The first care homes in the Capital have this week been connected to the London Care Record helping their staff provide the best possible care to their residents (25 November 2022).

The London Care Record is a single and secure view of a person’s health and care information that helps ensure frontline staff across the Capital have the information they need about a person when they need it.

This week nine care homes in North East London were connected meaning that for the first time they can access wider and key information about their residents from a range of health and care settings across London. This includes allergies, test results and care plans as well as GP data and hospital discharge summaries.

Having access to this wider information will help care home staff provide the most effective care possible and it is also expected to help reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and GP call outs as well as support discharges from hospitals.

These care home staff join over 50,000 other frontline professionals across the Capital and some neighbouring areas who are using the London Care Record each month.

Harpreet Shergill, NHS London Digital Health & Care Lead, said:

“We want to ensure that our dedicated care home staff have the tools they need to deliver the best possible care for their residents. So it is great news that the first care homes in the Capital are now connected to the London Care Record giving them access to more comprehensive health information about their residents. I look forward to more care homes being connected in the coming weeks which will support even more frontline staff in their important work.”

Claire May, Manager of The Fountains Care Centre, said:

“I am delighted that my fantastic team now have access to the London Care Record. Having more comprehensive information about our residents will mean staff are better placed to make the right decisions at the right time. From safer, quicker admissions and discharges to confirming appointments, results –  this is a really exciting opportunity. Ultimately it will help us deliver the best possible care for all our residents.”

Ronniel Alarilla, Registered Manager Heathlands Care Home North East London, said:

“Instead of spending a lot of time on the phone to the ward getting information about the patient I can find the key details I need on the London Care Record. This will really help my team be more responsive to referrals and help speed up admissions.”

This pilot programme is a partnership between OneLondon, the NHS Regional Care Home team  and Person Centred Software – a social care electronic patient record provider.

As part of the pilot more care homes in North East, North West and South West London will be connected to the London Care Record over the coming weeks.

Following a detailed evaluation, we will plan how to roll this out more widely across London to support more care home staff provide the most effective care possible to their residents.

Find out more about the London Care Record here.