Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is the Department taking to remove barriers preventing community homelessness health services, such as mobile clinics, from accessing NHS SystemOne records.

Answered by Ashley Dalton

It is important that community health teams can access the information they need to provide quality care, including for people who are experiencing homelessness. NHS England and the Phoenix Partnership (TPP), the company that provides SystemOne, already offer several routes for some clinicians to view records outside of GP settings.

These include national services such as GP Connect and the National Care Records Service (NCRS), which allow clinicians to see key information from GP records. NCRS can also be used on mobile devices such as iPads. Integrated care systems are rolling out Shared Care Records, which give clinicians wider access to both GP and secondary care records, where appropriate.

More broadly, the Government’s commitments to improve health outcomes for people experiencing homelessness are set out in the cross-government strategy, A National Plan to End Homelessness. Through this strategy, we are working with NHS England, local authorities, and third sector partners to strengthen integrated care pathways. This includes improving collaboration between primary care, outreach teams, and community services. More information about the strategy is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-national-plan-to-end-homelessness/a-national-plan-to-end-homelessness

The Single Patient Record will enable improvements as it will provide a comprehensive view of health and care information across care settings. It will give both patients and professionals secure access to a single, accurate and up-to-date record – wherever and whenever it's needed.