Information provided by local authorities in shared care records
Improving information sharing between health and social care is critical to professionals who care for people and the health and wellbeing of people themselves.Â
The information provided by local authorities in shared care records is the important details that the local authority holds about people that would be useful for health and care professionals in providing care and support in hospital, at home or in a care home.
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Current release
From 01 January 2026, this standard will be owned and managed by NHS England and is made available for reuse or amendment under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL 3.0). A review of the ongoing requirement for this standard will be undertaken by NHS England. Details on this and any update to the standard will be published on the NHS Standards Directory. If you have any questions or feedback relating to this standard, please email: england.standards.assurance@nhs.net.
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About this standard
This standard is designed to improve communication between local authorities and healthcare providers. It supports healthcare providers to identify a person’s responsible local authority and makes sure that timely and relevant information about a person held by the local authority is accessible to healthcare professionals in primary, secondary and community care.
This standard includes details of the person’s local authority, services and care packages, safeguarding and legal information, primary support reason, equipment and adaptations and assessments undertaken and other local authority held information relevant to direct care. This project supports NHS England’s interoperability efforts and is part of a wider set of standards, originally published in November 2020, created for sharing information between health and social care and drawing on the learning from successful local projects to speed up national roll out and adoption.
Summary of benefits:
- Enhances timely professional access to clinically relevant local authority information, such as care packages, primary support reason, safeguarding, personal/ professional contacts and equipment, to support direct clinical care and reducing the burden on the person to tell their story more than once.
- Supports integrated care across health and social care settings.
Summary table
The Information Provided by Local Authorities in Shared Care Records standard operates by ensuring that all relevant information is recorded and shared in a structured format. This facilitates seamless communication and continuity of care across different health and social care settings.
Below is a summary table of the standard:
Section | Description | Conformance |
Person demographics | Patient details and contact information. | Mandatory |
Alerts | Any significant information meriting a specific and highly visible warning to any user. | Required |
Legal information | Legal information captured relating to patient care, such as consent to sharing information, legal power of attorney, safeguarding issues, and mental capacity. | Required |
Safeguarding | Any concerns in relation to safeguarding and is applicable to children and adults. | Required |
Local authority | Details of the local authority responsible for providing care and support to the person. | Required |
Professional contacts | Current and historic details of health and care professionals, teams, or organisations involved in the care of the person. | Required |
Personal contacts | Personal contacts (e.g., family, friends, relatives, etc.). | Required |
Referral details | Current and historic referrals. | Required |
Services and care | The services and care provided to the person. | Required |
Primary support reason | Details of the primary support reason, e.g., physical, sensory, memory and cognition, learning disability, mental health, or social support. | Required |
Assessments | Details of assessments that health or care professionals have completed. | Required |
Equipment and adaptations | Details of equipment, asset(s), or modifications the local authority has provided to the person. | Required |