Winning Hearts and Minds: The GM Care Record Clinical Engagement Programme
Since September 2024, Health Innovation Manchester’s dedicated clinical engagement team has been on a mission: to spread awareness and adoption of the GM Care Record (GMCR) across our health and care system. With over 70 meetings completed with system leaders and influential clinicians, the team’s efforts are paying off – delivering a 30% uplift in usage in less than a year.
What is the GM Care Record?
The GM Care Record (GMCR) is a region-wide digital asset that securely consolidates patient data from across Greater Manchester’s health and social care system—including GP practices, acute and community trusts, mental health services, and adult social care. This comprehensive integration is essential for supporting a longitudinal patient record, enabling clinicians and care professionals to access a single, unified view of a person’s health journey.
The GMCR is already a vital digital asset, supporting more than 26,000 monthly users and informing over 443,000 patient interactions across Greater Manchester every month. But unlocking its full potential relies on clinicians knowing about it, trusting it, and using it in their daily practice.
The clinical engagement programme was set up to do exactly that. Backed by the GM Clinical and Operational Group, the Health Innovation Manchester team has:
- Attended leadership forums, nursing networks, and urgent care groups to champion the GMCR
- Created and shared toolkits, case studies, videos and patient stories
- Partnered with digital champions across all 10 localities to build advocacy on the ground
- Delivered tailored communications and training support to maximise reach
- Worked closely with the GMCR Product Training team who have delivered hundreds of training sessions to thousands of clinicians
As Dr Saif Ahmed, Clinical Digital Transformation Lead at Health Innovation Manchester, explains:
“Our goal has been to win hearts and minds. The GM Care Record only makes a difference if it’s part of everyday practice but it’s difficult to change behaviour through technology implementation and communications alone. By speaking to clinicians face to face, listening to concerns, tailoring support, and showing the impact, we’ve seen adoption grow faster than expected.”
Clinicians Making a Difference
The best evidence of success comes from frontline clinicians themselves, who are increasingly turning to the GMCR to deliver safer, more coordinated, and more efficient care.
Emergency Department Consultant, Royal Oldham Hospital:
“The GMCR is used for all consultations in emergency medicine. It gives us the right information at the right time.”Lead ACP, Rochdale Infirmary:
“Without the GMCR I would have referred my patient to ED. Instead, I coordinated care with the out-of-hours team and increased palliative provision at home.”Community Nurse, Discharge Services:
“GMCR gives up-to-date information in the community to identify gaps and provide holistic planning around discharge.”Community Pharmacist, Well Pharmacy:
“The GMCR has become an essential part of our daily practice. It’s not just a tool, it’s a game-changer in how we care for patients.”
One GP specifically mentioned the Electronic Palliative Care Coordination System (EPaCCS) which is now integrated within the GMCR to make sure everyone involved in a person’s care has access to the most up to date end of life care plan:
GP, Springfield Medical Centre, Eccles:
“GMCR EPaCCS enables seamless communication between everyone involved in end-of-life care. With information in one place, we can respect patients’ wishes.”
These voices highlight why clinical engagement is so important – once clinicians understand the power of the GMCR, it quickly becomes indispensable.
Driving System-Wide Benefits
The programme was set an ambitious goal and by working relentlessly across all care settings, from acute and primary care to mental health, social care, and specialist providers, the team has exceeded expectations.
That growth is about more than numbers. More clinicians using the GMCR means:
- Fewer repeated tests and reduced duplication.
- Faster, safer decisions at the point of care.
- Improved discharge planning and smoother patient journeys.
- Better end-of-life care, with patients’ wishes respected.
As one project manager from Bury put it:
“The GMCR helped save costs, reduce duplications and strengthen communication amongst system colleagues.”
Looking Ahead
With momentum building, the focus now is on embedding the GMCR as an everyday tool across Greater Manchester’s health and care system. The engagement team is expanding its reach to primary care, inpatient services, and academic settings, while also supporting the rollout of new functionality such as integrated care plans and radiology image access.
Cara Afzal, Programme Director for Digital & Data at HInM, reflects:
“This engagement programme shows what’s possible when we combine strong clinical leadership with relentless focus on supporting staff. Together, we’re transforming care through data.”
Have you seen the GM Care Record lately?
The GMCR is helping deliver safer, more joined-up care, but its true potential will only be realised when it’s part of every consultation, ward round, and care planning discussion.
If you’re a clinician in GM and haven’t yet made the GM Care Record part of your daily practice, now is the time. Explore the training resources, speak to your local GMCR champion, and see for yourself how it can transform the way you deliver care.
Because when we use the GM Care Record, we are better together.
