Personal Child Health Record

The Personal Child Health Record (also known as the PCHR or 'Red Book') is a national standard health and development record given to parents/carers at a child's birth.

This is the main record of a child's health and development; the parent/carer retains the PCHR and health professionals should update the record each time the child is seen in a healthcare setting. View the latest national standard PCHR (2009) (PDF, 2.4MB, 64 pages). 

The national standard PCHR is constantly under review; the content and format are overseen by a multi-disciplinary group, hosted by the RCPCH and chaired by Dr Helen Bedford.

The latest review will consider different ways of presenting the content of the record.  

Continue to check this page for updates, or contact the Health Policy Team with any queries.  

eRedbook

The eRedbook is a digital version of the printed Redbook (Personal Child Health Record - PCHR).

The RCPCH has a keen interest in how effectively the content of the Redbook is made available in digital format. It is therefore working with Sitekit through a specially convened Clinical Advisory Group and the inter-collegiate Personal Child Health Record Committee.

The purpose of this work is to evaluate whether a prototype version of the eRedbook could replace the paper PCHR and  to develop standards for any online developments of the PCHR should the evaluation show that there are benefits to digital format. The printed Redbook continues to be given to parents with the prototype eRedbook given out as an additional option. 

The eRedbook is being developed by Sitekit Ltd in partnership with Harlow Printing Ltd who print the current Redbook. The initial development has been funded through, Microsoft, a Technology Strategy Board project called 'Year Zero' and economic development funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise board (HIE).

The eRedbook is currently available through NHS Partner sites during evaluation; these sites are Liverpool Community Health, NHS Moray, NHS South Warwickshire and NHS Rotherham Foundation Trust.

The NHS Commissioning Board highlighted the eRedbook as one of  ten important new health applications at the Healthcare Innovation Expo in March 2013. 

The latest news from the eRedbook project can be found in the project update slides and a full briefing on the background to the project can be found in the project slidepack (PDF, 2MB, 20 pages). Please contact Jacqueline Fitzgerald if you have any further queries.