9:50am Monday 1st March 2010
By Barry Nelson
AN electronic patient records scheme piloted in the North- East has come under fire from the British Medical Association (BMA).
Tens of thousands of patients across the region have received letters from the NHS explaining that their medical records will be available online to authorised NHS staff.
Patients in Darlington, the Durham Dales and Teesside are among the first in the region to be contacted about the summary care records.
The aim is to enable out-ofhours medical staff to check vital information, such as allergies and medication.
But although the NHS has stressed that people can choose not to have their records made accessible in this way, the BMA said that patients do not have enough information about the scheme and it is not easy enough to opt out.
At the moment, people wanting to opt out have to inform their GP, or complete a form downloaded from the internet or requested via a call centre.
Dr Grant Ingrams, chairman of the GP IT committee, said: “The system is now happening too hastily.
“While we believe it has the potential to improve quality and safety of patient care, we are concerned at the speed, because it means patients are very unlikely to be aware of what they are automatically being enrolled into.”
The BMA would like to see the opt-out form sent out with the letter informing people of the changes.
Pat Keane, for NHS County Durham and Darlington, said: “As part of the initial roll out, all patients in Darlington and the Durham Dales have received a letter and information pack, explaining what summary care records are, as well as a number of options on how to get further information and advice.
“So far, out of the 144,000 patients contacted, we have had 139 queries.
“We are also raising awareness of summary care records via GPs, the media and through voluntary groups.
“We have also had the full support of the Local Medical Committee in using the summary care records to improve communications between GPs and hospital-based doctors.”
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