allow non-clinical staff to view a filtered summary of a person’s GP record. The primary aim of this work is to support staff in delivering care safely by ensuring they have the most up to date information to hand.

Having filtered access to GP Connect in a care home setting means that staff will be able to see information about allergies and adverse reactions, medications and immunisations for the person they are caring for.  They will also be able to read notes on a resident’s last three encounters with their GP.’’

Why are Registered Managers and Non-Clinical staff now able to access GP Connect?

Digital Social Care wanted to increase the sharing of clinical information with non-clinical social care staff to provide all care settings with appropriate access, to ensure that people receive the best possible care in a timely, safe manner and to reduce stress and pressure on those providing care services.

Registered managers and non-clinical staff could not gain access to GP Connect before because there was an unease about non-clinical staff potentially misinterpreting clinical information - the NHS wanted to retain control of that information. The sensible first step was to share the data in line with legislation but with restricted access. Once a level of comfort in data sharing was established, non-clinical access was granted.

It has been a monumental step to allow non-clinical staff access to clinical information, and it’s also a step towards achieving the ambitions set out in the white paper: Health and social care integration: joining up care for people, places and populations.

This paper sets out the Department of Health and Social Care’s ambition to make integrated health and social care a universal reality for everyone across England.

What is needed to access GP Connect?

What our customers have to say about GP Connect

Hear from the first care home to have non-clinical access to resident’s GP records via GP Connect:

We have seen the tremendous impact of changing lives in over 200 care locations since we joined up care in February 2021. Until now, the NHS decision was to make GP Connect available to registered clinicians only (registered nurses in nursing homes), but the general feedback was that the service would be invaluable to registered managers and other members of the team too, as they are also involved in direct care. It is now a crucial time as social care and health care are on a journey to join forces and it is a personal responsibility, as a software provider, to challenge the sector to continue to push and level the playing field to improve the lives of those living in care and providing care. Daniel Pratley, Deputy Manager at Meadow View Care home