Glasgow Health Information

01/07/2008: Celebrating the NHS 60th Anniversary

As part of the NHS 60th Anniversary celebrations in July 2008 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has produced an interactive website looking back at the impact of the NHS in the local area.

Find out about the people, places and developments that have shaped the NHS in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area by visiting the website:

Celebrating the NHS 60th Anniversary

01/01/2008: Better Health, Better Care

The Scottish Government has published a new strategy for a healthier Scotland - Better Health, Better Care. The Action Plan oulines the actions the Government will take to improve health and tackle inequalities.

Better Health, Better Care

19/11/2007: Hib Booster Immunisation Campaign

Hib booster immunisation campaign information

Health Scotland have produced a range of resources to support the Hib booster immunisation campaign which will run from the 5th November 2007 until 3rd March 2009. The Patient Information Leaflet is available to download from the Health Scotland website (PDF format) in English, Chinese, French, Lithuanian, Polish and Russian.

Hib Immunisation website
Parent Information Leaflet
Q and A Factsheet

Copies of the Parent Information Leaflet are available to order from PERL at both Dalian House and Ross House

04/10/2007: Scottish Mental Health and Arts & Film Festival

Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival - 4th - 19th October 2007

The first Scottish Mental Health & Arts Festival sets out to celebrate, explore and tackle the myths surrounding mental health. The festival programme promotes a range of events including performance, cinema, debate and multimedia exhibitions.

For more information visit the Mental Health Festival website.

08/07/2007: Scottish Infection Research Network

Scottish Infection Research Network

The Scottish Infection Research Network was officially launched on the 6th August 2007. The Network is funded by Health Protection Scotland and has the remit of improving both the quality nd quantity of research into health-care related infections (HAIs) in Scotland by encouraging collaboration between groups and individuals.

By registering online all participants can have access to the network

Quick Links:

Health Protection Scotland ( http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk )

Scottish Infection Research Network ( http://www.gla.ac.uk/faculties/fbls/sirn/ )

Healthcare Associated Infection NHS Scotland e-library mkn ( http://www.elib.scot.nhs.uk/portal/hai/Pages/index.aspx )

29/06/2007: Multilingual Health Information Directory

Multilingual Health Information Directory

The Public Education Resource Library has commissioned research on the availability of Multilingual Health Information. This research updates the Directory of Black and Ethnic Minority Resources which was published in in 2004. This latest report "Search for Multilingual Health Information Resources" and the resulting series of Directories, meets a key aim of the Public Education Resource Library, which is to ensure equity of access to health information. The full report, the directory and an optional cover are available to download from the link below:

Multilingual Health Information Directory

10/04/2007: Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival

Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival - 4th - 19th October 2007

For more information visit the Mental Health Festival website.

07/02/2007: Hepatitis C Campaign

Hepatitis C Campaign

As part of the National "Hepaticas C Action Plan for Scotland" a selection of online resources and information has been designed to help promote awareness and support professional staff and clinicians. These resources are based on current SIGN guidelines and also include information to help support individuals living with Hep C.

For Staff and Clinicians visit the website:

Hepscotland - Campaign

For Patients and Carers visit the website:

Hepscotland - Information for Patients and Carers

Resources have been developed by a range of agencies including: NHS Health Scotland, Hepaticas C Resource Canter, NHS Education for Scotland, Health Protection Scotland, Scottish Prison Service , Scottish Training on Drugs and Alcohol (STRADA), Scottish Drugs Forum and the Scottish Executive Health Department.

01/02/2007: Mental Health Nursing Conference

Untitled Document

RCN Mental Health Nursing Conference & Exhibition

International Perspectives on Mental Health Nursing

Wed 7th February - Thursay 8th February, Cardiff City Hall

Health Libraries Week is taking place from 14-18 Nov 2005.

This is a national awareness week reminding staff of the services on offer from their own and associated Health Libraries (There are 11 NHS library sites in Glasgow alone!)

PERL (Public Education Resource Library) is located on Level 1N in Dalian House.

Visit us this week and enter the NHS Glasgow libraries competition for the chance to win Borders Vouchers or Computer Memory Sticks, or fill in an online form and send to perl@gghb.scot.nhs.uk

Click here to download a copy of the entry form.

Closing date Fri 18 Nov. Prize draw w/beg 21 Nov.

10/03/2005: Launch of Glasgow's Health Hub Website

Untitled Document A new website which helps the public access a wide range of information on health and social care services in Glasgow has been launched.

The Glasgow's Health Hub website - www.glasgowshealthhub.org.uk - is an electronic one-stop-shop for information on health and related issues affecting the city's residents.

Developed by NHS Greater Glasgow in partnership with Glasgow City Council, the new site acts as a portal to other web links and allows the public to access quality information on a wide range of subjects.

This includes:

Sites with information on local NHS services, including how to find your local GP, dentist or hospital;
Information on Council initiatives and services related to health;
Health related news and events;
Where your local support groups are;
Information on local voluntary agencies and much more!

The new site is aimed at Glasgow citizens, but anyone can access it. It was officially launched at Shettleston Library by Tom Divers, Chief Executive of NHS Greater Glasgow, and Glasgow City Council's Councillor Archie Graham..

Mr Divers said: "This new website was developed to give Glasgow's citizens easier access to information on the wide range of health and social care services in the city. Instead of trawling the internet, the public can now obtain the information they need just by visiting the one site. It's a quicker, more simple way of finding out about their local health and social care services."

22/02/2005: Glasgow Health Information – Minutes of the Working Group 5th November 2004

University of Glasgow Library

Present: Annette Thain (AT Co-convenor), Ruth Robinson (RR Co-convenor), Shona McQuistan (SM Secretary), Alison Howarth (AH), Chloe Stewart (CS), Alexis Milliken (AM), Claire Scanlan (CS), Jane Wilkins (JW), Val McClure (VM), Alison Faichney (AF), Seona Hamilton (SH), Donna Anathapolopolous (DA), Fiona MacLeod (FM), Sue Lawrenson (SL).

1. Apologies:
Richard German, Frances MacDonald, Cathie Pratt, Frances Anderson., Joan McCreadie, Joanne Thomson,, Doreen Rhodes, Helen Marlborough.

2. Minutes of previous meeting
Minutes were accepted.

3. Matters arising
The Group noted that Joan McCreadie and Richard German were both leaving their positions and would no longer be attending GHI meetings. C Denoon (PCT) will update the Group via email on developments with the Glasgow Strategy.

AT reported that she had not yet written to Norma Greenwood re: the future of the GHI website. This was in part due to uncertainty about planned website developments in Glasgow and she was hoping to receive an update from the PIG. AF reported that the indexed (Paul Herbert) has now left the post, leaving the future of the website even more uncertain. DA stated that this post will not be replaced, although John had had his post extended for 6 months and will be working on ACCESS Glasgow. He should be happy to keep putting minutes of GHI and the PIGs on the GHI website. AF suggested that GHI be developed on an ad hoc basis with people adding sites as they choose. It was decided to not write a letter to Norma Greenwood until the position with the site was clearer. DA will confirm with John that he is happy to continue adding the minutes to the GHI website in the meantime.

4. Presentation by Alison Howarth (GU), Seona Hamilton (NGD), Val McClure (RCPSG) and Jane Wilkins (GCU)
All four speakers gave very interesting presentations about different aspects of elearning. Alison spoke about how Glasgow University uses the Internet to support medical students. Jane Wilkins described how Glasgow Caledonian University use their website to assist students and how ICT is used within the library. Seona gave a presentation on how eLearning and the provision and development of online courses is managed within North Glasgow NHS Division. Val gave an overview of a recent training session carried out at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Glasgow, aimed at teaching older library users to search the Internet.

5. Discussion
Discussion points included how GU manage teaching medical students how to use the bibliographic databases, the pros/cons of single searching vs cross searching (the use of Circe at GCU), problems caused by students preferring to use full-text articles or Google instead of running a MEDLINE search then tracking down the best articles, the importance of teaching students to properly assess evidence and websites for quality, if CPD points for doctors can be awarded after library-based IT courses and the importance of teaching basic IT skills.

These presentations are attached to the email accompanying these Minutes.

6. Update on PIG progress supplied by Catriona Denoon
Update from the NHSGG Library Services Managers' meetings (formerly PIGlet) during September and October:

1. A priority for the NHSGG library services is the agreement where possible of standardized services and policies. A good start has been made with the formation of a working group composed of librarians from the NHSGG library services (not LSMs) which worked together during October to produce draft policies covering access rights, stock development and charging. These were submitted to the LSMs' group on 1st November and discussed at their meeting on 2nd November. Following further discussion at the LSMs' meeting on 15th November, draft proposals will be circulated to librarians for approval before submitting them to the next meeting of the strategy steering group on 6th December. Any policies which are not agreed on in time for the December meeting will be held over until the next steering group meeting, in March 2005, in order to ensure full discussion and agreement among library staff first.

2. Following on from the work of the working group, the LSMs are looking at the possibility of producing a joint guide for users, giving details of services and access rights at each NHSGG library service. The production of joint membership and other forms has also been proposed, and will be discussed further at the meeting on 15th.

3. Several pan-Glasgow projects are under way at the moment - these include :

3a Gathering information on access rights for patients and members of the public in NHSGG libraries, for a joint statement on current arrangements and on what could be done with more funding. This is being done to inform the development of ACAD library services at Stobhill Hospital and the Victoria Infirmary. The Library managers involved in these proposals were invited to a recent LSMs' meeting to discuss some of the issues raised.

3b Composing a funding proposal for an outreach librarian post to work in the primary care sector, as part of the strategy to extend library services further into the primary care sector, and also to provide support for public health and patient information. This proposal is being produced between LSMs at the Primary Care Division (Maria Henderson Library and Sandyford).

3c Access Glasgow Health ( www.accessglasgowhealth.org.uk ) - work currently under way by the AGH group to produce a lay thesaurus of health-related subject terms meaningful to members of the public. AGH will be publicized throughout Glasgow during Health Libraries Week.

3d The NHSGG libraries which use the Heritage library management system (North Division, Primary Care Division, Yorkhill) have volunteered to take part in a project with NES and Information Systems Oxford, to pilot an internet-based library management system which should make catalogue records available over the internet. NHS Fife, State Hospital Carstairs and the Health Management Library in Edinburgh have also joined the project. The first meeting of the project group was held at GRI on 29 October.

4. Unfortunately the Board was not able to extend the post of Health Information Coordinator post beyond its pilot year, so Malcolm left to take up his old job at Lanarkshire Health Board in early September. This, together with staffing shortages (including two retirements and one long-term sick leave) have meant that the LSMs will need to revise the timetable of work agreed to before Malcolm left, since resources are stretched very thinly at the moment. The work of the HIC is now being taken forward by the Library Services Managers and the steering group, and it is intended that more working groups can be set up in future to work on specific parts of implementing the strategy.

7. Updates from other groups
SM/AT mentioned that Health Libraries Week was running from 15th –19th Nov.

9. Any other business
AT and RR ran through the procedure for nominating new co-convenors for the Group. Voting forms were sent out and members were asked to nominate members who they felt would like to take on the role.

10. Date of next meeting
Topic: Cross-searching.

Next meeting 4th February 2005. Henry Heaney Seminar Room on Level 12 of the Glasgow University Library at 10am.

06/12/2004: Debbie Thompson

The staff at the North Glasgow Division Library and Learning Centre would like to give a warm welcome to Debbie Thompson.
Debbie is the new Learning Skills Development Coordinator. We hope Debbie will enjoy her new post here in the division.

17/11/2004: Library Services Managers' Meetings Sep/Oct 2004

Update from the NHSGG Library Services Managers' meetings (formerly PIGlet) during September and October 2004:

The Library Services Managers of NHSGG Library Services are meeting approximately every two weeks to discuss the implementation of the Strategy. Other NHSGG Library staff are being involved when appropriate.

1. A priority for the NHSGG library services is the agreement where possible of standardized services and policies. A good start has been made with the formation of a working group composed of librarians from the NHSGG library services (ie. staff other than Library Services Managers) which worked together during October to produce draft policies covering access rights, stock development and charging. These were submitted to the LSMs' group on 1st November and discussed at their meeting on 2nd November. Following further discussion at the LSMs' meeting on 15th November, draft proposals will be circulated to librarians for approval before submitting them to the next meeting of the strategy Steering Group on 6th December. Any policies which are not agreed on in time for the December meeting will be held over until the next Steering Group meeting, in March 2005, in order to ensure full discussion and agreement among library staff first.

2. Following on from the work of the working group, the LSMs are looking at the possibility of producing a new guide for users, giving details of services and access rights at each NHSGG library service. The production of joint membership and other forms has also been proposed, and will be discussed further at the meeting on 15th.

3. Several pan-Glasgow projects are under way at the moment – these include :

3c Access Glasgow Health (www.accessglasgowhealth.org.uk) - work is currently under way by the AGH group to produce a lay thesaurus of health-related subject terms meaningful to members of the public. AGH will be publicized throughout Glasgow during Health Libraries Week.

4. Unfortunately the Board was not able to extend the post of Health Information Coordinator post beyond its pilot year, so Malcolm Dobson left to take up his old job at Lanarkshire Health Board in early September. This, together with staffing shortages (including two retirements and one long-term sick leave) have meant that the LSMs will need to revise the timetable of work agreed to before Malcolm left, since resources are stretched very thinly at the moment. The work of the HIC is now being taken forward by the Library Services Managers and the steering group, and it is intended that more working groups will be set up in future to work on specific parts of the strategy.

04/10/2004: Oral Health Strategy 2004 - 2009

GGNHS is launching a consultation on a 5-year plan to improve the city’s oral health. Written by Greater Glasgow’s Oral Health Planning and Implementation Group, the Oral Health Strategy sets out NHS Greater Glasgow’s plans to develop dental services and promote good oral health over the coming five years.

The consultation documents can be downladed in Word format

Executive Summary(48KB)
Full Consultation Document(661KB)
Response Form(62KB)

28/09/2004: Paul Herbert

After nineteen months service as a web indexer on the GHI gateway Paul Herbert is leaving Dalian House to take up a new post as Assistant Librarian at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. We would like to thank Paul for all his hard work and wish him all the best in his future role.

21/09/2004: NHS Scotland e-Library relaunch roadshow report & competition results

The roadshow to mark the launch of the re-designed e-Library was a successful event, generating renewed and fresh interest in the site, with many low or non-users indicating that they would use it more frequently in the future. A full report of the roadshow evaluation can be downloaded from eLibrary relaunch evaluation, and a report of the roadshow programme can be seen on the librarians' area of the e-Library.

The competiton winners were -
1st prize (DVD player): Colin MacKillop, Sandyford Initiative
2nd prize (£30 Borders voucher): Helen Blyth, Royal Hospital for Sick Children
3rd prize (£20 Borders voucher): D Attwood, Community Dental Directorate, Townhead Health Centre

Congratulations to all three.

Malcolm S. Dobson, Health Information Co-ordinator

01/09/2004: Glasgow Health Information – Minutes of the Working Group 10.00am 21st May 2004

University of Glasgow Library

Present: Annette Thain (AT Co-convenor), Ruth Robinson (RR Co-convenor), Alison Faichney (AF), , Shona McQuistan (SM Secretary), Sandra Wilson (SW), L Riley (LR), Alison Horne (AH), Chloe Stewart (CS), John Hutchison (JH), Li Fong (GU visitor), Helen Marlborough (HM), Doreen Rhodes (DR), David Hamilton (DH).

1. Apologies:
Sue Kinn, Richard German, Marion Kelt, Donna Anathapolopolous, France MacDonald,Anne Davis, Norma Greenwood, Lorna Kerr, Joan McCreaddie, Kirsty Coltart, Susan Ashworth, Joanne Campbell, Cathie Pratt, Ron Carrick, Frances Anderson, Clare Scanlan, Fiona Collie, Malcolm Dobson.

2. Minutes of previous meeting
Minutes were accepted.

3. Matters arising
None.

4. Presentation by Annette Thain: The new eLibrary website
Annette gave an interesting and informative presentation on the new and improved eLibrary website http://www.elib.scot.nhs.uk. The accompanying PowerPoint slides for the presentation are attached. She gave us a thorough overview of the site and mentioned that the site meets all Government (and other) standards, is now highly indexed and there are future plans for new portals for diabetes, hospital-associated infections and management. There were a lot of questions and comments from the group and key points from this discussion are mentioned below.

5. Discussion
A suggestion was made that a good aim for the eLibrary would be to try and allow the whole site to be searched at the same time as the databases. AF commented that she knew of companies working on this kind of search tool at present. Annette described some of the searching supported by the eLibrary, including truncation (“*”), Boolean and natural language searching. At the moment, search results are sorted alphabetically but in the future it is hoped that they will be ranked. Annette requests that anyone who feels they have any relevant search strategies that could be included on the eLibrary, to please forward them to herself or one of her team. The specialist homepages will continue to develop but all GHI members are encouraged to develop their own (e.g. Sandra Wilson could do one for motor neurone disease).

6. Update from John Hutchison on ACCESS Glasgow
John described how the resource is integrating with GHI and that he has been using the Sandyford Library student report to consider user needs and redevelop the site into a Glasgow-focussed site with patient information and voluntary sector information available on the site. He described how they have used the social model of healthcare as a template and will be developing ‘topics’ as well as a search facility (simple Boolean). The aim of the site is to provide consumer-orientated, current information with a user-friendly interface.

7. Update from Malcolm Dobson on PIG progress
The strategy statement has been approved by the PIG and will be circulated more widely for comment. Work has started on the implementation plan with development ideas prioritised and key actions for each area identified. The next meeting of the PC.NHS sub group (24th May) will work on dates/timetable, resources required and personnel, supported by Rhona Arthur of SLIC. This will be made available for comment.

Two half-day sessions had been held for NHSGG library staff to open up discussion about the strategy and to begin to involve library staff in the development and implementation process. The two sessions had been successful and the outcomes will be discussed at the PC/NHS strategy sub group and actions agreed. Reports on the days will be circulated to the NHSGG library staff.

Malcolm Dobson is meeting with the NHSGG library services line managers to talk about the strategy and encourage them to put it on the agendas for any committees and groups they are involved in. This will also prime them for a seminar to include the line managers, representatives from the library committees that exist and other relevant management (e.g. IT). The individual meetings with line managers and the seminar will help move support for the strategy upwards.

8. Updates from other groups
SW suggested a future speaker from the Centre for Independent Living. HM asked why there was so little on the eLibrary for dentistry and AF mentioned that Glasgow University Library were currently cancelling a lot of their print journal subscriptions in favour of electronic journals. AT mentioned that from March 2005 the subscriptions for the eLibrary ejournals might be significantly higher as the pilot period will have ended and some titles may well be lost from the eLibrary. AF pointed out that there are still archiving issues to consider and that the price for back runs of ejournals can be high. RR mentioned CASS (Collaborative Academic Storage for Scotland) as a Scottish solution for storage of back runs of journals. Paisley University has already paid for space at the facility (in Edinburgh) and this could be a big development in the future. AF mentioned the developments with the British Library using secure electronic delivery for supplying ILLs.

9. Any other business
There was no other business.

10. Date of next meeting
3rd September 2004. Henry Heaney Seminar Room on Level 12 of the Glasgow University Library at 10am. Speaker: Anna Morris from NHS24.

28/07/2004: Paulina Davenhill

Paulina Davenhill has left her job at Glasgow Royal Infirmary Library to seek pastures new.
We would like to thank Paulina for all her hard work and wish her all the best for the future.

19/05/2004: Glasgow Health Information – Minutes of the Working Group Friday 19th March 2004

10.00am Friday 19th March 2004 University of Glasgow Library

Present: Annette Thain (AT Co-convenor), Ruth Robinson (RR Co-convenor), Joanne Campbell (JC), Fiona Collie (FC), Malcolm Dobson (MD), Catriona Denoon (CD), Alison Faichney (AF), Alison Howarth (AH), Valerie McClure (VM), Joan McCreadie (JM), Helen Marlborough (HM), Carsten Mandt (CM), Doreen Rhodes (DR), Chloe Stewart (CS)

1. Apologies:
Susan Ashworth, Donna Athanasopolous, Janette Boynton, Kirsty Coltart, Anne Davies, Richard German, Alison Horne, Marion Kelt, Lorna Kerr, Sue Kinn, Frances MacDonald, Shona McQuistan, Cathie Pratt, Sandra Wilson

2. Minutes of previous meeting
Minutes were accepted.

3. Matters arising
None.

4. Presentation by Carsten Mandt and Catriona Denoon, NHS Greater Glasgow, Primary Care Division
Carsten Mandt and Catriona Denoon gave interesting presentations on the challenges of delivering information resources and services to primary care staff. These talks were based on presentations they delivered at the West of Scotland NHS Librarian/GP meeting in December 2003.

CM discussed the services currently available to NHS Glasgow primary care staff and the challenges faced by librarians in delivering information to primary care. CD focused on inequity of access to library resources in NHS Glasgow. There exists different levels of access for different staff groups. Those working in primary care get a poorer service as no funding is received to support this group. It was acknowledged that equity of access is crucial to the NES strategy. The NeLH feature ‘Hitting the Headlines’ is popular with primary care staff. Some regard it as a ‘quick win’.

It was recognised that achieving a model of service across all NHS Glasgow libraries is an ambitious project.

Both presentations are attached.

5. Discussion
In response to CS enquiry about the availability of internet access in primary care, CD advised that IT staff are trying to improve the current situation. There is substantial anecdotal evidence to suggest that staff don’t have adequate access, or that the equipment used is outdated and can’t support some common file formats. MD mentioned that some staff still prefer information to be distributed by fax rather than by e-mail as this is regarded as more reliable.

AF mentioned that patients increasingly visit the surgery armed with information. CD replied that the NeLH ‘Hitting the Headlines’ and an area on MD Consult based on the US media are often used by GPs. CS said that the Cochrane Library is sometimes viewed as a quick summary service although this isn’t its intended purpose. It was acknowledged that GPs rarely have time for research, and databases such as Medline are often regarded as research tools primarily for those studying or working in the acute sector.

DR explained the CHIP shop initiative (Community Health Information Point) based in Drumchapel. She advised that there was initial resistance from GPs towards the ‘well informed patient’. The GPs originally wanted to vet information before it was passed to the patient, however they are now happy for the CHIP shop to pass the information directly.

6. Update from Malcolm Dobson
MD reported that since the last GHI meeting the Partnership and NHS Strategy sub groups had met. The NHS Strategy sub group had agreed to consider the primary care strategy at the next meeting. HeLICON accreditation was discussed as a means of measuring standards for individual library services. It was suggested that a Glasgow wide approach to accreditation might be achievable at a later date. The editorial group for the Access Glasgow website is the main focus of the Partnership group.

A day for NHS Glasgow library staff to get together is being organised. More fliers for the GHI gateway are currently being printed. If anyone requires these please contact MD.

While on placement at the Sandyford Library, Jenny Harbour a Strathclyde University student, conducted a survey to identify the health information needs of the public. This study also aims to provide recommendations for improving Access Glasgow Health. This report is attached.

7. Updates from other groups
AT reported on the Quality of Information for Social Care day that she attended on 23 February 2004 at the Kings Fund. Contact Cathie Pratt or Annette Thain for more information.

· Introduction to the plans for a National Knowledge Service in England
· Discussion by most of the presenters on the lack of awareness of databases and sources by staff.
· Many databases are subscription only.
· Social care briefings are being planned by SCHARR and sound very useful.

Useful websites
Social Care Institute for Excellence http://www.scie.org.uk
This includes:
New social care briefings from SCHARR
The Electronic Library for Social Care http://www.elsc.org.uk
Centre for Evidence-based Social Services http://www.ex.ac.uk/cebss

Evidence Network – to access some areas you need to be a member of ESRC UK (Economic and Social Research Council) http://www.evidencenetwork.org

Useful resource for management information – http://www.kingsfund.org.uk

8. Any other business
There was no other business.

9. Date of next meeting
21st May 2004 – Glasgow University Library at 10am.

13/05/2004: NHS Greater Glasgow LIBRARY STRATEGY Planning Implementation Group 15th March 2004

Present:Richard German, Joan McCreadie, Charlotte Boulnois, Fiona Walker, Cathie Pratt, Ron Carrick, Marion Kelt, Alison Faichney, Frances MacDonald, Malcolm Dobson (Chair, minutes)
Apologies: Ruth Robinson, Norma Greenwood

Matters arising from previous meeting:
Revising strategy (paper attached)
There was discussion about the revised strategy statement. Some amendments, re-writing and clarifications were agered It was agreed that when the changes had been made and approved the strategy statement would move from the ‘draft’ stage to the ‘consultation’ stage, and could be distributed widely.

Sub group reports:
MD reported on the progress of the subgroups.
PC/NHS (23/2/04)
(see brief report for full details)
CD also reported on the meeting she & MD had had with Cliff Baister to discuss the PC strategy, the OVID training day on the 16th, & the interim policy on access to libraries that she had proposed. Partnership (3/3/04)
The Sandyford report was circulated to the PIG members. An editorial group for Access Glasgow Health had been set up. It was agreed that the Partnership group would not meet until the PC/NHS group had produced a draft implementation plan (i.e. probably not until June). The dates scheduled for the Partnership group would be taken over by the AGH Editorial group. CB commented on the difficulty of finding information on NHS access to HE. MD agreed to circulate AF’s paper (previously circulated to Partnership group) to the whole group.
Consultation.
MD reported that there had been some discussion between himself, CB & MK, forming an ‘electronic’ group, but he had not summarised the discussion yet.

Co-ordinators report.
MD reported on meetings he had attended since the last PIG meeting, including with Katie McGlew at NHS24 West; regional Communictors meeting (these are now held alternately with the national communicators meetings. Glasgow is in the Inner West group, with Lanarkshire & Forth Valley); NHS & Glasgow City libraries; and on a patient information strategy being developed by the Scottish Executive & NHS24.

05/05/2004: NHS Greater Glasgow Library Strategy - NHS/Primary Care PIG sub group 29/3/04

NHS Greater Glasgow Library Strategy
NHS/Primary Care sub group meeting
Monday 29 March 2004, 3.00-5.00

Present: C Denoon (Chair, minutes), F Macdonald, F Walker, J McCreadie

Apologies: M Dobson, R Carrick, C Boulnois

The main points discussed were the pan-Glasgow strategy and the Primary Care strategy.

Glasgow Strategy
The list of policies was discussed. There are some similarities and some wide variations in policy between existing Trust Library services.
The draft “additional membership” policy was approved. Confirmation will be emailed round the libraries before 1 April.
It was agreed that “working groups” be formed, comprised of interested staff within library services to discuss aspects of the Strategy (drawn from the key development areas) and make recommendations to the PIGlet on how to take them forward (eg. on harmonisation of policies, joint promotional materials, and stock development).

Primary Care Strategy
A revised version of the Primary Care Library Strategy, following feedback from PC management on presentation and emphasis, was distributed. Feedback is to be sent to CD and copied to the group.
CD and Carsten Mandt had presented at the GHI meeting on 19 March on services to primary care staff. Discussion at the meeting, which included representation from HE and voluntary sectors, had been useful.

AOB
A bid has been submitted to Helicon (Research in the Workplace) for funding for the proposed user needs analysis for primary care staff to identify needs and gaps in service

28/04/2004: NHS GREATER GLASGOW LIBRARY STRATEGY: Partnership Sub-Group 3/03/04

Present: Malcolm Dobson; Alison Faichney; Cathie Pratt; Fiona Walker; Joan McCreadie
Apologies: Norma Greenwood; James Beaton

The main topics for the meeting were Access Glasgow Health and the future of the Partnership Group

Access Glasgow Health

An expanded list of health topics was tabled. It was agreed that the list should be circulated to the group for wider comment.
Editorial group -
Draft remit MD circulated a draft remit for the editorial group. A number of changes were suggested, and it was agreed that MD would re-draft it.
Membership It was agreed that membership would be –
Fiona walker NHS/Sandyford
Cathie Pratt GCC/Social Work Services
Malcolm Dobson NHS/Health Information Co-ordinator
HE representative
Voluntary Sector representative
GCC Community Library representative

Sandyford survey
A survey of health information needs of the public was circulated, carried out by a placement student at Sandyford. All agreed that the survey was an excellent piece of work. Some of the issues raised were already being addressed; others would be taken on board. The report referred to marketing the site & it was agreed that this should be included in the remit of the group.

Future of the Partnership group It was agreed that to avoid overloading people with meetings the Partnership group should not meet until the PC/NHS group had produced a draft implementation plan (i.e. probably not until June). The dates scheduled for the Partnership group would be taken over by the AGH Editorial group.

22/04/2004: NHS GREATER GLASGOW LIBRARY STRATEGY PC/NHS Sub-group 23/2/04

NHS GREATER GLASGOW LIBRARY STRATEGY
PC/NHS Sub-group 23/2/04

Present:
Malcolm Dobson; Ron Carrick; Joan McCreadie; Fiona Walker; Charlotte Boulnois; Frances MacDonald

Principle items on the agenda were:
1)Glasgow strategy Development areas Policies & procedures: Not all had been received yet. Once they were CB, FW & FMacD would meet to draw up a grid of policies and procedures and develop milestones/actions. These would be discussed at the next meeting.

Low & non-users: the milestones for developing use by current low & non-users were accepted. Means of identifying low/non library users were discussed.

Templates for setting out development areas & milestones were discussed and a format agreed. It was felt that an ‘Influencing factors & projects’ area would be particularly valuable in highlighting national policies & local strategies etc that the lib strategy would link with, and identifying possible funding.

2)Glasgow library staff event
It was agreed that this should go ahead, with two half days to allow as many people as possible to attend. It was also agreed that visits to other libraries or places of (relevant) interest could be useful for staff development. The same issues of staff time, keeping services open etc would apply, but as the visits would not be ‘compulsory’ these would not present an insurmountable problem. It was agreed that such visits would contribute to staff PDPs & chartership.

3)Funding opportunities
It was agreed that it would be useful if the Health Information Co-ordinator compiled a database of funding sources. It was also agreed that it wouyld be useful to be able to identifying incoming money from the Executive for specific policies & strategies.

4)Items from PIG:
Quality & standards Following a proposal from the PIG meeting of 9/2/04 it was agreed that quality and standards should be part of the remit of the Health Information Co-ordinator.
It was agreed that initially individual services would aim for HELICON accreditation, or use the HELICON questions to compare services. Accreditation for the pan-Glasgow service would be applied for when it was felt that policies, procedures & service were unified across the six library services.

05/04/2004: NHS Greater Glasgow Library Strategy Planning Implementation Group 9 February 2004

NHS Greater Glasgow Library Strategy Planning Implementation Group

Monday 9 February 2004

Present: Malcolm Dobson (Chair), Norma Greenwood, Charlotte Boulnois, Joan McCreadie, Fiona Walker, Ron Carrick (deputising for Frances Anderson), Ruth Robinson, Alison Faichney, Marion Kelt, Cathie Pratt, Catriona Denoon

Apologies: Frances Anderson, Frances Macdonald, Louise Walker, Richard German

Main points on the agenda:

Revised strategy
The draft revision of the NHS Glasgow Library Strategy paper was discussed, and ammended. It was agreed that Rhona Arthur from SLIC should be invited to a future PIG meeting to help in re-drafting the Glasgow Strategy.

Communicating the Strategy
MD distributed a short report about the Strategy for loading on GHIG. The group also agreed to investigate other opportunities to publicise the Strategy work such as local newsletters.
NG suggested further promotion of Library services, eg. short articles about local services, LearnDirect Scotland learning centres etc, in the NHSGG Newsletter.

Sub group reports.
PC/NHS
MD reported on the PC/NHS Sub group meeting of the 21January.
CD and MD had met with Evelyn Laing to discuss ACT funding for library services to support the training needs of GPs. CD had also contacted Murray Lough at NES, who offered contacts with GP practices training GP registrars. She and MD had met with Heather McKenzie of the Health Promotion R&D department at Dalian House, for advice on a user needs analysis for primary care staff.
NG reported that she and MD had met with Cliff Baister, Head of IT at the Primary Care Trust and a member of the IM&T Steering Group, and had agreed to pass on a copy of the draft primary care strategy for him to discuss with Wendy Hull (Director of Finance at the Board.
Partnership Subgroup
The Subgroup had agreed that it would wait for priorities to be agreed by the PC/NHS subgroup and respond to those where neccesary. It had also agreed that partnership issues should be made more explicit than they had been in the original strategy document.
A paper is to be written and presented to the group on HE issues, collaboratively by AF, RR, MK and RG.
An editorial group for Access Glasgow Health will be established to include MD, FW, CP, an HE rep, a voluntary rep, and a community libraries rep.
Consultation
The Consultation Sub-group had not yet been formed. CB and MK agreed to be on it. CP agreed to participate by email.
FW said that the placement student at Sandyford Library has been working on a questionnaire for community libraries and Sandyford on what health information people look for online, and offered to pass the results to the rest of the group.

Coordinator’s report
MD reported that he, NG and FW had participated in a meeting Glasgow City Council library staff on collaboration, including Access Glasgow Health. NG is to write a paper on current work at the Health Board and the council for the next meeting on 9 March, and will cc it to the group. This will form the basis for discussion on future directions.
MD and NG had met with Cliff Baister to discuss progress of the strategy

AOB
AF said that the HE collaborative paper should be ready for the next PIG meeting.

17/03/2004: Glasgow Health Information – Minutes of the Working Group 23/01/04

10.00am Friday 23rd January 2004

University of Glasgow Library

Present: Annette Thain (AT Co-convenor), Ruth Robinson (RR Co-convenor), Malcolm Dobson (MD), Alison Faichney (AF), Joan McCreadie (JM), Shona McQuistan (SM Secretary), Anne Davis (AD), Sandra Wilson (SW), Valerie McClure (VM), Cathie Pratt (CP), Fiona Collie (FC), Rosalind Ogden (student), Jenny Harbour (student), Doreen Rhodes (DR), Joanne Campbell (JC), Marion Kelt (MK).

1. Apologies:
Kirsteen Downie, Susan Ashworth, Richard German, Maureen Fee, Janette Boynton, Lorna Kerr, Frances MacDonald, Helen Marlborough, Alison Horne.

2. Minutes of previous meeting
Minutes were accepted.

3. Matters arising
None.

4. Presentation by Cathie Pratt, Glasgow Social Work
Annette Thain explained that the Community Health Partnerships are still at an early stage so it is hoped that a speaker will attend GHI at some point in the future to speak on this topic.

AT introduced and put Cathie Pratt’s talk in context by explaining that the MKN project and the Mental Health Portals had revealed information needs for service information (e.g. for planning and policy writing as well as information about self-help groups or who can use a service etc..), clinical information (both for health professionals and patients), drug information (important to patients), legal/official documents (with easy access) and research information (need access to best practice). In England, huge directories have been created with this sort of services information but it is not sure whether this would be the best approach for Scotland, it might be left to local groups to provide this sort of information. It was generally agreed that the Social Care/Mental Health staff have considerably worse access to information than in the NHS, even though the NHS relies heavily on the voluntary sector for a surprising amount of support services.

Cathie Pratt proceeded to give a talk on Information Provision to Glasgow City Council Social Work Services staff:

What is Social Work?
Our duties and responsibilities arise from various legislative requirements. Very briefly our services aim to:

¨ Provide care and protection to children and their families
¨ Ensure care and support to vulnerable adults; including those with disabilities, mental health problems, addictions
¨ Provide care and support for elderly people to support them in the community and to support their carers
¨ Provide criminal justice services to offenders, their families and through victim support We have a large group of staff including professionally qualified social workers, community workers, care assistants, occupational therapists and staff working in day care or residential units. The majority deliver front line services with others providing support to service delivery.

Background to Library and Information Service

¨ In 1987 under Strathclyde Region there was recognition of the need for an information service, primarily aimed at managers and headquarters staff (although information was accessible to others on a limited basis) and this was established via my post within the Research Team. At that stage there was no separate budget and my post encompassed a number of other tasks/responsibilities (as it still does)
¨ Service has developed in a number of ways since its early beginnings of 2 bays of books with a very limited catalogue and no qualified or library trained staff - we do have a budget and there is a recognition that we now have a Departmental Library (albeit still resourced in a limited way with resulting impact on the service offered)
¨ Social Work Services within Glasgow City Council has undergone a number of re-organisations in recent years, and my post (along with the Information Service) has moved from the Research Team to being part of Performance, Standards and Strategic Management section as part of the Public Information Team.

Information Requirements of SWS Staff

¨ Managers, planners and policy makers require access to quality information and research to inform their decision making processes
¨ Staff at all levels require information to deliver effective services and also as part of their role in supporting users and carers - evidence based practice/what works. Also support ongoing training/professional development needs.
¨ Partnership working is growing (particularly with Health in community care services but also elsewhere) - this leads to a need for information in a wider context than just social care services
¨ Partnership staff from other sectors, such as health or voluntary service, will require information on social care to inform joint working
¨ Examples of our enquiries will be familiar - from whether a specific book is held to sourcing information on topics such as intermediate care,.... Many staff will not have time to come to Library in person but want information to be provided to them (often involves assisting them in formulating exactly what they are seeking)

How are these met?
I will circulate copies of the information sheet that is available for staff outlining what information resources they can use. These include:

¨ The Social Work Library - I am responsible for developing and resourcing this small staff library. I am the only member of staff and I have other responsibilities and tasks including developing our Intranet. When I am not available the service is very limited. Users can arrange to visit the Library but much of the enquiry work is done by phone or e-mail. In many ways the Library Service could be considered to be part time (although there are no set hours)
¨ The emphasis on e-government is leading to using IT solutions via Internet. We have quite limited access within SWS in Glasgow - the importance of a web site such as GHIG is in providing ready access to validated health information (initially at a basic introductory level but with scope to dig deeper if required). Where staff cannot access this from their own desk I can arrange access within the Library or use it on their behalf.
¨ From the handout you will see that our staff can use a number of other resources (to a greater or lesser extent) to supplement the Departmental Library - these include the Council Central Library, Idox Information Service and others on an informal basis, such as Trust libraries (although the current informal arrangement may change as the Health Library Strategy is implemented)

Departmental Library Resources

¨ There is one member of staff - myself and I am a qualified librarian. However my time is not solely devoted to library/information work (proportion on professional duties will vary depending on other priorities/demands)
¨ Our book stock reflects the historical focus on management/planning/policy issues with limited coverage of textbooks and practice type material. Government publications, legislation, circulars are also held. There are a number of journals held (list to be circulated) but we do not have demand for e-journals or e-books to any great extent (and currently are not licensed for these - apart from access gained via NES E-Library). The library also holds a great deal of grey literature.
¨ Enquiries are dealt with by phone or e-mail using the Library's own resources (including database searching) and by accessing information from other sources as needed. As mentioned previously, I will often need to dig out information for enquirers as they do not have time to do it themselves.

Constraints on Information Provision
There are a number of factors which need to be borne in mind when considering how information is used within the social care context.

¨ Many staff do not operate within an information "culture" - they do need considerable sign posting to relevant information and assistance in obtaining it. They may not have time to actually dig out the information themselves, or they may need it in a hurry. I do not think that we are as well resourced as the NHS but there is potential to share knowledge and resources (particularly using electronic developments)
¨ Staff tend to have a strong focus on simply delivering services due to lack of resources/staffing etc. and the pressure of work. They may accept that they need to keep abreast of new developments or update their practice, but feel they do not have the time to read information or that they suffer from information overload.
¨ Within social care there has been less focus on continual professional development and e-learning. Again the NHS is further ahead on this and we can learn from your experience (and potential to share resources?) This is beginning to change with the need for staff to register with the Scottish Social Services Council - this will cover all staff over a period of years and will lead to a greater emphasis on continual professional development.
¨ Limited resourcing for the information service (including staffing as well as budgetary) - and the effect of potentially greater demands from partner access

Challenges

¨ Changing face of social work services at a national and local level. Registration requirements will eventually apply to all staff involved in direct service delivery. Shortages and competition for scarce staff resources will also have an impact (again nationally and locally). New developments = new ways of working but "what works"? Will this increase demand for information?
¨ Glasgow SWS is currently undergoing further re-structuring - particularly within our Fieldwork Services. This includes an emphasis on CPD - impacting on whether staff can apply for specific posts. New kid on the block is "Professional Action Development Plan" - these PADplans will lead to greater training demands, which in turn may increase demand for information resources and services.
¨ New staff have increased expectation of access to information resources - particularly electronically.
¨ Partnership working means staff need to understand service delivery on a joint basis and to share information outwith traditional boundaries. Could partnership working provide the route to greater access to relevant information through greater collaboration?

Links:
http://www.careknowledge.com- subscription based but info on service is available on the site
http://www.researchweb.org.uk- for access to Caredata database
http://www.scie.org.uk- the English based Social Care Institute of Excellence also giving access to Caredata and some other useful info.

Cathie Pratt
Jan 2004

5. Discussion
SW asked if CP had many opportunities for networking and CP responded that she did not. All the University Librarians present (RR, MK, AF) said that they would ensure that they sent her any relevant information from now on and would help her arrange meetings with the relevant faculty librarians. This is increasingly relevant with the added pressure the fast-track students are putting on the Social Work Library Service. RR asked CP what the health libraries could do to help Social Work. CP replied that she would appreciate tapping into the expertise available in searching the medical databases, using the libraries for enquiries, sharing resources, being involved in strategic planning for Glasgow and providing access to the eLibrary. She suggested that the collaboration could either be formal or informal (sometimes easier!) and in the meantime she is happy for any GHI members to ring her with enquiries regarding social work or give out her number to interested hospital staff

6. Update from Malcolm Dobson
MD reported that he is putting brief minutes from the PIGs and PIGlets on the GHI Gateway and NHSGG website. There has been a second meeting of the full strategy group and there are now three subgroups: NHS/Primary Care, Partnerships (including non-NHS groups) and Communication and Consultation. There has also been an article in the recent Staff News newsletter.

7. Updates from other groups
None.

8. Any other business
There was no other business.

9. Date of next meeting
19th March 2004. Henry Heaney Seminar Room on Level 12 of the Glasgow University Library at 10am.

Action AT

11/03/2004: Books for Afghanistan

Collection of Books for Northern Afghanistan

Professor Hugh Simpson, former Head of the Pathology Department at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, recently requested the help of the North Glasgow Trust Library Service in collecting donations of books for Balkh Medical School, Mazar-e Sharif in Northern Afghanistan. Professor Simpson’s son, Col Robin Simpson, is one of the Army’s many doctors who are trying to teach medical skills to Afghan students, and has now returned to the UK after working for a 4-month period in Afghanistan as part of the British reconstruction effort. Balkh Medical School was destroyed by the Taliban; there are few books and no internet, and the books are desperately needed.

The Library Service appealed for any nursing, medical or allied health related textbooks from staff working in the North Glasgow Trust, and also contacted librarians throughout Glasgow and surrounding areas, with the result that half a tonne of books were donated, from individuals and from library stock. These were organised and stored in the libraries until they could be collected. Glasgow University Officers’ Training Corps helped in uplifting the books, and will eventually transport them to Afghanistan. The NHS Libraries in Glasgow would like to thank all those who contributed to this appeal. It has enabled NHS Glasgow to help people in an area of the world which is in desperate need of aid and support. Col Simpson’s replacement in Mazar -e Sharif is currently awaiting the arrival of the books, and the Library Service hopes to keep up with the progress of the medical school.

01/03/2004: NHS Greater Glasgow Library strategy - Partnership Sub-group

Present
Malcolm Dobson; Joan McCreadie; Fiona Walker; Alison Faichney; Cathie Pratt; Norma Greenwood

Main items on the agenda were to review the Strategy and identify specific areas relating to cross-sectoral collaboration; and Access Glasgow Health

Specific areas relating to cross-sectoral collaboration
The group started off by discussing development areas and milestones from the strategy document of October 2002 which related most to partnership working, and agreed that rather than produce specific proposals they would contribute/comment on proposals from the PC/NHS group. It was felt that partnership issues had been addressed in the 2002 draft, but that in the revised strategy document they should be more explicit.

Access Glasgow Health
There was discussion about how the AGH development would be managed. It was agreed that AGH and the Gateway would be developed as a single project, with a single database, with records tagged to indicate audience. There would be two distinctive front ends; when users log on to AGH the public/patient information would be automatically filtered. It was agreed to establish an editorial group to include representation from the NHS library services, Glasgow City Council social work information services, higher education, the voluntary sector, and Glasgow City Council community libraries.
A student on work placement at Sandyford library will conduct a survey among community library users and staff to gather preliminary information on health information needs of the public.

The next meetings will be on 3rd March; 7th April; 12th May.

23/02/2004: NHS Greater Glasgow Library strategy - Primary Care & NHS group 19/1/04

Present: Malcolm Dobson; Charlotte Boulnois; Joan McCreadie; Frances MacDonald; Fiona Walker; Anne M. Davies; Frances Anderson, Catriona Denoon

The main items on the agenda were the Primary Care Strategy; development areas and milestones from the Glasgow strategy; and an event for NHS Glasgow library staff.

Primary Care strategy
Catriona Denoon tabled a revised draft strategy for library services to Primary Care, with outline costings. Possible approaches to funding were discussed, both in terms of making the case and sources.
The importance of presenting evidence of need was discussed. This will be a priority and support & advice will be sought to develop research proposals. Catriona will set out milestones for the strategy.

Strategy development areas and milestones.
Members of the group took one of the development areas each (previously prioritised at the November Strategy PIG meeting) and will develop targets and milestones for it. These will be reported back to the next meeting and will contribute to developing an implementation plan for the strategy.

Event for NHS Glasgow library staff.
The possibility of holding an event for the whole of the NHS Glasgow library staff was discussed. The event would inform staff of the progress and development of the strategy, provide an opportunity for questions and discussion, and enable staff to meet and get to know each other and begin to create the feeling of closer collaboration and partnership between library services. It was agreed that such an event was important, but there were practical difficulties – for example, a large number of staff are part-time, and some libraries could not be closed without closing the building they were sited in. Service managers agreed to come up with ideas to get round the problems.

09/02/2004: New resources on the NHS Scotland eLibrary : goodpractice.net

goodpractice.net, from the Centre for Change and Innovation, provides a range of knowledge products and services to support managers, HR, training and organisational development professionals in all sectors of the NHS. All are available freely via the NHS Scotland eLibrary.

Topics covered include team building, staff development, coaching and mentoring, communication, partnership working, negotiation, performance management, strategic HR and change management.

The Centre for Change and Innovation (CCI) website is available via the NHS Scotland eLibrary at www.elib.scot.nhs.uk. Goodpractice.net can be accessed from the links in the menu on the left hand side of the screen on the main page of the CCI website.

You will need an Athens password to access this service. If you do not already have one you can register online for one from the “Register for an Athens password” link at the right-hand side of the eLibrary at www.elib.scot.nhs.uk

28/01/2004: NHS Library Strategy PIG meeting 15/12/03: brief report

Present:
Malcolm Dobson; Cathie Pratt; Alison Faichney; Richard German;Marion Kelt; Frances MacDonald; Fiona Walker; Kirsty Coltart (Deputising for Joan McCreadie); Ruth Robinson; Charlotte Boulnois; Catriona Denoon

The main points on the agenda for the meeting were:
Sub groups; Revising/re-writing the strategy; and Communicating the strategy & Consultation

Sub-groups
Three sub-groups were agreed– Primary Care & NHS, covering service to Primary Care and developing closer co-operation between NHS libraries; Partnership, covering issues relating to collaboration between NHS libraries and other sectors, with a focus on the Access Glasgow Health web site and the GHI Gateway; and Communication, a short-term group looking at consultation with stakeholders and publicising the development and implementation of the strategy. It was agreed that MD would approach one of the Glasgow FE college librarians; this has been done and she has agreed to act as the FE representative.

Representation from the voluntary sector has still to be confirmed. It was also suggested that representation from Glasgow community libraries would be valuable, and a representative would be sought.

Revising the strategy
It was agreed that MD would produce a draft simplification of the strategy document, which would then be circulated to group members for comment.

Communicating the strategy
Reports and digests on the work of the Strategy Implementation Group and sub-groups will be placed on the GHI Gateway, and agreed minutes, discussion papers, group membership with contact details, and brief progress reports would be made available on the NHS Greater Glasgow. Website.

Meeting Schedule
PIG & sub groups would meet every six weeks with the subgroups meeting at least a week before the main pig to allow decisions to be referred to the PIG. Sub groups could meet more frequently if required

20/01/2004: New Members of Staff at NGT Library Service

Welcome to Anne Marie Pinkerton, new Literacy Project Facilitator at Gartnavel General Hospital.

Welcome back to Paulina Davenhill, recently returned from maternity leave to Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

15/01/2004: Glasgow Health Information – Minutes of the Working Group 14/11/2003

10.00am Friday 14th November 2003
University of Glasgow Library, McKenna Room
Present: Annette Thain (AT Co-convenor), Ruth Robinson (RR Co-convenor), Richard German (RG), Malcolm Dobson (MD), Alison Faichney (AF), Joan McCreadie (JM), Shona McQuistan (SM Secretary), Anne Davis (AD), Sandra Wilson (SW), Chloe Stewart (CS), Valerie McClure (VM), David Hamilton (DH), Helen Marlborough (HM), Susan Ashworth (SA), Louise Foster (LF), Karen McPherson (KM).

2. Apologies:
Rosie Ilett, Donna Athanasopolous, Sue Kinn, Kirsty Coltart, Carol Carver, Marion Kelt, Doreen Rhodes

3. Minutes of previous meeting
Minutes were accepted.

4. Matters arising
a. Letter of invitation to potential GHI members. This has been written in draft format but it was decided to wait until the end of this meeting to finalise it. Once complete, it will be emailed round interested GHI members to hand out to anyone they feel should be invited to join GHI. It will also be added to the website for downloading.

Action: AT/RR/SM

5. Presentation by Malcolm Dobson, Glasgow Health Information Coordinator and Group discussion

MD produced three handouts for the Group, which will be circulated to all members via email with the Minutes.

MD gave a summary of his job description and an overview of the Glasgow health libraries strategy as it stands, including the role of the HIC, creating a library service for Primary Care, developing the information gateway (GHI website) and developing the ACCESS Glasgow Health website. He reported that he has set up a Planning and Information Group (PIG), consisting of the Library Service Managers, key University and voluntary staff as well as Norma Greenwood (GGHB) and Rhona Arthur (SLIC), to support the Strategy. From this Group he will form subgroups to support particular areas of the Strategy (e.g. Primary Care library services). DH asked what services would be made available to Primary Care and MD responded that they would be given access via the acute hospitals to resources, not just to the eLibrary, but it was important to get funding for these developments, especially for ILLs. At the moment some hospitals provide services and others do not, leading to some Primary Care staff having library services and others having no access to resources. Partnership for Care is a big driver for this as it stresses community health partnerships as a way of working and the coordination of different services.

AT asked for an update on the GHI Gateway website. MD replied that the team were trying to promote and develop it (e.g. the ‘news’ area that librarians can now contribute to). AT asked that the Group be keep up-dated with developments regarding the Gateway to promote a sense of ownership within the Group for the site. MD reported that he plans to obtain additional funding to maintain the Gateway and to develop the site further to include a patient database and that any suggestions for websites to add to the resource by GHI members would be very gratefully received. AT asked for a progress report on ACCESS Glasgow. MD reported that it was now quite out-of-date but the Sandyford Librarians and Cathie Pratt (from the Social Work Department) are looking it into again. MD suggested that if any GHI members have ideas for promoting or developing either of these resources, to let him know.

Role of GHI

MD felt that it would be useful for GHI to feed ideas through to the Strategy PIG. SA suggested someone be nominated who is already on the PIG and GHI to report back to the PIG on our behalf (e.g. one of the Library Service Managers or University staff). AT suggested that MD could use the GHI meetings to discuss ideas to enable the Group to have input in the implementation of the Strategy. HM pointed out that we need to be informed as a Group to enable us to inform and AT responded to this by suggesting that at each GHI meeting, the Group could discuss one particular aspect of the Strategy or MD could give a talk and the Group could feedback their ideas to him.

GHI Meetings

AT asked the Group if they would prefer to have set meeting dates, agreed in advance or should meetings be called when MD wishes the Group to discuss some aspect of the Strategy. It was decided to set up three meetings in advance but that AT and RR could call a meeting if they felt there was something important to discuss, additional to these set meetings.

The next meeting will discuss the Community Health Partnership document and AT will arrange for a speaker to attend to lead this discussion. The dates of the next three GHI meetings are: 23/1/04, 19/3/04 and 21/5/04. The meetings will all be in room 908 on level 9 of the Glasgow University Library and will start at 10am.

6. Update from other groups
AD reported that there would be an event to raise money for charity on 20/11/03 in the GGHB library.

7. Any other business
There was no other business

8. Date of next meeting
23rd January 2004. Room 908 on level 9 of the Glasgow University Library at 10am.

Action AT

14/01/2004: Glasgow Health Information – Minutes of the Working Group 29/08/2003

10.00am Friday 29th August 2003 at 10am
University of Glasgow Library, Level 9 Committee Room

Present: Annette Thain (AT Co-convenor), Ruth Robinson (RR Co-convenor), Doreen Rhodes(DR), Fiona Walker(FW), Sandra Wilson(SW), Helen Marlborough(HM), Lorna Kerr(LK), Janette Boynton(JB), Norma Greenwood, Janice Taylor.

1. Report of GHI Website
Norma Greenwood and Janice Taylor kindly agreed to come along and update the group on the plans for GHI website and the relationship between the wider GHI group and the website.
The steering group has not met for sometime but the appointment of Malcolm Dobson to Health Information Co-ordinator for Glasgow will revitalise the website development. The Health Information Co-ordinator will begin by visiting all the libraries and through discussions decide how the future direction taking into consideration national objectives eg Agenda for Change, Life Long Learning, Community Health Partnerships. The aim should be to showcase the library services with a long-term aim to obtain sustainable funding.
The current developments come under the ICT change programme directed by Wendy Hull GGHB Finance Director GGHB will take responsibility for administration and sustainability of GHI website but it is important that the broader LIS community take ownership and responsibility for content etc.
The main points reported

It is hoped that Janice’s contract will be extended to match the timescale of the Co-ordinator’s post.
GHI website and Access Glasgow website will be brought together with different interfaces but running of an integrated database. Janice will develop an accessible front end for Access Health Glasgow
The Gateway Steering group will be reconvened to take responsibility for the developments. Norma will ensure that there are representatives from all sectors on the group.
The role of the GHI Website to support the developments of the Community Health Partnerships and the primary care staff should be investigated.
GHI is now fully web based and all the forms are working well.
GGHB Director of Communications looking to develop a single look for information and GHI should play a part in this.
GHI website role with national initiatives e.g. the NHS Scotland e Library and other projects for example the Managed Knowledge Networks

Norma felt there was potential for the wider GHI group to take the lead in the new developments possibly with the planning and organisation of information seminars, research meetings to report on activities and keep everyone up to date.

2. Apologies:
Susan Ashworth, Anne Davis, Rosie Ilett, Alison Faichney, Alison Horne, Valerie McClure, Anna Morris, Sue Kirn, Kirsty Coltart, Joan McCreadie, David Hamilton, Carol Carver, Shona McQuistan, Catriona Denoon, Richard German.

3. Minutes of previous meeting
Minutes were amended to include Fiona Walker who was omitted in error from the list of those present. Otherwise minutes were agreed and are available on GHI Website.

4. Matters arising
a. GHI group minutes will be available on the website and Janice will let Shona know how to upload them. Minutes will be circulated round the group for comments first.
b. Health Information Co-ordinator as announced by Norma is Malcolm Dobson from Lanarkshire Public Health Library. He takes up post for 12 months from 15 September
c. Grampian Group – Annette reported back on her contact with this group.
Grampian Information is a large group with members from all sectors, Public libraries, NHS, HE, Private/ government / special libraries with sub groups for Health, Business, History, Oil, and Science
Activities include
A website http://www.grampianinfo.co.uk
Regular newsletter
Focus on CPD
P/T development co-ordinator
I-LL scheme
Electronic discussion group
Health Information sub group currently focusing on development of their local strategy.

5. Aims and Objectives
Discussion around each aim and the group felt although some had been met already they continue to be valid.
It was agreed to remove ‘limited’ from (DR)
- to optimise use of limited resources by making them known to potential users
SW suggested adding 'voluntary libraries' to the paragraph above the list of ‘aims’
Consideration will be given as to where it would be appropriate to a place to put these on the GHI website.

6. Membership
SW suggested the Information Officer Fiona McCollie from Carers UK may be interested in joining. She will approach her.
Action SW
AT agreed to contact Bill Carlin from the Maggie’s Centre about joining
Action AT
AT reported that NHS24 Katie McGlew and Anna Morris are very interested in coming along to the group.

7. Update from other groups
HM reported from the last SCURL meeting when concerned had been voiced about the proliferation of groups and possible duplication of resources.
SW informed the group about a strategy document from Voluntary Health Scotland and their aim to become an independent organisation. She reminded the group that the director of VHS Helen Tyrell came to talk to GHI sometime ago.

8. Any other business
There was no other business.

9. Date of next meeting –
Provisionally 10.00 14th November at GUL . Annette will invite Malcolm to come along and tell us about his plans.
Action AT.

03/12/2003: Wagons roll! Implementing the NHS Greater Glasgow library strategy gets under way

The first steps in putting the NHS Greater Glasgow library strategy into effect were taken on Tuesday 11th November with the inaugural meeting of the strategy Planning Implementation Group (the Strategy PIG). The 6 NHS library service managers, 4 university library services, Glasgow Council social work library and the local health council were represented. Rhona Arthur from SLIC facilitated some of the discussion.

The main purpose of the meeting was to allow those who had originally been directly involved in developing the strategy to review it, to extend the discussion to partner organisations and begin to develop ideas for its development & implementation.

An ‘icebreaker’ at the beginning gave participants a chance to discuss what they thought about the strategy – ‘fitting the puzzle together’, ‘swamped by policies strategies, objectives & day-today demands’, ‘extra workload’, ‘confusion’, ‘challenge’ & ‘fear’ all emerged.

After a discussion of the strategy & the policy background, and a brief explanation of how the PIG would work, the group split into two groups: NHS library integration & library services for primary care staff; and GHI Gateway / Access Glasgow Health and partnership issues. Each group discussed relevant milestones & development areas from the strategy.

The principal outcomes of the discussions were:
* The unanimous decision that ‘collaboration’ rather than ‘integration’ should be the key. There is already substantial collaboration between NHS libraries & NHS & others, but this needs to be recognised and ‘built in’. It was also seen that the proposed Glasgow-wide library service for Primary Care could provide a pilot for collaboration & joint working.
* It was also unanimously agreed that everybody wanted to provide a quality service & that funding was a major issue.

The discussion groups reported back to the whole group, outlining their ideas for the milestones & development areas & prioritising them.

The meeting finished with a discussion of who else, or what other interest areas, should be represented in the group. Further education, the voluntary sector, and community libraries were suggested.

At the end of the morning the icebreaker groups were asked to say in one word how they now felt about the strategy. ‘Progress’, ‘woolly’ (yes, this was an improvement!), ‘hopeful’, ‘challenge’ and ‘collaboration’ all reflected a general feeling that the morning had been positive and participants could see that we were making progress.

The next meeting of the PIG will be on the 15th December, when sub-groups will be set up to deal with specific aspects of the strategy.

For more information contact malcolm.dobson@gghb.scot.nhs.uk

20/11/2003: New Members of Staff at NGT Library Service

Welcome to Paul Herbert, new assistant librarian, recently started at Stobhill.

Welcome to CarolAnne Nehme, Literacy Project Facilitator at the Western Infirmary.

Welcome to Annette Casci, new assistant librarian, recently started at the Western Infirmary.

Also welcome back to Seona Reid, new eLearning Manager based at the Royal Infirmary.

17/11/2003: Removal of Elibrary Resources

Records for elibrary resources have been removed from the GHI database. With the introduction of the Athens password system the OVID log-in pages they linked to were longer functioning. As there were approximately 200 records it was felt that it would be too time-consuming to update & maintain the links. The resources can be accessed directly through the NHSScotland elibrary (www.elib.scot.nhs.uk), which is still in the GHI database. If you have any comments on this, please use the Gateway feedback facility.

10/11/2003: Cash for Kids Coffee Morning

There will be a coffee morning in the PERL Library at Dalian House on Thursday the 20th November. The event will begin at 10am lasting until 12 noon in aid of the Cash for Kids appeal. All NHS Staff are welcome.

27/10/2003: Competition Winners

GHI would like to thank all those who took part in our competition. The competition, which all staff from NHS Greater Glasgow and the other partners in the creation of GHI were eligible to enter, asked for health related web sites to be nominated for inclusion into GHI. The entries were judged by a panel of health librarians and the winner received £20 Waterstones vouchers. The winners and their entries were:-

Shona Forsyth, Neuropaediatrics, Southern General Hospital for Head Injury - www.headinjury.com
Dr Stephen Gallagher, Diabetic Department, Southern General Hospital for National Osteoporosis Society - www.nos.org.uk
Lorraine McCreary, Dietetics Department, Southern General Hospital for The Heart - an online exploration - www.fi.edu/biosci/heart.html
Lorna McVay, School of Health and Social Care, Caledonian University for Unique - www.rarechromo.org
Fiona Needleman, Pharmacy, Southern General Hospital for Druginfozone - www.druginfozone.nhs.uk

View winners photograph (19K)

22/09/2003: Clinical Foundation Programme - for all junior doctors

Several health librarians have been in touch regarding the new Clinical Foundation Programme for UK junior doctors, hence this invitation to visit http://www.Doctors.net.uk to assess the materials for yourself.

Launched last month as a collaborative venture between Doctors.net.uk, the Medical Protection Society and NeLH, the Clinical Foundation Programme offers e-learning modules to all junior doctors, academic departments and NHS Trusts across the UK. Focusing on patient safety, the modules look at the issues that most frequently leading to adverse effects. Each course links to high-quality textbooks, journals and clinical databases. These resources are free. There is no cost for doctors or their Trusts.

27/08/2003: Health Information Co-ordinator for NHS Greater Glasgow appointed

Malcolm Dobson will take up the post of Health Information Co-ordinator on the 15th September. Malcolm comes from NHS Lanarkshire, where he set up the Public Health & Health policy & planning library in 1996. Before that he worked in FE and schools in England, where he had been involved in school and college mergers, including integrating different library services.

Priorities over the coming year will be ensuring that equity of access to health information is developed and supported by collaboration between service providers and the integration of services, the further development and promotion of the Glasgow Health Information Gateway and Access Glasgow Health, and developing full access to information and learning resources for primary care staff.

Malcolm will be based at Dalian House, in PERL, and can be contacted on 0141 201 4462 and malcolm.dobson@gghb.scot.nhs.uk

26/08/2003: New resources on the NHS Scotland eLibrary : RefWorks

RefWorks is a web-based bibliographic management service that allows you to import citations from online article indexes and databases, organize and manage these citations within folders, automatically format them within papers and create instant bibliographies in a variety of styles. This saves hours of typing time and decreases the number of errors in creating tedious bibliographies. References can be imported from a variety of databases using the already created Import Filters.

RefWorks can be found in the Databases section of the NHS Scotland eLibrary, at http://www.elib.scot.nhs.uk. You will need an Athens password to access this service. If you do not already have one you can register electronically for one from the “Register for an ATHENS password” link at the right-hand side of the eLibrary home page.

26/08/2003: New resources on the NHS Scotland eLibrary : Info4HealthEstates

Info4healthestates.com is a complete reference source for estates departments, architects, consulting engineers, contractors and other professionals working on hospital and associated building projects. Reliable, speedy and up to date full text access online is offered to relevant legislative, standards and guidance information along with product catalogues from more than 5000 UK suppliers.

Full details can be found in the flyer, available here: http://www.elib.scot.nhs.uk/nhssdocs/info4healthestates%202pp%20A4.pdf.

Info4healthestates.com can be found in the Databases section of the NHS Scotland eLibrary, at http://www.elib.scot.nhs.uk. You will need an Athens password to access this service. If you do not already have one you can register electronically for one from the “Register for an ATHENS password” link at the right-hand side of the eLibrary home page.

26/08/2003: New resources on the NHS Scotland eLibrary : Web of Science

The Web of Science accesses ISI citation databases - multidisciplinary databases of bibliographic information gathered from thousands of scholarly journals. Using Web of Science, you can search for records within the citation databases by topic, source title, author address, cited author, cited work and cited year.

Because the information stored about each article includes the article's cited reference list (often called its bibliography), you can also search the indexes for articles that cite a known author or work. Once you find an article of interest, you have the ability to link directly to other articles on the same topic. You can even access articles that have been published after the article you are viewing.

You can access ISI Web of Science from the Databases section of the NHS Scotland eLibrary at http://www.elib.scot.nhs.uk. You will need an Athens password to access this service. If you do not already have one you can register electronically for one from the “Register for an ATHENS password” link at the right-hand side of the eLibrary home page.

20/08/2003: GHI Group meeting

The next meeting of the GHI Group will take place on 29th August 10.00am at Glasgow University Library.

The minutes of the previous meeting are now available in MS-Word format.

23/04/2003: New Clinical Librarian at the Greater Glasgow Primary Care Trust Library Service

Carsten Mandt is the new Clinical Librarian at the Greater Glasgow Primary Care Trust Library Service. This is a new post, the result of collaboration between the Library Service and the Trust Clinical Governance Department. Carsten joins the Library from his previous job as an Information Officer at SIGN.

23/04/2003: Herbal Medicines Database now available

The database Herbal Medicines is now available from the Databases link on the NHS Scotland eLibrary. Herbal Medicines is the definitive medicinal herbs reference work for all healthcare professionals and is published by the Pharmaceutical Press. Access is available using your Athens password. If you have not yet registered for a password, you can do so by following the link Register for an Athens password on the right-hand side of the screen on the eLibrary homepage at www.elib.scot.nhs.uk

23/04/2003: Phasing out of old (pre-Athens) passwords for eLibrary

Old (pre-Athens passwords) for access to eLibrary resources will no longer function as of May 1st 2003. If you have not yet registered for an Athens username and password, you are advised to register using the Register for an Athens Password link as soon as possible to avoid any disruption of service

03/03/2003: Close of Glasgow Health Information Competition

The Competition has now closed and all nominations received will be reviewed and where appropriate added to the database. The quality of sites nominated was high and GHI would like to thank all entrants. Please continue to nominate sites via the Nominate A Site link.

03/02/2003: Sandra Davies Project Manager Glasgow Health Information Gateway

Sandra Davies has been successful in gaining a new post with the National Education Board for Scotland - she will lead a team to further develop the E Library for Scotland. Sandra moves into her new role following a successful launch of the Glasgow Health Information Gateway - a twelve month project funded by the Scottish Executive.

01/02/2003: Launch of Glasgow Health Information Competition - nominate a site today!

See Competition page for more details. Please be aware that for the duration of the competition no new websites will be added to the Glasgow Health Information database. Successful nominations will be added to the database in March.

10/01/2003: Launch of Glasgow Health Information Gateway

The Project Team is pleased to announce the official launch of Glasgow Health Information (GHI) on Friday 17th January in the Board Room at Greater Glasgow NHS Board. A demonstration of the website will take place and the guest speaker will be Wendy Hull, Director of Finance of Greater Glasgow NHS Board. We hope you will support the site during the coming months by using it to locate quality, evaluated health information on the Internet. We actively encourage you to suggest new sites for inclusion using the Nominate feature, and all comments and suggestions for improving the site will be considered. Look out for promotional materials.

10/01/2003: Staff changes at North Glasgow Trust Library and e-Learning Services

Annette Thain, who has been the librarian at the Beatson Oncology Centre since 1994, has gone on a two year secondment to manage a project 'Managed Knowledge Networks for Cancer, Coronary Heart Disease and Mental Health'. Her place has been taken at the BOC by Kirsty Coltart, previously at Stobhill Hospital. Kirsty will be the Clinical Librarian for Cancer and Surgery divisions within the NGT.

10/01/2003: Expansion of the NHS Scotland e-Library - http://www.elib.scot.nhs.uk/ - Launch date 20 January 2003

The new NHS Scotland e-Library is to be launched on 20th January 2003. The e-Library aims to "manage knowledge to support the patient journey" by offering access to a wide range of information and learning resources to all NHS Scotland staff and partners from all sectors. The e-Library offers the following new and expanded content:

ASSIA: Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (via CSA interface)
LISA: Library and Information Science Abstracts (via CSA interface)
British Nursing Index, AMED and SPORTDISCUS (OVID)
EMERALD Fulltext Journals and Management Reviews
Info4HealthEstates
MD Consult and MD Consult Pain Medicine
Oxford Textbook of Public Health (OVID)
Stockley's Drug Interactions
Fulltext ADIS journals - Inpharma, Drugs, Drug Safety, Reaction (OVID)
Net-Library e-book collection
Science Direct Online (Full collection - c1700 fulltext journals, including Lancet, Social Science and Medicine; c500 new titles added from Harcourt Health Sciences in addition to previous content - Elsevier and Academic Press)
ZETOC (British Library's table of contents service)

The eLibrary now offers access to 26 databases, 4000 fulltext journals, 250 etextbooks and a range of other resources.

10/01/2003: Athens passwords now available to access NHS Scotland e-Library resources

ATHENS passwords for NHS Scotland e-Library resources will be available from January 2003. ATHENS authentication enables users to access a wide range of databases and journals from different providers using a single username and password. Users are encouraged to take advantage of this new system. See the e-Library site - http://www.elib.scot.nhs.uk - for details, or speak to your local NHS Librarian.

03/10/2002: Latest News from Caledonian University Library

Real @ Caledonian combines technology enhanced learning facilities in a café style environment where students and members of the public can study in a welcoming and relaxing environment or just check their e-mails on any one of over 60 computer terminals. The café has state-of the-art embedded technology, wire free portable computers and a coffee shop, providing an informal setting for lifelong learners to engage in group study. The café forms an integral part of Glasgow's Real learning network a drive by the REAL Partnership to support lifelong learning in Glasgow. The network has been developed by Scottish Enterprise Glasgow to provide a range of 'Real Centres' throughout the city where lifelong learning opportunities can be accessed.

Visit Real @ Caledonian at http://www.intoreal.com/learners/caledonian/index/html