National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR)

What Information is held on the Register?

The Register is an electronic database of all people born in Scotland and those registered with a GP in Scotland. The information for each patient held on the database is designed to ensure that the right person can be identified and comprises:

• NHS Number - for babies born in Scotland, the civil registration number of their birth, or a special number given to a patient who was born outside Scotland but who registers with a Scottish doctor;

• Community Health Index number – another identifier used by the NHS in Scotland; 

• Unique Citizen Reference Number (UCRN) – A unique, anonymous, number associated with one unique individual.

• Surname, forenames and any previous names;

• Mother’s birth surname

• Sex;

• Date and place of birth;

• Postcode and address reference number;

• Date of enlistment and discharge for Armed Forces personnel;

• Current and any previous Health Board (or health authority in the rest of the UK) area of GP registration (and equivalent information for Armed Forces personnel and their families);

• Medical research information for people who are registered as having had cancer, or are part of a medical research project;

• Date of death or when contact with the patient has been lost.

So the Register holds little information about people’s health – and only for the purpose of medical research, especially reducing the incidence of cancer.