Being Effective - What NHS Non-Executive Directors Need to Know

Keeping Informed

Useful sources of information and how to stay up to date

There are many websites providing information about and for the NHSScotland, most of these can be accessed from Scotland’s Health on the Web (SHOW) www.show.scot.nhs.uk. You can find links to information about Diversity and Inclusion, Public involvement and participation, Managed Clinical Networks and much more.

Getting started

The Knowledge Network www.knowledge.scot.nhs.uk is a useful place to start as it provides a search of a wide range of sources.

This family of websites, developed and maintained by NHS Education for Scotland provides free access to quality-assured information and learning resources to support delivery of health and social care including:

• 1000s of subscription electronic full text journals

• 1000s of ebooks

• Databases of articles and evidence e.g. Medline, Cochrane Library

• A catalogue of the majority of NHSScotland Health Body library collections

• Services to help you find, use and share knowledge and to keep up to date

Many resources are free to use while others require an NHSScotland Athens username to identify you as working in health and social care.

To apply for a username go to www.knowledge.scot.nhs.uk/login.aspx and complete the short form. Everyone who works in health and social care in the NHS, local authority, third and independent sector is eligible to apply for a username ensuring equity of access for all staff.

The Knowledge Network provides a range of portals for specific topics or staff groups. You can find key websites on the home page of the Knowledge Network e.g. for social services – Social Services Knowledge Scotland (SSKS) www.ssks.org.uk staff; for Admin and Support staff there are a number of websites for staff groups e.g. Estates and Facilities, Healthcare support workers these can be accessed from the Knowledge Network homepage.

Help and support to use the Knowledge Network services is available via:

• Help pages http://www.knowledge.scot.nhs.uk/helpandtraining/help-and-training

• Regular WebEx (using the phone and Internet) email knowledge@nes.scot.nhs.uk for information and to arrange a time

• Local NHS library and knowledge services

• Email knowledge@nes.scot.nhs.uk with any questions relating to accessing information

Other useful websites

Statistics

Information Services Division www.isdscotland.org. The Information Services Division (ISD) is a division of National Services Scotland, part of NHSScotland. ISD provides health information, health intelligence, statistical services and advice that support the NHS in progressing quality improvement in health care and facilitates robust planning and decision-making.

Copyright, Information Governance, Freedom of Information requests

A brief guide to Information Governance http://www.elib.scot.nhs.uk/Upload/Brief-guide-to-information-governance-guide-pdfV1.4.pdf. More information about Information governance http://www.knowledge.scot.nhs.uk/ig

Information Commissioners Office https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/health/ provides the relevant guidance for people who handle information about people’s health and medical affairs

Scottish Information Commissioner http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/home/ScottishInformationCommissioner

Audit Scotland http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/

News

Current news and keeping up-to-date, NHSScotland in the media http://www.media.scot.nhs.uk/

You can sign up to receive daily email alerts.

You may like to identify key people on Twitter as a useful way of keeping up-to-date. For help to get started see information and an animation about developing personal learning networks using social media at http://www.knowledge.scot.nhs.uk/pln

Support and help

Getting Help to find and use knowledge:

NHSScotland NHS Boards have local library and knowledge services and the librarians in each area are happy to help you source the information that you need. If you would like to arrange a training session on finding, sharing or using knowledge please contact knowledge@nes.scot.nhs.uk or your local NHS Librarian.