ManagingNHS Healthcare Library and Knowledge Services
A guide for senior managers responsible for library teams
Healthcare is a knowledge industry. Use of evidence from research is a duty under the Health and Social Care Act, 2012.
As the strategic leader for NHS library and knowledge services in England, Health Education England (HEE) is working to implement Knowledge for Healthcare: a development framework. Our policy for NHS Library and Knowledge Services (2016) is to work with employers and partner Trusts to:
- ensure all NHS staff have free access to library and knowledge services
- develop healthcare librarians to use their expertise to provide evidence for decisions
- foster service development and collaborative working between NHS libraries.
How do today’s librarians help the NHS rise to the challenge?
- Librarians bring evidence to the Board and the bedside to inform decision-making.
- With expertise in sourcing, synthesising and summarising information, librarians deliver the right evidence to teams and directorates.
- Librarians acquire and organise knowledge resources and e-learning andmake them easily available to staff and learners.
- Librarians can play a pivotal role in mobilising evidence to help your Trustidentify opportunities to achieve productivity and efficiency and improve quality.
- Respected for their role in education, lifelong learning, evidence-based practice, research and innovation, librarians area business-critical resource to the NHS.
Who can I go to for advice on our library and knowledge service?
The Regional Library and Knowledge Service Lead is your first point of contact for advice on managing library staff – service and role redesign, recruitment, retention and development:
HEE London and the South
HEE Midlands and the
HEE
HEE South
Questions for you to consider for your Trust
- Am I confident that robust evidence underpins decision-making within the Trust, from Board to ward?
- Can all staff within the Trust readily access the evidence and knowledge they need to do their jobs well, day by day?
- Do we encourage staff to share learning from experience?
- Can we streamline library administrative tasks to release time for librarians to support clinicians and managers to underpin their decision making with evidence?
- Would it be helpful to schedule a discussion with the librarian to work through the HEE Board self-assessment tool and agree new priorities for the service?
Questions to ask your library and knowledge services team
- What services do we provide to staff? How proactive is the library and knowledge service?
- What is our Library Quality Assurance Framework compliance rating? Do we meet the minimum required standard of 90%? How does it compare to similar Trusts?
- What evidence do we have of the impact of the library and knowledge service?
- Do we at least match HEE’s funding into the library and knowledge service?
What skills does ourlibrary team need?
Published by HEE and CILIP, the library and information association, the Professional Knowledge and Skills Basesets out the range of skills required by health librarians and knowledge specialists:
NHS Employers have published job profiles that outline the skills, knowledge and responsibilities foreight library and knowledge services jobs (bands 2 to 8a-8b)
How can I support the professional development of the team?
YourRegional Library and Knowledge Service Lead canadvise on development opportunities which may not be available through the Trust.
Talent Management Toolkit - for use in appraisals and conversation with library staff
The Learning Zone -quality resources to support personal professional development
Role Redesign –job descriptions and pen portraits to help managers shape the service
Helpful links
Knowledge for Healthcare: a development framework
Policy for NHS library and knowledge services in England and Knowledge Services -policy/
Professional Knowledge and Skills Base
NHS Employers job profiles
Talent management toolkit for library staff
Learning zone:
November 2017
Sue Lacey Bryant
Senior Advisor, Knowledge for Healthcare
Health Education England
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