Get started with GP Connect.
How to get GP Connect set up on Care Control.
This page will help to explain what GP Connect is and provide guidance on how to get started using the NHS Digital tools. Once completed your site will gain access to all of the fantastic GP Connect features within Care Control.
What is GP Connect?
GP Connect is a service provided by the NHS. It is designed to improve data sharing and communication between different healthcare organizations, particularly between general practitioners (GPs) and other healthcare professionals.
CQC registered care providers can use GP Connect to access a restricted view of a person’s GP record. It is to be noted that only service users who have a mental capacity assessment or a consent can be used with GP Connect.
In order to access these records, there are a few steps that must be undertaken.
Who can access and for what?
The following roles within CQC registered care providers have access:
- CQC Registered Manager.
- Deputy Home Manager/Care Manager/Deputy Care Manager/Senior Carer/Team Leader.
- Pharmacist/Pharmacy Technician
- Nurses (Can access full record if required)
- Social Workers
Access includes the following information
- Last 3 GP Encounters
- Active problems and immunisations
- Medications
- Allergies
Step 1: Complete the DSPT
GP Connect is a system which shares patient information with appropriate staff, so you can deliver better care. CQC registered care providers can use GP Connect to access a restricted view of a person’s GP record.
In order to do so you must have reached “standards met” using the NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit which will assess your organisations data and cyber security.
By completing the DSPT, you can check whether you are handling people’s information safely, both digitally and on paper, and protect your organisation against cyber attacks and data breaches. It will show you any areas that you need to improve on and give practical advice on how to do so.
Step 2: Complete the National Data Sharing Agreement
What is the NDSA?
- A signed contract detailing acceptable use of data by GP Connect users.
- Ensures secure sharing of GP patient records between GP Connect Products
Requirements for GP Connect access:
- Accept NDSA terms and have a current DSPT submissions.
- Adhere to data protection laws and use GP Connect only for direct care.
- Be CQC registered
Application process:
- Provide GP Connect software name and ODS code.
- State the reason for using GP Connect and confirm NDSA agreement.
- Submit signatory details (Caldicott Guardian, SIRO or DPO)
Next step is to visit the GP Connect info page and apply through the NHS Portal.
The final steps
Once the DSPT, NDSA and the LearningPortal course have been completed and authorised by the NHS, Care Control will need your organisations’ email address and the organisation’s ODS code which is provided to you by the NHS.
Care Control carries out an onboarding process for clients using GP Connect, this will have to be completed before we can activate your site. The onboarding includes:
- Clinical safety training for key staff.
- An internal auditing process to ensure that the correct safeguards are in place and adhered to.
Once all of these steps have been completed you will gain access to GP Connect.
You will need to nominate users to gain a clinical view of GP connect, all other users will have a non-clinical view. To gain access to a clinical view, please contact our support team.
Watch our GP Connect webinar!
Discover everything you need to know about GP Connect in our exclusive webinar featuring Alison Taylor, Senior Programme Manager for NHS England’s Digitalising Social Care initiative.
Join us as Alison shares expert insights on:
- What GP Connect is and how it benefits care providers.
- NHS England’s wider project and the National Data Sharing Agreement.
- How to activate GP Connect quickly through Care Control.
- Step-by-step guidance on enrolling and getting started.
NHS Connectivity and GP Connect
At Care Control, we are continually investing in ways to help care providers access and share important information with NHS services more easily. As part of this commitment, our platform continues to expand its interoperability with NHS systems, supporting services such as GP Connect and other NHS-connected capabilities.
These integrations enable important information to flow more seamlessly between care providers and healthcare professionals, helping to support more joined-up care and better outcomes for the people you support.
To deliver this securely, Care Control maintains specialist connectivity to the NHS network via the Health and Social Care Network (HSCN). This is a private, highly secure network used by NHS and social care organisations across England to access and exchange sensitive health and care information.
Access to services such as GP Connect requires connection to HSCN. This cannot be achieved through standard public internet connections alone, as the NHS mandates the use of this dedicated infrastructure to meet strict security, monitoring, and compliance standards.
Annual NHS Connectivity Service Charge
As our NHS integrations continue to grow, we are investing in maintaining and strengthening this connectivity to ensure it remains secure, reliable, and ready to support future services.
To support this, we are introducing an Annual NHS Connectivity Service Charge of £150 per site, per year, effective from 1 April 2026.
This charge is not for GP Connect itself, but contributes towards the cost of providing and maintaining the required HSCN connectivity that enables access to GP Connect and other NHS-integrated services.
While we always aim to minimise additional costs for our customers, this infrastructure is a mandatory requirement set by the NHS for accessing these services.
To purchase your GP Connect connection package, please click the button below
FAQ:
An ODS code (Organisation Data Service code) is a unique identifier used within the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) to identify healthcare organisations and related entities such as GP practices, hospitals, pharmacies, and other service providers. It’s part of the NHS’s organisational data service for managing data about healthcare providers and locations.
You can search for ODS codes on the NHS Digital ODS portal.
The portal provides details of all registered healthcare organisations and their associated codes.
Here is the portal: ODS Data Search and Export
If you’re a new healthcare provider, you can apply for an ODS code directly through NHS Digital.
Contact NHS Digital’s helpdesk for guidance on registration or any changes to an existing code.
If you choose to leave Care Control, your access to NHS connectivity services (including GP Connect) will end when your contract ends.
The NHS Connectivity Service Charge covers a 12-month period from the invoice date and is non-refundable. This means that if your contract ends before the 12 months have completed, any remaining time on that connectivity period will not be carried over or refunded.
GP Connect itself remains fully included within your Care Control platform at no additional cost.
The new charge relates specifically to the specialist NHS network (HSCN) required to access GP Connect and other NHS-integrated services. As this infrastructure comes with additional costs that are mandated by the NHS, we are introducing a separate charge to cover this connectivity.
We are actively working with the NHS to expand the range of integrations available through our platform.
While specific details are still being finalised at a national level, future developments are expected to include enhanced access to shared care records and national services, such as the Single Patient Record, which is currently anticipated from 2028.
In the meantime, we are continuing to build interoperability with NHS systems, including integration with APIs and services within the NHS Spine ecosystem.
We will share further updates as more information becomes available. Notably, Care Control has already achieved MODS assurance ahead of the national supplier deadline, ensuring we are well positioned to support upcoming NHS integration opportunities.
