Northamptonshire drives digital maturity with successful rollout of ReSPECT plans
More than 3,500 digital ReSPECT plans have now been created through the Northamptonshire Care Record, as the county continues to make significant progress in joining up care and achieving digital maturity excellence.
Since ReSPECT was first introduced via the Northamptonshire Care Record (system wide shared care record) in November 2024, health and care professionals have created 3,539 plans and accessed the ReSPECT section of NCR more than 38,500 times. The move is transforming how personalised care and emergency planning decisions are recorded and shared across the county.
The ReSPECT (Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment) process creates a personalised plan that summarises recommendations for an individual’s clinical care and treatment in a future emergency. By making these plans visible across hospitals, GPs, community, and palliative care providers via the Northamptonshire Care Record, professionals can better understand, and honour people’s wishes in critical situations.
Northamptonshire is now seen as a national exemplar in its use of digital health tools, having gone from the bottom of the national digital maturity ratings to near the top within 18 months.
The Northamptonshire Care Record launched in October 2023 and now connects 845,000 individual care records, supporting joined-up care across hospitals, GP practices, community services, and more. More than 500,000 records have been viewed to date.
Kirstie Watson, Digital Director at NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board, commented:
“Bringing ReSPECT into the Northamptonshire Care Record marks another significant step forward in our digital transformation. It helps ensure that people's preferences are properly documented and visible to those involved in their care - especially in emergency or end-of-life scenarios.
“We’re proud to be among the first to fully embed ReSPECT into our shared care record, and it’s already proving valuable for clinicians, patients and families across the county.”
The Northamptonshire Care Record is powered by Graphnet Health and integrates with existing NHS and social care systems to give professionals a secure, real-time view of a person’s health and care information- including key documents such as ReSPECT plans.
Dr Naomi Caldwell, GP and Senior Partner at Langham Place Surgery and Deputy Chief Medical Officer, NHS Northamptonshire ICB, said:
“The ability to access ReSPECT plans on the NCR enables Primary Care clinicians to create plans which are visible to colleagues across the system. In addition, plans which have been created by other Providers are visible to Primary Care in real time reducing the need for repeated conversations and ensuring wishes are respected in an emergency situation.”
Debbie Quinn, Community Specialist Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist added:
“The implementation of ReSPECT within Specialist Palliative care has enabled clinicians to ensure that our patients receive the right care, at the right time by the right people. It enables us to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and document clearly patients personal circumstances, future planning and wishes to share with clinicians attending in an emergency situation.”
Claire Mansfield, Macmillan Palliative and End of Life Care Transformational Leader at Integrated Care Northamptonshire, explained:
“Making digital ReSPECT plans available across Northamptonshire benefits both the people we support and the professionals delivering care. The ReSPECT process provides personalised guidance for treatment during a crisis when someone can’t speak for themselves. By sharing this information effectively, we’re supporting better coordinated care.”
Matthew Hutton, Integrated Care Digital Lead for Northamptonshire, said:
“Expanding the reach of our Shared Care Record means that individuals will receive joined-up care, no matter where they are in the county. They won’t need to repeat sensitive details at every appointment - it streamlines care and allows more time to focus on what matters. And this is just the beginning of what the Northamptonshire Care Record will offer.”
The progress reflects NHS Northamptonshire’s commitment to delivering excellence in digital health and care – ensuring faster access to information, reducing duplication, and improving experiences for everyone.
For more information, visit www.connectingyourcare.net