The Path to Paperlight programme produced by the Information in General Practice team in Leeds outlines best practice and consolidates national and local medico-legal guidance for general practices who are considering becoming paperlight. It consists of modular training delivered in a variety of formats, which is supported by an information booklet. The programme is fully endorsed by the Leeds Local Medical Council (LMC).

The paperlight accreditation scheme aids improvement of patient services through entering data in a consistent and quality assured way. Improved data quality ensures chronic disease registers are accurate and that patients are treated appropriately. It also avoids any possibility of patients being recalled unnecessarily should they be wrongly included on a register.

The Information in General Practice team consists of information leads and data quality specialists from all five Leeds PCTs. The group facilitates all local and pan-Leeds audits, including PRIMIS+ data collections and city-wide audits, allowing Leeds general practices to work through "quality improvement cycles".

"The Path to Paperlight programme recognises that high quality data is a prerequisite to becoming paperlight," says IM & T and Information Governance Manager for Leeds North West PCT, Diane Wilson *.

Leeds is happy to share their experience in helping practices to go paperlight. All their supporting materials are downloadable from their website