New patient registration

• Online Registration Form

• Printable Registration Form

• Printable SHP New Patient Questionnaire Adult

• Printable SHP New Patient Questionnaire Child

Information about you is used in a number of ways by the NHS and social care services to support your personal care and to improve health and social care services for everyone. The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) is the national NHS organisation with a legal responsibility to collect data as people make use of NHS and social care services. The data is used both at a local level and nationally to help with planning, managing your care, supporting research into new treatments, identifying trends and issues and so forth, and is used to try to make services better for all. You can, however, choose not to have information about you shared or used for any purpose beyond providing your own treatment or care.

The NHS in England is introducing the Summary Care Record, which will be used in emergency care. The record will contain information about any medicines you are taking, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had to ensure those caring for you have enough information to treat you safely. Your summary care record will be available to authorised healthcare staff providing your care anywhere in England, but they will ask permission before they look at it. This means that if you have an accident or become ill, healthcare staff treating you will have immediate access to important information about your health.

Your GP practice is supporting Summary Care Records and as a patient you have a choice:

• If you would like a Summary Care Record you do not need to do anything and a Summary Care Record will be created for you.
• If you do not want a Summary Care Record, please complete the form and hand it in to a member of staff.

If you are registered with a GP practice in England you will have a Summary Care Record (SCR), unless you have previously chosen not to have one. It includes important information about your health:

• Medicines you are taking
• Allergies you suffer from
• Any bad reactions to medicines

You may need to be treated by health and care professionals that do not know your medical history. Essential details about your healthcare can be difficult to remember, particularly when you are unwell or have complex care needs. Having an SCR means that when you need healthcare you can be helped to recall vital information.

SCRs can help the staff involved in your care make better and safer decisions about how best to treat you. You can choose to have additional information included in your SCR, which can enhance the care you receive. This information includes:

• Your illnesses and health problems
• Operations and vaccinations you have had in the past
• How you would like to be treated - such as where you would prefer to receive care
• What support you might need
• Who should be contacted for more information about you.

Your right to opt-out

You can choose not to have anything that could identify you shared beyond your GP practice. You can also choose for the HSCIC not to share information it collects from all health providers any further. If you have previously told your GP practice that you don't want the HSCIC to share your personal confidential information for purposes other than your own care and treatment, your opt-out will have been implemented by the HSCIC from April 29 2016. It will remain in place unless you change it. Simply contact your GP either to register an opt-out or end an opt-out you have already registered and they will update your medical record. Your GP practice will also be able to confirm whether or not you have registered an opt-out in the past. You can find more information about how the HSCIC handles your information and choices and how it manages your opt-out on the HSCIC website.