NHS East Dorset Library & Knowledge Service About Us and What We Do Last updated August 2015 alison.day@poole.nhs.uk About Us The NHS East Dorset Library & Knowledge Service operates two main libraries, at Poole Hospital and Royal Bournemouth Hospital, as well as providing outreach services and 24/7 access to both physical and electronic resources. The service is hosted by Poole Hospital NHS FT and services are delivered via service level agreements to the main stakeholders and funded via Health Education Wessex. Services, resources and facilities are available to NHS staff, bank staff, volunteers and Governors of: Poole Hospital NHS FT Royal Bournemouth & Christchurch Hospitals NHS FT Dorset Healthcare University NHS FT The service is available to locally based staff working for South West Ambulance Service NHS FT Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group Dorset Public Health Local General Practitioners and their staff Health care students on placement in the local area Social care staff working with NHS health care teams Local hospice staff working with NHS health care teams NHS staff from other geographical areas as partner members A reference only service is also available to patients, carers and other members of the general public. 08/05/2014 updated 27/08/2015 Page 1
Our Mission We support effective patient centred care through the provision of a professional library and knowledge service ensuring, NHS bodies, their staff, learners, patients and the public use the right knowledge and evidence, at the right time, in the right place, enabling high quality decision-making, learning, research and innovation to achieve excellent healthcare and health improvement HEE Knowledge for Healthcare 2014 We aim to provide high quality, good value services by meeting the needs of all our potential users and by collaborating with other NHS Library & Knowledge teams regionally and nationally. We work under the guidance of the Health Education Wessex library and knowledge strategy group Key Facts We have: Over 15,000 books Over 630 electronic journal titles purchased locally and over 3000 titles available via regional and national collections Access to over seven bibliographic databases Access to three point-of-care decision making tools 54 computers linked to the intranet and internet Scanning, printing and photocopying facilities 8 staff (6.85 wte) A website eastdorsetlibraryservice.wordpress.com Quiet and social study spaces We offer: 24/7 access to our resources and facilities Flexible access to resources from any internet enabled device Information literacy training to make best use of available resources A literature searching service to locate good quality evidence based research A current awareness service presenting the latest research in a digest format. A document supply service so our readers can always access the research evidence they need Access to qualified expert staff 08/05/2014 updated 27/08/2015 Page 2
FAQs How are we funded? We are funded by Health Education England via Health Education Wessex (The LETB). Currently the funding allocated for library services is devolved to each NHS Trust as part of the tariff received for multi-professional (including medical) education and training. Our funding is based upon a core element for each hub library (50K each) plus an amount per head of workforce for each Trust which is currently set at 19.00 as recommended by the Wessex Library funding formula. The service maintains two service level agreements with Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS FT and Dorset Healthcare University NHS FT and has a Memorandum of Understanding with Bournemouth University. The service conforms to the requirements of the national Learning and Development Agreement. How are we quality assured? Activities undertaken by the service are benchmarked nationally with other NHS library services in England by comparing annual activity statistics and Library Quality Assurance Framework (LQAF) returns. The LQAF is an integrated assessment process, with a review of strategies, policies and practices that ensures a 360 degree review of provision. (SHaLL, 2010) Five main domains are examined in detail and evidence provided to support compliance strategic management, finance and service level agreements, human resources and staff management, infrastructure and facilities, service delivery and development. In addition we use a set of key performance indicators to monitor performance of the service level agreements. Meetings are held twice a year to review performance with stakeholders. What is the mix of staff? Both hub libraries are staffed for 40 hours a week. There are currently 8 staff (6.85 wte) of whom 3.67 wte are qualified health librarians holding a degree in library and information studies, 1 member of staff is a Chartered member of the CILIP and two are working towards Chartership. 08/05/2014 updated 27/08/2015 Page 3
What resources are currently available? Local, regional and nationally funded resources including: 11,000 books covering a range of clinical specialities and non-clinical subjects such as leadership, management and study skills 3458 electronic books 635 locally purchased electronic journals and over 3000 regionally and nationally purchased titles. See A-Z list for full listing of journal availability Back issues of a selection of printed journals Bibliographic databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Health Business Elite, Healthcare Management Information Centre (HMIC); AMED; Cochrane Library; Proquest Hospital Collection) all as part of the national core collection http://www.nice.org.uk/about/what-we-do/evidence-services/journals-anddatabases Anatomy TV (funded by SW region) ClinicalKey Elsevier search interface UpToDate point of care tool DynaMed point of care tool (for DHUFT staff) SWIMS regional library catalogue (funded regionally) 08/05/2014 updated 27/08/2015 Page 4
Archives of Dorset reports and Trust documents For a comprehensive updated list of available resources please refer to the library website eastdorsetnhslibrary.wordpress.com What services are currently available? General enquiry service, staffed 8.30 5pm Monday to Friday Literature searching Current awareness alerts and bulletins Document supply and inter library loan Group and individual training on research methodology, critical appraisal, information literacy and effective use of resources Maintenance of NHS Open ATHENS accounts Collection maintenance and development Maintenance of electronic resources Study support by qualified librarians Advice and expert input on information related issues What facilities are offered at each centre? Quiet and social study spaces IT training rooms Relaxed seating area 71 study spaces, some with computers 47 computers equipped with standard MS Office software and access to the internet Smartboard (Poole Learning Resource Centre only) Scanning, printing and photocopying How do we work with other local libraries? The is a member of the Health Education Wessex Library and Knowledge Strategy Group which meets quarterly to discuss implementation of national policy, resource and service provision for NHS libraries in the Wessex and Thames Valley areas. The service is an active member of the SWIMS network which co-operates with other NHS libraries in the South of England to maintain a catalogue of locally available resources, share policies on lending materials, share best practice and cooperate on document delivery services. The service is a member of various national inter-lending and document supply networks such as PLCS, NULJ and KSS. 08/05/2014 updated 27/08/2015 Page 5
The service also works closely with library staff at Bournemouth University and Southampton University to ensure that there is adequate provision for students on placement. The attends the annual Library Review Group at Bournemouth University where resource issues are discussed. Links are also being forged with staff from the public library network, social services and the voluntary sector. As members of the professional organisation CILIP, the Librarians also have the opportunity to take part in the South West Members Network which brings together professionals working in a variety of library and information roles from different sectors to network and share experiences. History of the service Professionally managed library services have been provided at the two district general hospitals in East Dorset for over 40 years, operating as a multidisciplinary service for all of that time, and open for access by community-based staff The current service model is based on the original East Dorset District Library Service, and has been managed by Poole Hospital since 1990. This common service model avoided breaking the service into small Trust-based units, and has proved itself over time as an effective way of working. In order to clarify the trans- Trust nature of the provision, the service is named the East Dorset NHS Library & Knowledge Service. A major review of NHS library services was conducted by the Dorset & South Wiltshire Education Purchasing Consortium, one of a series of such reviews across the South West, reporting in 2001. Whilst the review has been overtaken by change, it did establish a service specification, and allowed for discussion of library provision by representatives of stakeholders from across the area. The review recognised how the MPET funding for East Dorset was less per capita than for other library services. The issue was carried forward to the newly-created Avon, Dorset, Gloucester and Wiltshire WDC and then the Dorset and Somerset WDC, but was never resolved. The Dorset and Somerset SHA initiated a short review of library provision across the area in October 2005. This concluded that all NHS staff and students in the area had access to broadly similar levels of library provision. The issue of inequitable resourcing was again discussed without resolution. A funding review established by NHS South West has allowed development of a funding formula, which has put in place a system whereby all Trusts contribute to library provision on a per capita basis. 08/05/2014 updated 27/08/2015 Page 6
Funding of the Library Service is now securely fixed within the revised funding formula set by the South West, with each Trust informed of funding required to match that from the levy (Gill, 2007) The Health and Social Care Act 2012 led to the creation of local Learning and Education Training Boards (LETBs) which replaced some of the Strategic Health Authority functions. This led to library services in Dorset being aligned with those in Wessex rather than the South West as previously. 2012/13 saw a period of transition from the South West to Wessex, this included the funding of regionally purchased resources and support for library staff development. In 2014 the introduction of training and education tariff funding for various professional groups enabled these budgets to be managed directly by each Trust. This included the levy for library services and local service level agreements were updated to reflect the new funding arrangements based upon the Wessex formula for funding library services. A national strategic review of library and knowledge services is currently underway which will investigate issues around central and regional resource procurement, technological developments and national service specifications. References Gill, J. (2007). East Dorset NHS Library Service Strategy. Poole, Poole Hospital NHS FT Health Education England (2014) Knowledge for healthcare: a development framework for NHS library and knowledge services in England SHaLL(2010) Briefing sheet for the NHS Trusts Chief Executives on the NHS Library Quality Assurance Framework (LQAF) England [online]. Available from http://www.libraryservices.nhs.uk/forlibrarystaff/lqaf/ [accessed 20 th August 2014] 08/05/2014 updated 27/08/2015 Page 7