Share for Care

Share for Care brings together your information from local health and care organisations into a single secure electronic record. This means that doctors, nurses and other health and care professionals can access relevant information about you to help them provide better, safer and quicker care.   

This includes your contact details, medical history, test results, medication, allergies and any support you’ve had from social care or mental health services.  

All GP practices in Bedfordshire, Luton or Milton Keynes will be part of Share for Care. If you’re registered with a practice outside this area, you’ll need to contact your GP to see if you’re included in their local record-sharing programme. 

Yes, Share for Care is for all residents registered with a GP practice in Bedfordshire, Luton or Milton Keynes. 

Health and social care professionals directly involved in your care will be able to see your information through Share for Care. Having a more joined-up view of your information will help them give you better, safer care. 

Some of their administrative and secretarial staff might also be given permission to see information so that they can support the health and social care professionals. An example would be to send you an appointment letter.  

There are strict rules around how we use your information. We’ll make sure it’s managed and viewed appropriately and in line with all legal requirements, including UK data protection legislation (Data Protection Act 2018 and superseding legislation). 

All staff must follow the law on keeping your information confidential. Each time they look at your records this will be recorded to make sure they’re only looking at the right information, for the right reasons. 

If you live in Milton Keynes, you can see your Milton Keynes Hospital information, view and change your outpatient appointments and more through the MyCARE Patient Portal. You can read more about this by clicking here. 

If you live in Bedfordshire or Luton and want to see information about your hospital care, you need to ask the organisation that provides your care, for example Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. In the future, you will be able to access to your Bedfordshire Hospitals health record online.  

In addition, all residents can access the NHS App which enables you to view information about you that is held in your GP practice health record, for example any medication you have been prescribed. For more information about the NHS App, visit www.nhs.uk/nhs-app.  

You will also be able to access information that is held in your GP practice health record either through your GP practice’s online system or by requesting a copy from your GP practice.  

Find out more about health and care organisations that are involved in Share for Care 

The first phase of Share for Care allows health and social care professionals to see appropriate details contained in:  

• your GP practice medical record 
• your records in hospitals, mental health and community services 
• maternity records.  

Being able to see this information helps them give you the best care as quickly as possible without having to make phone calls or wait for other organisations to forward details. Highly sensitive and special categories of personal data such as attendance at sexual health clinics, fertility treatment records, and records relating to gender reassignment will not be included. 

We’ll carry on developing Share for Care, allowing professionals across more health and social care settings, such as the ambulance service, to see information to support your care. 

No. Your personal data will only be used to support your direct care. Anonymised data about people in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes will be used to help plan health and care services for local people. 

Health and care professionals will be able to see important information from your records. 

This will mean: 

• not having to repeat your details every time you need care 
• better, and potentially, faster treatment as the professionals caring for you will be able to quickly see your records 
• not having to explain your social care support to health professionals 
• clinicians being able to see what medications you’re taking, what you’ve taken in the past, and if you have any allergies - making your treatment safer. 
• It will also make treatment more effective for anyone needing care for Covid, thanks to the fast availability of information about any pre-existing conditions you might have and your medications. 

No, you do not need to do anything. Your records will be shared automatically.

You have the right to object to your records being viewed through Share for Care, though please be aware that we do not recommend this. 

If you choose to object, your information will be unavailable through Share for Care. Your information will be restricted and the professionals providing your care will be unable to view your records from other services. However, health and care organisations will continue to share them by phone, email, and on paper where required as part of your direct care. 

Please consider carefully before raising an objection as it could mean vital information about you is not immediately available when you require health or social care support. 

If you don’t want health and social care professionals from other health and care organisations in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes to view your records, you need to contact the health or care team that provides your care. 

You can submit a request to object on behalf of your child to the organisation that provides your child’s care. The organisation will have processes in place to assess whether your child should do this directly, depending on individual circumstances. Your child’s health and care professional will be involved in any decision as part of their duty of care to your child.