NHS, helping NHS organisations under- stand what good looks like, using a maturity framework. We help teams to refine their services to add even greater value. “Health literacy is another vital aspect of the work. We know people face challenges as they connect to the health service, and look to find, interpret and respond to health information. We want to help people make better decisions about their health. We are working to ensure that staff, learners, patients and the public are all better equipped to use evidence-based patient, health and wellbeing information both for shared decision making and self-care. So, a priority for us is to work alongside other information providers on building the health literacy skills of the community. “And, as a key pillar of work – Knowl- edge for Healthcare has a strong focus on workforce planning and development to support the transforming nature of knowledge and library services. Library teams contribute to everything from policy change, clinical protocols, cost savings, staffing and patient safety. Therefore, we are focused on ensuring that our knowledge and library services workforce has the capability, confidence and capacity to meet the evolving needs of the healthcare system. “As the technology advances, and the needs of the NHS change, the healthcare workforce needs to gain new skills and adapt. And all of that, remembering that 50 per cent of today’s NHS workforce will still be in post in 10 years’ time. Keeping up to date and continuing to learn is really key for everyone. Libraries have an important part to play in that agenda, and indeed, our own specialist workforce must similarly continue to evolve and adapt to support that journey too.”
Visible, valued, embedded Some of the projects the team has taken forward – particularly around digital resources – are designed to place knowl- edge at the fingertips of health profes- sionals, and that’s a vital workstream, according to Sue. Purchasing BMJ Best Practice as a Clinical Decision Support tool for the NHS in England has been a major step forward in terms of provision. Knowing when our loved ones are in hospital, that the staff caring for them can go to this app and look up high-quality evidence at any time of day or night is something I am very proud we have been able to achieve in the last few years. This is an expensive piece of kit to purchase for a country and we need to make sure it is visible and promoted, and delivers value, but it’s hugely important and is helping to embed this evidence-led approach in practice. The BMJ Best Practice app is a hugely valuable resource. “And of course, we have seen a huge
June 2021 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 23
driver for change during the pandemic too. “Like our colleagues on the frontline, knowledge and library service teams have also adapted quickly to respond to the pandemic, something that has created a whole new appetite for skills around knowledge. The way in which local services have adapted their services, and their com- mitment to collaboration has been stagger- ing. In turn, keen to avoid duplication of effort, the national team has mobilised to coordinate some of this work, for example initiating a shared Covid-19 Search Bank. And we have built a gateway to informa- tion about Covid for patient groups with specific information needs that you can see at
https://library.nhs.uk/coronavirus-resources/ “As we come through the crisis, we’re seeing many changes in healthcare: the growth in virtual consultations, the way in which people can use wearables and sensors to gather clinical data – I think these are just some innovations that will be extraordinarily impactful over time. Knowledge specialists will be playing a role in helping healthcare professionals to draw on insights from the pandemic and gain new skills as services transform.” “In essence, knowledge specialists have and will continue to make an extraordi- nary contribution to the health service that I believe the nation has never valued more,” Sue adds. “We are committed to ensuring the right knowledge is used at the right time, and in the right places – and in this way library and knowledge specialists effectively empower people to make the right decisions.”
Talk to your librarian
So what would Sue say to anyone seeing the NHS Knowledge and Library Services National Awareness Week campaign and wondering how it might assist them in their role?
“I would say ‘talk to your librarian. Invite them to be a part of your multidis- ciplinary team. The breadth of their work means that you can be absolutely certain that they offer services that can help you and your team. Knowledge and library specialists prepare evidence summaries, keep teams up to date, teach information skills, assist learners and researchers, and provide expertise in knowledge manage- ment. This pivotal service is absolutely shaping the work of the incredible NHS.” To follow the conversations about the work of NHS Knowledge and Library Ser- vices during the awareness week, check out #KLSNAW or visit
https://bit.ly/3fThHyq.
l
www.library.nhs.uk/our-work
To read Knowledge for Healthcare: A strategic framework for NHS Knowledge and Library Services in England 2021- 2026 visit:
www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/knowl- edge-for-healthcare. Visit
https://bit.ly/3vpeFID to read the NHS Library and Knowledge Services Value Proposition: The Gift of Time. For the policy recommendations on staff ratios for NHS Knowledge and Library services visit:
https://bit.ly/3flgrF8. You can see the Covid-19 search bank at
https://bit.ly/2Sz8WkL. IP
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