Impact of Clinical Librarian services on the national health service

Abstract

Background. Brettle et al (2016) conducted a study to evaluate the impact of CL services on health providers in the UK. This study was the first to evaluate an extensive variety of immediate impacts as well as recording possible future impacts. It provided the foundations to effectively evaluate the services CLs and their impact on the NHS.

Aims. To evaluate the impact of clinical librarian (CL) services in the National Health Service (NHS) in North Derbyshire, primarily at Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (CRHFT) and Derbyshire Community Health Services (DCHS).

Methods. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were developed based on a Toolkit designed by Brettle et al (2016). 39 questionnaires were sent out to 39 clinicians and 2 Semi- structured interviews were conducted. Results. CL services have an immediate and possible future impact on a broad range of factors within the NHS. There was a response rate of 62% from the questionnaire and the main immediate impacts recorded were, service development supported by evidence (59%), updating new skills (59%), personal research (62%) and interventions based on best practice (50%)

Conclusions. The findings illustrate the far-reaching impact of CL services on the NHS and build upon previous studies results. Further research is needed at local level to thoroughly evaluate the CL services at CRHFT and DCHS, by conducting the research over a 6-month period, thus allowing for more data to be collated. Furthermore to evaluate the impact of CL services on particular staff groups, this could help tailor the services to allow for the possibility of added impact on key objectives in the NHS.