Connecting Care brings together information sharing across health and local government in the south west via an online portal. It is not new sharing – it is simply sharing done in a more effective way.
Your local authority is a partner in Connecting Care, a project which links social care information with health information. The Connecting Care local record is a new way for staff who are directly involved in a child’s care to share relevant information about their care in a way that is secure, controlled, consistent and efficient. It allows health and local council staff who are directly involved in a child’s care to access a summary of existing records, such as those held by the GP, hospital or social care provider. Staff who are directly involved in a child’s care will only access their record with a legitimate reason, and if they can, they will ask your permission before they look at it.
The Connecting Care record will contain information on:
- who is involved in a child’s care
- any allergies they have
- medications
- recent appointments (but only whether they were attended, this will not include any information about what was discussed at that appointment)
- diagnoses
The Connecting Care record will not contain information about conversations with the GP or any information on sensitive subjects such as sexual health. Staff who have a responsibility for designing services to improve children’s general well-being will also have access to relevant information from the record. The detail that staff can see is linked to the job they do. If they don’t need to see specific information, they cannot see it.
For further information about Connecting Care contact PALS 0800 073 0907 or visit the Connecting Care website.