A revolution in the way medical records are kept is takeing place. In the next decade medical records will be available anywhere in England at the touch of a button.

NHS bosses hope that transferring paper files to a computer archive will save lives and improve care.

Over the next ten years the huge task of transferring the 130,000 Preston and 104,500 South Ribble residents' records onto digital format will take place.

The records will then be available at 30,000 GP surgeries and 300 hospitals across the country.

The scheme, the NHS Care Record Scheme (CPS), means medical record will eventually be available securely on the internet.

Currently records are held on both paper and computers, but because of a lack of a uniform system, they cannot be easily shared.

Gina Ashworth, director of clinical services at Preston Primary Care Trust, said: "The record will be hugely beneficial to patients, doctors and nurses, as it will allow access to an individual's health records, wherever the patient or the medical staff in England.

"For example, if a Preston resident was involved in a serious accident while on holiday in Cornwall and taken to A&E unconscious, the doctors will not have to wait until they can contact that person's GP or family member to find out their medical history or if they are allergic to medication.

"All the information will be at their fingertips via NHS CRS, allowing doctors to provide life-saving treatment immediately."

The NHS Care Record will hold people's address, date of birth, their NHS number, and their health history including any treatments, operations, and allergies they have had.

Patients will be able to opt out of the scheme if they wish, and over the coming months the Department of Health will send an information leaflet to every household in England.

For more informatiom go to www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk.