The electronic transfer of records between GP surgeries with different IT systems has been successfully completed for the first time.

The transfers took place between practices in Croydon using the Emis and INPS surgery scheme earlier this month, health minister Lord Hunt told delegates at the annual Healthcare Computing conference in Harrogate this week.

The GP2GP system, which uses the national data spine being developed under the £12bn National Programme for NHS IT, aims to streamline the administration of patients changing GP.

England’s 9,000 surgeries deal with an average of 500 transfers each year, and the existing system of sending paper records in the post is slow and unreliable.

Initial GP2GP trials took place in November 2005 in Gateshead between practices using the same system.

The new version, allowing interchange between different software, will now be rolled out across the country.

The development is a watershed, says Dr Paul Cundy, from the British Medical Association GP IT committee.

‘This represents a significant leap forwards in the modernisation of the NHS,’ he said.

‘GP2GP is an opportunity to improve quality of care, enhance safety, increase efficiency and massively reduce the workload for practices.’

Lord Hunt also used his Harrogate speech to emphasise top-level commitment to the controversial National Programme, and to reiterate the need for local health service involvement.

‘It is now time for the local NHS to take ownership of the National Programme and its delivery on the ground,’ said Hunt.

‘We cannot realise benefits for patients from the centre – local health communities need to welcome these tools and make the best possible use of them to improve care for their patients locally,’ he said.

The first stage of the plan for national electronic patient records at the heart of the National Programme has also taken a significant step.

The first live trials, which will see patients’ clinical data uploaded to the summary record held on the spine, are to start in Bolton in May.