NHS Knowledge and Library Services Awareness Week

14th – 18th June 2021

We are fast approaching the first ever NHS Knowledge and Library Services Awareness Week

I am delighted to have an opportunity to showcase the amazing service we provide, here at Croydon Health Services Library and highlight the positive impact of our knowledge and library service.

Taking evidence to the board and the bedside, our service is there for every member of staff.

Knowledge services give frontline teams the gift of time to focus on patients and ultimately improve patient care and outcomes.

Backed by evidence, all NHS staff can be more confident they are making the right decisions.

Voice of our users

We always listen to feedback about how we can improve, and I particularly enjoy reflecting on the feedback we receive from our end users.

Our bi-annual Library satisfaction survey, which we run in conjunction with other health libraries across south London has just closed.

I look forward to sharing the results in this blog and to continuing to develop our services, to ensure we are constantly innovating.

We use quality improvement methodology and knowledge mobilisation tools to reflect, measure, plan, do, study and act

Welcoming Discovery!

In the autumn our end users will see a change in how they access databases and other evidence sources as the new Discovery Service launches.

Discovery

Why do we need a new National Discovery Service?

• The current national resource discovery architecture comprises HDAS and the national link resolver.
• User discovery research tells us that healthcare staff want to be able to search in one place for all types of high quality, trusted knowledge resources.
• An increasing number of NHS-funded library services have been responding to this need by implementing local discovery systems.
• This is increasing the money and time spent configuring and maintaining local systems.  It leaves large sections of the healthcare workforce, including those working outside Trusts, unsupported.

What are the benefits of the new service?

• A single national gateway for all staff in the NHS in England
• A consistent experience for staff, trainees and students moving between placements and posts
• A platform to search for and access all high quality, trusted knowledge resources including national and local e-resources
• Following library management system integration, a platform that will also surface print collections
• An interface that connects users to services and support from libraries
• An intuitive search experience that meets the needs of novice and more advanced searchers.  This will include semantic searching and a range of options for limiting results.

All this means that HDAS, the current platform for accessing databases will be retired.

When will HDAS be decommissioned?

NICE plans to decommission HDAS at the end of March 2022.

What steps is HEE taking to mitigate the loss of HDAS?

• The new National Discovery Service will meet the majority of the search needs of the wider workforce. The Service should be launched by October 2021.
• Four networks of library services have piloted the move away from HDAS to be ‘early adopters’ of database supplier interfaces.
• HEE  will use the learning from these pilots to shape the training and support required for other library services to adapt their practice.
• HEE is also exploring alternative technology-driven tools which may help expert searchers.

Which databases are available from which provider?

Keep updated about coming changes by signing up to our newsletter chs.libraryenquires@nhs.net

These work streams support Trust objectives 

Improve Health and Reduce Inequalities by providing safe, high-quality and timely care for anyone who needs our help ensuring they have access to the right service, in the right place, at the right time. To make an impact on longstanding health inequalities and support  people to stay healthy and well.

Provide High Quality Care by actively improving our quality of care and fostering a culture of harm-free care in our hospitals, in our community services and across primary care

Support Our Staff by improving the support we offer to bolster the physical and emotional health of our staff. To create an environment of continuous learning, providing opportunities for training, development and reflection to attract and retain talented staff

Sustainable Finances by getting the best value for money

Develop our Leadership by building on the success of the One Croydon Alliance and making Croydon Quality Improvement the way we improve everything we do

We will reflect these work streams in the NHS QIOF domains

Outcome 1: All NHS organisations enable their workforce to freely access proactive library and knowledge services that meet organisational priorities within the framework of Knowledge for Healthcare

Outcome 2: All NHS decision making is underpinned by high quality evidence and knowledge mobilised by skilled library and knowledge specialists.

Outcome 3: Library and knowledge specialists identify the knowledge and evidence needs of the workforce in order to deliver effective and proactive services

Outcome 4: All NHS organisations receive library and knowledge services provided by teams with the right skill mix to deliver on organisational and Knowledge for Healthcare priorities

Outcome 5: Library and knowledge specialists improve the quality of library and knowledge services using evidence from research, innovation  and good practice

Outcome 6: Library and knowledge specialists demonstrate that their services make a positive impact on healthcare