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Information sharing with your GP and other hospitals

Sharing information between doctors and nurses caring for you in the hospital and the community helps to ensure you get the best outcome. Keeping your GP up to date is an important part of this. Therefore, for most of our patients we regularly send update letters to their GPs electronically. 

Basic information about your medication, allergies, medical problems and blood test results (but not those from the Sexual Health Service) are also shared between hospitals and GPs using a highly secure NHS network. This means that no matter which clinic or hospital department you attend in London, staff can see the information they need to keep you safe, and tests are not repeated unnecessarily.

Only NHS staff directly involved with your care can access this information. The law says they must keep your information confidential. A log is kept of who accessed your medical records, when and where. This information cannot be shared with anyone else without your consent (unless there is a significant risk to yourself or another person or a judge orders a disclosure).

FAQs

What options do you have? 

  • Allow information to be shared with your GP and other NHS services (recommended) or
  • Request an opt-out from sharing information with your GP and other NHS services outside the Trust

We strongly recommend for your own safety that you allow us to share information

What happens if you opt out from sharing information with your GP and other NHS services?

The Trust will make its best efforts to prevent information being shared with your GP and other NHS services. However, the electronic patient record system is designed to share information, and we cannot promise that data will not be shared, even if you use a different name. If you do not feel comfortable with this, you may need to consider an alternative care centre. Please note that the block of information sharing will only apply to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Other hospital trusts in North West London that use the same electronic patient record system (Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust and The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) will continue to have access to your combined medical record if you are a patient in those hospitals. They will continue to share information with your GP and send letters to your home address unless you make a separate request to those hospitals not to do so.

It is important that you are aware of the issues associated with opting out of sharing information:

  • If you visit A&E or you are discharged from hospital, your GP will not be notified.
  • When you are seen in any hospital clinic, your GP won’t get a letter unless you ask for a paper copy which you can deliver personally.
  • Your GP and medical staff at other hospitals you visit outside North West London won’t be able to see information from this Trust.
  • Your GP may still be able to view some test results such as blood tests, through their own computer system.

You can change your mind at any time in the future.

What are the risks?

There is a real risk that this could significantly harm your health:

  • Your GP won’t know if the Hospital has asked them to change your medication or arrange tests.
  • Your GP and other NHS staff will not know that the Trust has hidden your information. They may assume you have no other health problems unless you tell them.
  • You could be given medicines that are harmful when you take them with medicines we give to you at this hospital.
  • It is your responsibility to ensure your GP and other doctors and nurses have the information they need to treat you safely.

NHS IT systems are now being rebuilt to help information sharing between teams in secure and confidential networks. If you opt out of information sharing, the Trust will make its best efforts to respect your decision. However, it can’t guarantee that no information will be shared even if you use a different name. If you feel uncomfortable with this, you may need to consider transferring to an alternative centre.

Receiving copies of GP correspondence at your home address

You may request that copies of letters sent to your GP are not sent to your home address. This request can be made independently or in addition to a request to block correspondence being sent to your GP. The Trust will make its best efforts to prevent copies of letters being sent to your home address but cannot guarantee that this will not occur. Appointment letters will still be sent out to your home address even if a block has been placed on copies of clinical correspondence.