Summary care records will be available to community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians across England, the government has announced.

The SCR provides key clinical information about a patient, sourced from the GP record.More than 96 per cent of the population has an SCR and it is already in use in many settings across the NHS, such as A&E departments, hospital pharmacies, NHS 111 and GP out of hours services and walk in centres.

Community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians will be provided with secure and monitored access to the SCR, offering better information about patients, and growing the potential for pharmacy’s role.

‘Pharmacists are an untapped resource in our health service – as experts in medicines, they can help people to manage their conditions and take some of the pressure off our GPs. That’s why it makes complete sense to give them the ability to access patients’ summary care records, where appropriate,’ said Alistair Burt MP, minister of state for Community and Social Care.

The initiative comes after a successful pilot. ‘We’re investing up to £7.5 million to give community pharmacists the training and tools they need to access a patient’s summary care record. A pilot has already shown that as a result of this, as many as nine out of 10 people can get the help they need from their pharmacist without having to be sent to another service. I encourage all community pharmacists to get involved and further improve the care we can give people in their communities.’

According to a report compiled during the pilot, in 92 per cent of encounters where an SCR was accessed, the pharmacist avoided the need to signpost the patient to other NHS care settings. While 85 per cent of pharmacists surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that SCR reduced the need for them to contact the patient’s GP.