Care information exchange 

The Care Information Exchange gives you access to your personal health records online. This includes access to test results including for Covid-19, notifications of ED attendances and hospital admissions, discharge summaries and clinic letters, and lists of past and future hospital appointments.

How your health records are used

Your health records are used to ensure that your clinical needs are met and that you receive the right treatment and care. Your records are strictly confidential. Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to maintain patient confidentiality.

Some anonymous information from health records may be used for training and educating our clinical staff, carrying out medical and other health research and for planning of future NHS services. However, your personal details will be kept private.

Accessing your personal health record online

You can access your personal health record online through our secure patient portal
– Care Information Exchange.

The portal will give you access to:

• blood test results requested by our hospital and other selected healthcare providers in the North West London area
• x-ray and scan reports
• letters and discharge summaries
• appointment dates and times

The length of time for blood test results to appear in your account can vary depending on the type of test taken. X-ray and scan reports will appear in your account within 28 days of your test or scan.

Within the portal, you can enter your own information such as symptoms you are experiencing and medication you are taking to create a more complete record of your care.

If you also receive NHS care you can also see information about your NHS care from these hospitals:

• Charing Cross
• Hammersmith
• St Mary’s
• Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea
• Western Eye
• Chelsea & Westminster
• West Middlesex
• Hillingdon
• Mount Vernon

Share your care record

You have the option to share your care record with your family, carers, your GP and other health professionals, both within the UK and internationally. By giving care professionals access to your record, they can make better and more informed choices about your care, and you no longer need to re-explain your health history each time you visit hospital or your GP practice.

Please note that we share your information with other health and social care organisations involved in your care where this is necessary for your care to take place or where it is necessary to report and record the results of treatment i.e. a GP or treating consultant. Please let one of our team members know if you have any queries.

Read what patients who use the Care Information Exchange have to say:

David has type one diabetes. He is cared for by Charing Cross Hospital, his GP surgery and Hillingdon Hospital and gets information from all three on the Care Information Exchange. ‘I can show my GP my latest blood test results. It saves time for both of us and we can make decisions about my care quickly.’

Linda’s Care Information Exchange record helped saved her from spending a weekend on a hospital ward in Bradford. It gave the consultant the information needed to safely discharge her. ‘Staff at the Bradford hospital were amazed when I showed them what the Care Information Exchange gives patients.’

Registering to access your online health record

You can register at one of our reception desks when you come for an outpatient appointment.

You will need to provide an email address. You will then receive an invitation with directions on how to register and a code by email. You will need to use this code to complete the sign-up process.

You could also receive an invitation to register when you are treated in any of our hospital facilities if you have an NHS number on record.

Is my data secure?

Yes, the portal is hosted in the secure NHS network. All information is encrypted, so only those who have consent can see your information. Learn more about how we protect your information.

The portal was funded by Imperial Health Charity for the benefit of patients in North West London.

Accessing your health records

If you’d prefer not to use our secure patient portal, or if you’d like copies of past records, follow the procedures below to request your records.

All applications to see your Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust health records must be made in writing either by completing our application for health records form, by email, or by post.

Should you wish to access your x-rays or other images, please make your request in writing by completing the application for x-rays form, by email or by post.

Requests for health records should be emailed to imperial.AccesstoHealthRecords@nhs.net

Requests for x-rays should be emailed to imperial.imagingcdrequest@nhs.net

Letters should be addressed to Access to Health Records, Health Records Department, Charing Cross Hospital, Fulham Palace Rd, London W6 8RF.

If you use the patient portal, your records will be uploaded directly to your Care Information Exchange account. Please note that any records which cannot be provided electronically will be sent to you in paper format. Solicitors and other third parties will, where possible, be provided with information electronically via password-protected files.

What to include in your health record request

Please specify the information you wish to be made available to you including the hospital/s you have attended, dates of attendance.

Please also ensure that you include proof of identity when you send your request: we require either a copy of a driving licence or passport or two utility bills. The Trust has a duty to protect the confidentiality of your information and we will only provide the information relating to you if we are satisfied regarding your identity or you have provided your written consent to a third party.

How we respond to your health record request

We will normally respond within one month, however, sometimes it may take longer than this to fulfil your request. Where this is the case we will notify you within one month to explain why it will take longer.

A copy of records will normally be provided free of charge. We may charge a fee for a repeat request for copies or where it will take a lot of time to complete the request. If this is the case we will inform you in advance.

Withheld information in your health records

Under data protection legislation, there are certain circumstances where information may be withheld, for example where disclosing personal data would lead to the identification of another individual’s information.

Correcting or erasing information in your health records

You can request for inaccurate information to be corrected. The right to erasure, however, is not absolute and only applies in certain circumstances. Requests will be considered on a case by case basis.

Accessing other people’s health records

You are not permitted to access other people’s health records without their written consent and you may be required to provide additional supporting information.

We may be able to give you information relating to another person if:

• they have consented to release information to you
• you have legal parental responsibility or have been appointed by the court to manage their affairs when they are unable to do so, for example through the power of attorney

In the case of children, if it is considered that they understand the reason for the application then their consent may be required.

Accessing the health records of people who have died

We are allowed to release the health records of a patient who has died in certain circumstances only.

The patient’s personal representative (such as the executor or administrator of their will) and any person who may have a claim arising out of the patient’s death may apply for access to the health records by completing an application form for health records (deceased) or writing to the address above. We will require proof of identity and supporting documentation as set out on the application form.

These requests will be assessed on a case by case basis. If you have enquiries around what types of supporting information or identification is required, please contact us on 020 3313 0401 for assistance.

It may take us up to 40 days to respond to requests for records of deceased individuals.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with any aspect of the way in which we deal with your request, you may complain in writing to the Information Commissioner at:

The Office of the Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Website

How we protect your information

You can find out more about how we collect, use and keep secure information about your care on our privacy page.

Providing care across north west London

Our staff are increasingly working with other health and social care professionals in North West London to provide care. Staff involved in your care need to be able to see relevant information about you, so we are sharing information with health and social care organisations in North West London as required. This information can include your NHS number, age, contact details, next of kin, medication and allergies, appointments, treatment and care, and test results such as blood tests, laboratory tests, and X-rays. This will ensure when you visit your GP practice, the hospital, or get support in your community or at home, your care professional will have the right information about you at the right time.

For example, we are starting to share our Cerner electronic patient record system with Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which includes Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital. Let’s say you are treated at one of our hospitals and at West Middlesex. Your clinical teams will see the information that has been collected about you at both trusts. Only staff involved in your direct care will look at your record. And they will have a more complete picture of your health when they make decisions about your care.

We will share your information with health and social care organisations who are involved in looking after you unless you ask us not to. This is known as “implied consent”. If you would like to opt-out of sharing your information with other health and social care organisations, or if you have any questions or concerns, please speak to your clinician or contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service.