Health Library

How we can help you

1. Bringing clinical focus and adding value

1.2 Setting priorities

1.3 Designing Services

1.4 Shaping demand

2. Engaging with patients, carers and communities

2.2 Evaluating Population Needs

2.3 Protecting and Promoting Health

You can access the Library’s books and journals on:

• Needs assessment
• Statistics
• Health inequalities and specific populations (e.g. older people)

or search our NHS Journals list for ejournals

Additional items can be requested from other Libraries by inter-library loan.

Use our Health Inequalities Bulletin (every 2 months) to keep up-to-date.

You can request a literature search for qualitative and quantitative data, and evidence, on:

• effective ways to improve patient access to services, and outcomes
• understanding patterns and trends in demand, and shaping demand
• the “impact of different options on safety, quality, efficiency and patient experience”

to support the commissioning, design and evaluation of services.

3. Delivering quality services and improving productivity

3.2 Promoting research & development

3.3 Continual quality improvement

3.4 Promoting sustainability

We provide easy access to high quality evidence “at the point of need,” for commissioning, patient care, and quality improvement. You can request literature searches on clinical or management topics (including sustainability). We also offer training in finding the evidence more efficiently, at a time and place to suit you.  

1. Bringing clinical focus and adding value

1.4 Shaping demand (with partner organisations)

2. Engaging with patients, carers and communities

2.1 Partnering with Patients and the Public

4. Meeting organisational, governance and financial responsibilities

4.1 Business Leadership

4.3 Contracting

4.4 Governance

5. Working and commissioning collaboratively

5.2 Partnering with Local Authorities

5.3 Sharing commissioning

5.4 Partnering with Providers

You can access the Library’s books and journals on:

• Corporate governance
• Risk management
• Ethics
• Partnership working

Additional items can be requested from other Libraries by inter-library loan.

Use our monthly Clinical Effectiveness bulletin, and/or request training to set up personalised alerts, to keep up-to-date with the latest evidence for high quality patient care and strong clinical governance.

1. Bringing clinical focus and adding value

1.1 Engaging professionals

2. Engaging with patients, carers and communities

2.1 Partnering with Patients and the Public

2.4 Managing Media and Communication

6. Leading individually and collectively

6.1 Managing Self

6.2 Leading a Team

6.3 Setting a Vision

6.4 Leading Change

You can access the Library’s books and journals on:

• Leadership
• Communications
• Communication skills
• Team dynamics
• Problem solving
• Organisational change / change management

or search our NHS Journals list for ejournals

Additional items can be requested from other Libraries by inter-library loan.

How we can help you

3. Delivering quality services and improving productivity

3.1 Horizon Scanning

4. Meeting organisational, governance and financial responsibilities

Use our monthly Clinical Effectiveness bulletin, and/or request training to set up personalised alerts, to keep up-to-date with developments in healthcare and commissioning.

You can request searches on gaps in service, “opportunities to draw on the ability of the third sector and communities themselves to meet public needs,” and “promoting health and reducing avoidable intervention.”

6. Leading individually and collectively

How we can help you

2. Engaging with patients, carers and communities

2.1 Partnering with Patients and the Public

5. Working and commissioning collaboratively

5.1 Forging Partnerships

We offer training and help, tailored to your needs, in finding information for patients, and finding information about communicating with patients. Training is given at a time and place to suit you.

Online health promotion resources are listed at:

Health Promotion & Public Health subject links page

Patient Information subject links page