National Care Record Service

Here at Weight Medics we put patient safety first, and meet all safe-guarding regulations made by the GMC (General Medical Council) and CQC (Care Quality Commission) to protect patients, one of which is to gain consent from our patients to access their National Care Record Service should we need to if they’re ordering certain categories of medicine. If our online prescribers feel that it would be beneficial to access your National Care Record Service to ensure you’re receiving the most suitable treatment, we may ask for your permission to access, however, we will never go ahead with this without your consent and we will never amend your record.

Your clinician will put everything in place to ensure that these new regulations are met.

So, what is the National Care Record Service?

The National Care Record Service (NCRS) includes important information about a person’s health. This is to ensure that healthcare professionals are aware of your condition before prescribing any medication that might cause a reaction or interfere with any medicines you’re currently taking. This record is important, because there may be instances when people are not treated by a doctor, nurse or pharmacist who knows them.

A bit like your GP medical record but less detailed, your NCRS is an electronic record that holds important medical information about you as a patient right from birth. It includes information about any current medication you’re taking, allergies, any history of serious reactions to medicines, as well as your name, address, date of birth, and NHS number. Your NHS number is assigned to you when you register with the NHS, and each patient has a unique number in order for healthcare professionals and services to identify you.

Everyone registered with the doctor will already have a (NCRS), unless they have previously chosen not to have one.

You may want to add other details about your care to your NCRS. This will only happen if you ask for the information to be included.

You can request this here https://digital.nhs.uk/services/summary-care-records-scr/scr-patient-consent-preference-form

Please ensure you have opted into “additional information” on your GP National Care Record Service (NCRS). If you have not, please follow the link above and complete the NCRS patient consent preference form ticking “Express consent for medication, allergies, adverse reactions and additional information”. You can then send this form to your GP who will update your NCRS accordingly. Without access to your “additional information” we are unable to prescribe to you.

Why is it important?

Having a record of what medication you’re taking and any medical problems you have is useful for occasions when you’re receiving care and medical treatment. Those who are providing you with medical care need to be made aware of these details to ensure that the treatment you’re receiving is suitable for you.

For instance, there may be conditions both current and in the past that if we prescribed some types of weight loss medication to you, this could be really dangerous for your health. Your current and significant past conditions will be on record and the person providing treatment will know to avoid giving you this medicine.

Likewise, you may not know if any medication you’re currently taking is likely to interact with any future medicines that are prescribed to you. A trained healthcare professional can look at your NCRS and identify any possible drug interactions to avoid unpleasant side effects.

The National Care Record Service protects you and enables those who are caring for you to give you the best possible, risk-free treatment.

Who can access your NHS National Care Record Service?

Only authorised care professional staff in England who are involved in your direct care can have access to your NCRS. Your NCRS will not be used for any other purposes.

These staff:

· Need to have 2 factor authentication registration.

· Will only see the information they need to do their job.

· Will have their details recorded every time they look at your record.

You’re able to access and view your own National Care Record Service at your GP practice if you wish, however, an NCRS is intended for healthcare staff who are caring for you. This includes your GP and any health and care workers in services such as 111, A&E, ambulance, GP out of hours, and walk-in centres etc. Some pharmacies are also able to access your National Care Record Service, including online pharmacies or doctor services such as Weight Medics.

It’s important to know that healthcare staff can only access your record with your permission, and you will be asked for your consent before going ahead and viewing this information.