Libraries team share the knowledge to support cutting-edge care
From prison healthcare to community foot therapy and from mental health crisis care to school nursing, one thing all of NHFT's services have in common is the need to deliver high-quality, safe care that's based on evidence.
Another thing they have in common is they can all call upon the Trust's own Library and Knowledge Services team to help them access and understand the latest evidence in their field. This way they can ensure the care they provide is informed by best practice and cutting-edge research at all times - and is truly responsive to service-users' needs.
So, for example, a patient may have a rare combination of different health conditions making it complicated for clinicians to develop a treatment plan to support them. This is where the Library and Knowledge team can help, taking a deep dive into the latest evidence and research to bring together up-to-date guidance for treatment options.
Because many professional publications aren't accessible to everyday web searches, the team do what artificial intelligence can't in pulling together robust and accurate information from reliable sources - helping clinicians to make informed decisions and giving them more time to focus on patient care.
Led by Service Manager Matthew Hawkes, the Library and Knowledge Services team includes three professional librarians supported by four library assistants. Between them they manage NHFT's three library sites at Berrywood Hospital in Northampton, Isebrook Hospital in Wellingborough and Northampton General Hospital, as well as a dynamic digital service accessible to Trust staff anywhere.
"People often think of our service as a room with books in it - but really that's just a small part of the work we do these days", says Matthew, pictured left alongside Librarians Jane Cooper (centre) and Jane Proctor.
"As a Trust, all our interactions with patients and the decisions our clinicians make are based on evidence, and the role of our team is to help people to know and understand exactly what that evidence is."
With more than 3,000 registered users, the team deals with hundreds of support requests and shares thousands of scholarly articles each year. Last year they delivered more than 350 training and induction sessions to help colleagues to find evidence and research themselves.
The library settings also provide a quiet space for study as well as printed clinical and professional material and a large selection of e-books. To support colleagues personally, there are wellbeing and self-help books plus a collection of fiction and non-fiction books, donated or acquired with help from the Northamptonshire Health Charity.