Why Shared Care Records Matter for VCSE Services

“You should only have to tell your story once”

Across health, social care, and the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector, there is growing recognition that people should not have to repeatedly tell their story every time they access support.

For individuals navigating complex challenges such as mental health needs, long-term conditions, housing difficulties, social isolation, safeguarding concerns, or multiple service interventions, having to repeatedly explain their circumstances can be frustrating, exhausting, and, in some cases, re-traumatising.

Yet despite years of discussion around integrated care, many people continue to experience fragmented services, disconnected systems, and duplicated assessments.

The UK Government’s ongoing digital transformation agenda is now placing significant emphasis on improving how information is shared across health and care settings. Recent developments around Shared Care Records, the emerging Single Patient Record, and wider NHS modernisation plans all reinforce a simple but powerful principle:

People should only have to tell their story once.

However, while these developments represent major progress, there remains a significant challenge that is often overlooked.

The VCSE sector, despite delivering essential frontline services and supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, is frequently excluded from the data-sharing infrastructure needed to provide truly joined-up care.

The Challenge Facing VCSE Organisations

Every day, charities, community organisations, social prescribing providers, mental health services, peer support groups, and community-based interventions collect valuable information about the people they support.

They often hold critical information about:

• Wellbeing and recovery journeys
• Social determinants of health
• Housing circumstances
• Community support needs
• Safeguarding concerns
• Outcomes achieved through intervention
• Personal goals and aspirations
• Engagement with local services

Yet many organisations face significant barriers when attempting to access or share information securely with NHS partners.

These barriers can include:

• Limited access to Shared Care Records
• Complex information governance requirements
• Lack of interoperability between systems
• Concerns around consent management
• Inconsistent approaches to data sharing across Integrated Care Systems
• Resource constraints within smaller organisations

As a result, practitioners can find themselves working without the full picture, while service users are left repeating their experiences multiple times across different organisations.

This is not only inefficient—it can impact outcomes, create duplication, and place unnecessary pressure on already stretched services.

Government Policy Is Moving Towards Connected Care

The direction of travel from Government and NHS England is increasingly clear.

The NHS Data Saves Lives strategy highlighted the importance of using data to support direct care, improve population health, reduce duplication, and empower people through better access to their own information.

More recently, plans for a national Single Patient Record have reinforced the ambition to create secure, connected information sharing across health and care services. The Government has stated that the aim is to reduce fragmented records, improve care coordination, and ensure that patients no longer need to repeat their story unnecessarily.

The proposed model places a strong emphasis on:

• Secure information sharing
• Role-based access controls
• Consent and transparency
• Audit trails
• Joined-up care planning
• Better support within communities
• Improved prevention and early intervention

These ambitions align closely with what the VCSE sector has been advocating for many years.

Why Community Services Must Be Part of the Conversation

Integrated care cannot be achieved through NHS systems alone.

Some of the most meaningful interventions happen outside traditional clinical settings.

Community organisations often build trusted relationships that statutory services cannot easily replicate. They are frequently the first to identify emerging risks, changes in wellbeing, barriers to engagement, or opportunities for preventative support.

If the future of healthcare is genuinely moving from hospital to community, from sickness to prevention, and from analogue to digital, then VCSE organisations must be able to contribute to and benefit from secure information sharing.

Without community sector involvement, any shared care record risks becoming incomplete.

The reality is simple:

The people delivering care need access to the information required to deliver that care safely, effectively, and compassionately.

Balancing Access, Privacy and Trust

Of course, data sharing must never come at the expense of privacy.

Public trust remains fundamental to any successful shared care model.

Previous national programmes have demonstrated the importance of transparency, clear governance, and meaningful consent processes. Trust is built when people understand how their information is being used, who can access it, and how it improves their care experience.

This is why modern digital platforms must be designed around:

• Consent-led information sharing
• Role-based permissions
• Secure access controls
• Comprehensive audit trails
• GDPR compliance
• Clear accountability across organisations

The goal is not unrestricted access.

The goal is appropriate access to the right information at the right time for the right people.

How MYMUP Supports the Future of Shared Care

At MYMUP, we believe that community organisations should have the tools needed to participate fully in joined-up, person-centred care.

Our platform has been designed to help organisations securely record, manage, evidence, and share information while maintaining control, governance, and transparency.

MYMUP provides:

Secure Case Management

A centralised digital record where practitioners can safely document interactions, support plans, assessments, and progress.

Outcome Measurement and Impact Reporting

The ability to capture meaningful outcomes and demonstrate the difference services are making to individuals, communities, commissioners, and funders.

Shared Care Planning

Supporting collaborative approaches that place the individual at the centre of their care journey rather than within organisational silos.

Consent Management

Helping organisations record permissions and manage information sharing appropriately.

Role-Based Permissions

Ensuring that users only access information relevant to their role and responsibilities.

Comprehensive Audit Trails

Providing transparency and accountability through secure monitoring of information access and activity.

Referral Management

Improving coordination between services and reducing duplication of effort.

MHSDS Submission Capability

Supporting organisations that contribute data into national reporting requirements.

API Integration Capability

Enabling interoperability and supporting future integration opportunities across wider health and care ecosystems.

Turning Data Into Meaningful Impact

One of the biggest challenges facing the VCSE sector is proving impact.

Organisations often deliver transformational outcomes but struggle to evidence them consistently.

MYMUP helps bridge this gap by transforming frontline data into meaningful insight.

By capturing information once and using it intelligently, organisations can:

• Demonstrate outcomes to commissioners
• Evidence social value
• Support funding applications
• Improve service delivery
• Understand population needs
• Strengthen partnership working
• Reduce administrative burden

Most importantly, it allows practitioners to spend more time supporting people and less time duplicating paperwork.

Building a More Connected Future

The conversation around Shared Care Records is no longer just about technology.

It is about creating a system where people experience genuinely joined-up support.

A system where information follows the individual rather than remaining trapped within organisational boundaries.

A system where practitioners can work together more effectively.

And a system where people only have to tell their story once.

The future of integrated care depends on bringing together NHS organisations, local authorities, social care providers, and the VCSE sector within a secure and trusted digital environment.

At MYMUP, we are committed to helping make that future a reality.

Because better information sharing doesn’t just improve efficiency.

It improves lives.