Press release
Summary Care Record to support the wishes of patients approaching the end of life
The majority of people approaching the end of their lives wish to be cared for and die in their own home. However, a recent National Audit Office Report found that, across the country, many people approaching the end of life are admitted to hospital and die there unnecessarily.
They may also receive inappropriate care because their wishes are not known or not recognised. This can be due to a lack of timely access to advice, medication and other services in the community and a lack of information recording and sharing across the agencies delivering care.
As so many clinicians are involved in the care of a terminally ill patient, it is often difficult to communicate the wishes of these patients particularly if a clinician is called in an emergency or out of hours situation.
To improve this situation in Bury, local GPs are piloting a scheme that will allow these important details to be added to a patient’s Summary Care Record.
Over 100,000 patients in Bury now have a Summary Care Record which currently contains information such as their allergies, recent medications and adverse reactions to medications. The Summary Care Record is being used in Bury and Rochdale Doctors On Call (BARDOC – the GP out of hours service), Fairfield A&E Department and the Medical Assessment Unit and a number of other sites across Bury.
Ten GP practices across Bury are currently involved in this scheme which is being championed by Dr Ajay Kotegaonkar from Spring Lane surgery in Radcliffe. He is the lead GP for End of Life care in the area and during consultations with his terminally ill patients, he discusses if they would like information such as their carer’s contact details, wishes regarding resuscitation and their preferred place of care to be added onto their Summary Care Record. This can then be accessed by the appropriate clinicians who treat them away from their GP surgery.
Dr Ajay Kotegaonkar said; “By making a patient’s wishes clear on their Summary Care Record, patients can be treated according to their own wishes no matter who is caring for them. Current figures show that nationally around 40% of patients with terminal illnesses die in hospital, many of whom, with the appropriate level of support, would have preferred to stay in their own homes. Our long term aim is to reduce this by 10% in Bury.”
Dr Rob Jeeves, Clinical Lead for Summary Care Record, NHS Bury added;
“Urgent care clinicians are already using Summary Care Records in Bury. GPs have the opportunity to help their colleagues by providing them with this vital information and so ensure that their patients receive optimal care at a difficult time.”
Lynn Hopwood, Specialist Palliative Care Nurse, Community Services Bury who provides care for terminally ill patients supports this move: “The need for effective communication, coordination and continuity of care is essential for palliative care patients. The communication of an end of life care plan to all practitioners involved in that care, including the patient's wishes, is essential. The Summary Care Record can help us to ensure this.”
ENDS
Date: 30th June 2009
For further information please contact Caroline Dearden, Corporate Communications Manager, NHS Bury on 0161 762 3106 or email communications@bury.nhs.uk
Notes to editor:
- The National Audit Office’s ‘End of life care’ report examined the current provision of end of life care services in England and identified the potential for improving their quality. The report can be viewed at http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/0708/end_of_life_care.aspx
- The NHS Summary Care Records early adopter programme was launched in Bury in 2007 following a 16 week public information campaign. This is the first step in establishing the NHS Care Records Service, part of the National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT).
- Bury was the second PCT in the country to join the project which enables patient information to be shared electronically between health professionals.
- The Summary Care Record consists of key information such as allergies, current prescriptions and adverse reactions to medicines. This is available to health professionals treating patients in need of urgent care helping to provide safer and more efficient care.
- Over 100,000 patients have now had a Summary Care Record created across Bury.
- Summary Care Records can be accessed at Fairfield A&E, BARDOC (Bury and Rochdale Doctors on Call), Fairfield Medical Assessment Unit (MAU), Pennine Care - Access Team / Crisis Resolution / Hospital at Night, Tier 2 Diabetes Services, Bury Walk in Centre, Dental Access Centre, North West Ambulance Service (NWAS).
- NHS Connecting for Health (CFH), a national agency of the Department of Health, is supporting local NHS organisations to deliver the programme. Over a ten year period (which began in 2004) this programme will connect GPs, hospitals and other NHS facilities and change the way the NHS works. Other developments include Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions, Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) which allows digital storage of X-rays and other images, GP2GP and many more.
For more information about the NHS Bury Early Adopter Summary Care Record programme please contact Gemma Wantling NE Sector NPfIT Communication Lead on 0161 655 1736.
For information about the National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT) in England please visit www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk