Helen Outhwaite

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Learning Support Needs of UK NHS Support Staff

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Everyone Counts Supporting Diverse Users

• Helen Outhwaite
• Librarian, York Hospital

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Today's session

• Learning Resources Project
• Support staff
• Methods we used
• Findings
• Implementation of findings

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• August 2003 successful bid for WDC funding to run
  a 9 month project looking at the learning needs
  of support staff within the organisation, with
  particular emphasis on library resources.

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Why?

• National Drivers
• Quality in the NHS
• Information for Health
• Working together - Learning together - lifelong
  learning framework
• Agenda for Change
• Improving Working Lives
• Everyone Counts

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• Local Drivers
• Education and Training Restructuring
• HELICON Accreditation
• Library Modernisation Resources Needed

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Who are support staff?

• 2004 there were 4244 staff employed at York
  Hospital. Of those 2114 were support staff.
• Support staff roles do not require a professional
  qualification

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• HCAs Nursery nurses and school health staff
• Porters
• Caterers
• Decorators
• Maintenance staff
• Buyers
• X-Ray Patient Services Assistants

• Laboratory Assistants
• Pharmacy staff
• Customer Service staff
• Accountancy assistants
• Clerical staff
• Physiotherapy Assistants

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Methods

• Project Officer appointed
• Literature Review
• Focus groups
• 9 sessions each lasting 2 hours
• 107 support staff attended
• One to one interviews essential skills test

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Focus Groups icebreakers
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Focus Groups

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  technology from IML

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Focus Group Questions

• Learning
• Seeking information
• Libraries
• Resources
• Library services
• Training
• Barriers to learning
• Communication and Publicity

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Focus Group Questions

• What do you think work based learning
• (learning at work) might be useful for?
• (please make first choice, second choice,
• third choice).
•    To answer a query
•    To improve my skills and competence
•    To show that my employer is taking an active
  interest in my development
•    Improve patient care
•    It is not important
•    Other

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Focus Group Questions

• If you needed information for anything, where
  would you be most likely to go at the moment?
  (please make first choice, second choice, third
  choice).
• Hospital Library, College library, University
  library, Internet, Public Library,
  Friends/colleagues, Teletext,
• Newspapers, I Dont need information, Other

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Essential Skills Test

• Non-Stock Requisition Form
• Where on the form would someone sign to authorise
  the non-stock requisition?
• What are they signing to authorise?
• Wageslip
• Where would you find your tax code?

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Results 1

• Some interesting findings, real life issues
• Lack of awareness about the library
• 42 thought that the library was for nurses,
  doctors and professional staff
• No appropriate resources for support staff in the
  library
• Library Environment
• Lack of protected time
• Computers

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Results 2

• Many support staff feel their learning needs are
  not being met in the workplace
• Communication is an issue (e.g. ILAs)
• Printed/verbal communication is preferable
• Less than 3 knew that there was a library
  website.

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Results 3

• Essential skills no obvious resources/formal
  assessment in the Trust
• 10 of the sample were tested on their essential
  skills. 90 had areas that they needed to improve
  such as maths and spelling.
• 2/3rds of support staff interviewed did not know
  what essential or basic skills were.

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Next stepsfurther funding obtained 2004/5

• Extra books have been purchased for support staff
• Discussions are ongoing regarding holding a
  collection at the public library

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• Careers section in the library

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• Computer
• Software
• Starspell
• Cambridge Learner Dictionary
• Money Go Round
• Lifeskills Smart Spender
• TUC Communication Disc
• Writing Effective English

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• Publicity materials were purchased
• Library Open Day
• 100 extra staff visited the library
• 65 entered a quiz
• 30 members of staff signed up to be library
  champions

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Useful sites

• NHS Careers
• http//www.nhscareers.nhs.uk
• BBC
• http//www.bbc.co.uk/learning/subjects/basic_skill
  s.shtml

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Follow up

• In September 2005 a questionnaire was sent to
  those who took part in the original focus groups.
  
• 25 replies were received. Of these 96 knew where
  the library was. 33 were members of the library.
  41 had visited the library.
• Some comments showed that there are still issues
  that need to be addressed by the organisation
  regarding protected study time and NVQs.

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Issues to consider when providing a service to
support staff

• Huge potential group of users
• Funding is an issue although some resources are
  free
• Work with your training department
• Engaging support staff is difficult, especially
  due to high turn over of staff and therefore
  promotion/networking is essential
• Awareness for library staff

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• An article about the project has been published
  in the December 2005 issue of Health Information
  and Libraries Journal http//www.blackwell-synergy
  .com/loi/hir.
• Summary and recommendations of original report is
  available from www.sherpa.nhs.uk

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