How do I get my summary care record? Why do you need it?

You have a legal right to request your summary care record from your GP under data protection laws (it is called a 'subject access request'). Most GPs provide this within a day or two although legally they have one calendar month to provide it.

Please note we cannot accept screen shots of medical information from your NHS app - the Summary Care Record will need to be obtained directly from your GP surgery.

Why do we need a summary care record? 

• assessment: the criteria for giving an ADHD diagnosis requires clinicians to rule out other conditions that might be causing your symptoms, and they need to evidence how they have done this. The summary care record is one of the ways our clinicians can do this. Without it a diagnosis might not be able to be made. 

• medication treatment: if you are diagnosed and want medication treatment, we cannot prescribe without the summary care records as our clinicians need to know your medical history, and for example other conditions or medications that might interact with ADHD medications, in order to assess that it is safe to prescribe ADHD medications. 

Suggested email to GPs to request your summary care record

Hi [GP Practice Reception Team],

Hope you’re all doing well. I’d like to request a copy of my Summary Care Record (SCR) when you get a chance. I understand that under data protection laws, I have the right to access this, so just let me know the best way to receive it. Ideally if you could email me a copy that would be great.