Reach out to Primary Care

1
Reach out to Primary Care

• Development of an outreach library service for
  primary care staff in Oxfordshire
• Nia Wyn Roberts
• University of Oxford, Health Care Libraries

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Introduction

• Introduction to Primary Care in Oxon
• Background to the library service
• Development of an outreach service
• Feedback from the outreach librarian and project
  evaluation
• Charting the way forward

3
Primary Care Services

• 5 Primary Care Trusts
• Employing circa 2,200 staff
• 87 General Practices
• 6 community hospitals
• Library services provided by University of
  Oxford, University Health Care Libraries and
  Horton Hospital Library

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Background
Throughout the 1990s, library services to
primary care staff in Oxfordshire had been
provided by a variety of different libraries.

• As a result the service was
• under-funded
• poorly co-ordinated
• under publicised
• centred on Oxford

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Impetus for Change

• National context
• Primary Care led NHS
• Clinical Governance
• Information for Health

• Local context
• Creation of new PCTs
• Local Implementation Strategy
• Local research studies
• Phin
• Prise

6
Service development

• 2001/2002
• Funding secured for a joint library service to
  look at the priorities identified in the local
  studies
• User needs survey, access to the knowledge base
  knowledge skills transfer
• 2002/2003
• Funding secured to appoint an Outreach Librarian
  and to adapt core library services to support
  this role
• Implementation of KA24 in the South East

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Aim

• To enhance local awareness of electronic and
  other information resources and to provide
  training to any member of primary care staff in
  Oxfordshire in the use of these resources

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Outreach Librarian

• Designed and instigated a new approach
• Tailored training packages
• Workplace-based workshops
• One-stop-shop for all primary care enquiries
• Primary Focus
• Promotion of existing library services

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Library services

• Changes to the traditional services
• Postal registration
• Postal book loans
• Electronic/postal document supply
• Enquiry requests received by post, phone, email
• Training for all library staff

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Successful project? Outreach Librarians view

• Mostly yes, but you need..
• Organisational, communication and training skills
• Flexible approach
• Perseverance and resilience
• Motivation and energy
• Champions
• Ways of overcoming isolation

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Successful service?User views

• Project evaluation by ScHARR
• Analysis of internal activity evaluation data
• Questionnaires
• Interviews

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Positive feedback

• Workplace training
• An overview of KA24, NeLH etc. at our base, I
  can
• now access these services in my own time
• Internet resources
• Ideal as I can look online without physically
  having
• to go to a library time saving
• Support CPD
• Very useful during my BSc (Hons) last year
• Support patient care
• ..what we eventually got through the libraryled
  to
• a complete change in the way that we
• delivered our parent craft work

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• Literature searching
• Searches, when I am trying to find something
  out, and I use her to do that
• Current awareness
• The bulletins is what I tend to use
• Promotion of services
• I havent used the library services recently,
  but I feel I know where to go should I need to
• Helpfulness of staff
• Caroline Papi, who, I would say has been
  fantastic

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Negative feedback

• Time
• being allowed to have any time to go to use the
  library is very limited and often at the bottom
  of your pile of things to do
• Access geography parking
• the location and getting up there to access the
  information
• terrible parking facilities and stuff like that
• Cost
• As far as I am aware if full-text articles
  arent available on line then I have to pay 3-4
  per article
• very expensive CPD

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• Lack of IT facilities
• not everyone has an internet facility form their
  workplace that they can access external sites
  from
• Lack of awareness
• For renewal of my library card I am required to
  travel 52 miles plus pay to park its not worth
  it
• Perception of the library
• Im not sure the Cairns can overcome it, because
  its so big and impersonal

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Future direction

• Target localities where take up has been low
• Develop the package of training options thats
  available
• Create an unique identity for the Outreach
  service
• Challenge traditional perceptions of the Cairns
  Library
• Appoint a new Outreach Librarian

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Further Information

• Nia Wyn Roberts
• nia.roberts_at_hcl.ox.ac.uk
• Health Care Libraries Web-site
• http//www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/cairns
• Health libraries in Oxfordshire
• http//www.oxfordshire.nhs.uk/libraries/