Surf's Up - Internet sites of interest
Anthea Sutton
Information Officer (Reviews and Special
Projects)
ScHARR
Email:
Caron Hartley
Research Librarian
Kings Fund Information and
Library Service
Email:
**Compiled 18th July 2006**
New websites/resources
Acute And PCT
Workforce Planning And Development Databases
http://www.healthcareworkforce.nhs.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13
http://www.healthcareworkforce.nhs.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41
Two workforce
planning and development databases are available for health and social
care organisations to download from the National Workforce Projects (NWP)
portal (
http://www.healthcareworkforce.nhs.uk/index.php?option=com_d4j_ezine&Itemid=321).
These databases allow organisations to triangulate a
range of variables, including financial reference costs,
socio-economic and demographics factors and benchmark organisational
performance alongside staffing and skill mix. The databases are
supported by user workshops, details of which can be found on the
Events section of
the NWP portal at:
http://www.healthcareworkforce.nhs.uk/index.php?option=com_d4j_ezine&Itemid=324.
Best Treatments
http://www.besttreatments.co.uk/btuk/home.jsp
The British Medical
Journal has officially launched the Best Treatments website. Best
Treatments aims to help patients and doctors to
work together by providing the best research evidence about the
treatments for many medical conditions. The website rates thousands of
health and medical treatments, based on how well they work. It also
looks at the causes and symptoms of medical conditions and how they
may affect a person’s lifestyle.
Community Health
Profiles
http://www.communityhealthprofiles.info/
The Association of
Public Health Observatories has published a set of English Health
Profiles. The profiles are designed to show
the health of people in each local authority area, and include
comparisons with other similar populations. They will be updated
annually.
Drinkaware Trust
http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/
The Drinkaware Trust is a new independent
charitable trust aimed at positively changing the UK’s drinking
culture and tackling alcohol-related harms. The trust is voluntarily
funded by the alcohol industry and is a unique initiative born from
the Government’s ‘Choosing Health’ White Paper and Alcohol Harm
Reduction Strategy, bringing together industry, charities, lobby
groups, medical professionals and experts in the field to address
alcohol misuse and promote sensible drinking across the UK.
Through its website, the trust will offer information
about the effects of alcohol, with hints and tips for sensible
drinking. The website will be publicised in drink advertising, on
product labels and in shops.
Emergency Pro
http://www.emergencypro.co.uk/index.html
Emergency Pro is a new
site that aims to provide those who are involved in the emergency
services sector with the latest news and the latest product
information. There is a news alert service that it is free to
register for.
Health Library and
Information Services Directory
http://www.hlisd.org/
The
Health Libraries Group, the Royal College of Nursing and the National
Library for Health have collaborated to produce the Health Library and
Information Services Directory. The directory covers the UK and the
Republic of Ireland and includes all health library and information
sectors - NHS, further education (FE) and higher education (HE),
Government, Professional Bodies, Patient Information, Voluntary
Organisations and Public Library Services. Initially the focus has
been on basic contact details, but the directory will be developed to
include web links as well as key contacts, access policy, subject
coverage, special collections, resources and additional services
offered such as access to WiFi or Information Skills training.
Intute
http://www.intute.ac.uk/
Intute is the new face of the Resource
Discovery Network (RDN), and is a free national service enabling
lecturers, researchers and students to discover and access quality
Internet resources. Intute: Health and Life Sciences (
http://www.intute.ac.uk/healthandlifesciences/)
replaces the former BIOME service and provides information and tools
to help access the best of the Web in the health and life sciences.
OMNI has become Intute: Medicine (
http://www.intute.ac.uk/medicine/)
and NMAP has become Intute: Nursing (http://www.intute.ac.uk/nursing/).
Modernising Dentistry
http://www.modernisingdentistry.nhs.uk/home.html
The Modernising
Dentistry Programme has a new website which will form a major part of
the programme’s learning and output. There are 48 field sites within
the programme that are testing working with the new contract. All
field sites have their own space to showcase the work they have done
and set out their plans for the future. Over the next 12 months sites
will continue to upload their reports and case studies.
National Library
for Health Specialist Libraries
http://www.library.nhs.uk/SpecialistLibraries/
The National Library
for Health (NLH) has launched two more specialist libraries:
NLH Complementary
and Alternative Medicine Specialist Library
http://www.library.nhs.uk/cam/
The NLH Complementary
and Alternative Medicine Specialist Library (CAM SL) is developed by
the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital (
http://www.uclh.nhs.uk/Our+hospitals/Royal+London+Homoeopathic+Hospital.htm),
the Research Council for Complementary Medicine (
http://www.rccm.org.uk/),
and the School of Integrated Health at the University of Westminster (http://www.wmin.ac.uk/sih/page-0).
It aims to provide access to the best available evidence in the
field of complementary and alternative medicine. Although the content
of the CAM SL is intended primarily for health professionals, CAM
practitioners and researchers, most of the information is also
accessible by patients and carers. Topics included in the first stage
of the library’s development are: Acupuncture, Aromatherapy,
Chiropractic, Herbal Medicine, Homeopathy, Hypnosis, Massage,
Meditation, Osteopathy, Reflexology and Yoga.
NLH Trauma And Orthopaedics Specialist Library
http://www.library.nhs.uk/trauma_orthopaedics/
The NLH Trauma and
Orthopaedics Specialist Library draws together relevant resources and
information based on the best available evidence. Both health
professionals and members of the public can use it.
National Social Marketing Strategy Website
http://www.nsms.org.uk/
Work to undertake a
national review of current social marketing practice and establish the
first national social marketing strategy for health was announced in
the cross-government white paper ‘Choosing Health’ in 2004. There is
now a pilot site containing information on the national review of
social marketing and work is underway to establish the first National
Social Marketing Strategy for Health in England.
Princess Royal Trust For Carers Professionals Website
http://www.carers.org/professionals
The Princess Royal
Trust for Carers (http://www.carers.org/)
has launched a new website for health professionals working with
carers. The site features key content, information
and examples of best practice in joint working between carers’ support
workers, PCTs, and GPs.
Strategic Health Authority Websites
http://www.networks.nhs.uk/news.php?nid=877
Nine
of the ten new SHAs have functioning websites. The remaining one (NHS
Yorkshire and the Humber) has a holding page and a small amount of
content.
Tobacco Pack Warning Survey
http://www.packwarnings.nhs.uk/
The NHS is conducting
a web survey on tobacco pack warnings. Pack warnings
are part of the Government’s comprehensive tobacco control strategy,
which is in place to reduce the high levels of death and disease
associated with smoking. The European Commission has developed 42
picture health warnings for countries in the European Union to use on
tobacco packs. The web survey aims to help find out which of these
will be most effective in the UK, as part of a wider consultation
running until 25 August 2006. After this date the final results of the
survey will be available on the site (
http://www.packwarnings.nhs.uk/).
Wales Eye Care Initiative
http://www.eyecarewales.nhs.uk/
This website, set up
by the Welsh Assembly Government and run by the Carmarthenshire Local
Health Board, will be promoting the Wales Eye Care Initiative, which
aims to help prevent sight loss and assist people with sight problems.
Updated/Revised
websites
Clinical Evidence
http://www.clinicalevidence.com/ceweb/news/summary_current_update.jsp
New topics on the
Clinical Evidence website include: atopic eczema, nausea and vomiting
in early pregnancy, and sleep disorders in children. Updated topics
include: ventricular tachyarrhythmia (out of hospital cardiac
arrests), carpal tunnel syndrome, dengue fever, and genital prolapse
in women.
Health Protection Agency
http://www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/pregnancy/rashes/default.htm
The Health Protection
Agency has updated the ‘Guidance on the management of rash illness and
exposure to rash illness in pregnancy’ section of its website. This
section aims to provide guidance, information or advice for health
professionals on the management of women who become infected with, or
are exposed to a communicable disease during pregnancy.
Improvement Network
http://www.improvementnetwork.gov.uk/imp/core/page.do?pageId=1
The Improvement
Network has re-launched its website following feedback. The site now
includes new and more practical Improvement Tools to help middle
managers and service heads in local government improve local public
services, and case studies and examples of notable practice to guide
councils through each of these areas. The website has also been
redesigned to make it more user friendly and easier to navigate.
National Association for
Voluntary and Community Action
http://www.navca.org.uk/
The
National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service (NACVS) has
changed its name to the National Association for Voluntary and
Community Action (NAVCA). The new name focuses on what
NAVCA is 'for' rather than the organisational form of its members. The
change reflects the fact that the old name no longer accurately
describes the membership base - members have a wide variety of names
and often no longer call themselves Councils for Voluntary Service.
National Library for
Health Specialist Library Robodemos
http://www.library.nhs.uk/forlibrarians/promotion/robodemos
“Robodemos” for most
of the specialist libraries are now available from the National
Library for Health (NLH) website. A Robodemos is a demonstration tool
that can be used for training purposes, or to update on the new layout
of the specialist libraries and the features available.
National Primary Care Database
http://www.primary-care-db.org.uk/
The National Primary
Care Database produced by the National Primary Care Research and
Development Centre at the University of Manchester has been
re-developed. The database provides health and population data from
General Medical Services Statistics, the Quality and Outcomes
Framework, the 2001 ONS Census and the 2004 ODPM Indices of
Deprivation. All new users of the database will need to register with
the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre and agree to
the terms and conditions of use of the data and maps held on the
database. Access to the data is currently limited to academic and NHS
users.
Voluntary and Community Sector Information Work Survey
http://tinyurl.com/mcffy
Vol-Info, the voluntary and community sector network for all
information workers in the UK (http://www.vol-info.org.uk/),
has launched a survey to identify the support needs of information
workers in this sector. The results of the survey will be used to
organise relevant learning events, develop the network, and apply for
funding. Vol-Info is free to join and gives members a chance to share
information, advice, queries and suggestions via an email forum.
Your GP Guide
http://www.yourgpguide.org.uk/
Aimed at the
general public, Your GP Guide contains detailed information about
general practices, including views from the practice, the patients, an
independent researcher and performance data from the Quality and
Outcomes Framework. The site is developed by the National Primary
Care Research and Development Centre at the University of Manchester
and endorsed by the Royal College of General Practitioners.
Improvements have recently been made to the website based on comments
by the public and practice staff.
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