National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR)

What is the Register used for?

Its main purpose is to permit the efficient movement of patient's medical record envelopes when they:

• transfer between Scottish Health Boards and health authorities in the rest of the UK;

• leave the country;

• join the Armed Forces (or are dependants of Armed Forces personnel).

The Register is also used to:

• issue NHS Numbers;

• trace people resident in the UK who have lost contact with their families;

• help medical researchers who have had their studies approved by Public Benefit and Privacy Panel;

• provide to Scottish local authorities a unique reference number which is used to identify people on the database of local authority customers;

• for research and statistical purposes such as producing Population and Migration statistics; for Census 2021 (a programme looking at the future of Scotland’s census and population statistics); the Scottish Longitudinal Study and for the indexing function of the Data Sharing and Linkage Service.