Emergency Care Summary (ECS)
It is a summary of basic information about your health which might be important if you need urgent medical care when your GP surgery is closed, or when you go to an accident and emergency department.
What will be in my Emergency Care Summary?
- Your name
- Your date of birth
- The name of your GP surgery
- An identifying number called a CHI number Information about any medicines prescribed by your GP surgery
- Any bad reactions you’ve had to medicines that your GP know about.
Who will be able to see my Emergency Care Summary?
NHS staff (listed below) can look at your ECS on a computer if they need to treat you when your GP surgery is closed.
- Doctors, nurses and receptionists in out-of-hours medical centres
- Staff at NHS 24 who are involved in your care
- Staff in hospital accident and emergency departments
Anyone who needs to view ECS to treat you must ask your permission before they look at the information. However, if you are unconscious, they may look at your ECS without your agreement.
What if I don’t want an Emergency Care Summary?
You must tell your GP surgery that you don’t want an ECS to be made for you.
Is the information in my Emergency Care Summary safe?
The NHS stores your ECS electronically using the highest standards of security.
Only the staff listed above will be able to look at your ECS with your permission. Once they have your permission they will have a password that will let them in.
A record is kept of everyone who has looked at your ECS.
What information can I get about my Emergency Care Summary?
You can ask your GP to print out your ECS for you to look at. If you think anything is wrong you should ask them to change it.
Your GP surgery can check to see who has accessed your ECS if you want them to.
For more information about your ECS call the NHS Helpline on 0800 22 44 88 (8am to 10pm, 7 days).
Or you can download the NHS Scotland leaflet Your Emergency Care Summary – What does it mean for you?