How may library and information services be developed to support PCTs?

1
How may library and information services be
developed to support PCTs?

• Steve Rose, Health Services Management Centre
  (HSMC) University of Birmingham

2
Activities

• Literature Review
• Pilot project with one practice in one PCG (now
  PCT) within Birmingham
• Focus Groups and interviews with primary care
  professionals in Birmingham

3
Literature Review

• Where do primary care professionals go to access
  LIS?
• Barriers to access?
• Training needs?
• Characteristics determining their information
  seeking behaviour?
• How do LIS professionals need to respond?

4
Literature Review

• Little which specifically relates to the PCG/T
  agenda
• Body of literature on primary care - tends to be
  very GP focused, not reflecting multidisciplinary
  nature of PCTs

5
Messages from literature review

• Uncertainty of which libraries can access
• Lack of appreciation of benefits of liaison with
  information professionals
• In-house practice libraries, but unstaffed and
  not managed
• Specific cultural factors
• Need for training interventions

6
Messages from literature review

• Time (or lack of!)
• Information overload
• Information format

7
Lessons from the projects in Birmingham

• Aimed to collect evidence, given the dearth of
  the same in the literature, to help inform the
  development of library services from April 2002
• Reinforcement of many of the issues which emerged
  from the literature review focusing on primary
  care more generally

8
Lessons from the projects in Birmingham

• Lack of Access to libraries
• Reliance on the invisible college
• Information to be provided at the place and point
  of need importance of electronic access
• Need for training on database searching and
  internet

9
Lessons from the projects in Birmingham

• Need to continued marketing - Push technology
  approach
• Differential levels of skills amongst primary
  care professionals
• Information provided in a format that is
  digestible and concise
• Importance of current awareness services

10
Where are we now?

• HSMC currently negotiating a year long stop gap
  contract, via Birmingham HA, to serve the
  management information needs of the 4 PCTS to
  emerge in Birmingham
• This to feed into a wider Confederation-led
  strategy for primary care library and information
  services. Aim to have in place from April 2003

11
Some final Messages

• Work collaboratively through local/regional
  networks
• Engage in research and prove SLAs are based on
  evidence from research (EBL)
• Think hub and spoke / hybrid services
• Be Flexible
• Be Persuasive /Aggressively market

12
Some final Messages

• Dont expect it to run smoothly!!!!!