Many of the services provided by these outgoing sites will be replaced by the HEE funded NHS Knowledge and Library Hub
The new hub provides a simple option for NHS staff to search all knowledge and library resources in one place. The hub also links to a new journals library, to key healthcare databases for in-depth searching (hosted by provider websites such as EbscoHost, Ovid and Proquest), and to other key resources such as BMJ Best Practice and UpToDate.
NICE will still host the NHS OpenAthens site which provides authentication for NHS resources.
A new NHS Knowledge and Library Hub (the ‘Hub’), coordinated by Health Education England (HEE) and NHS librarians, now makes it easier to find journal articles and other evidence resources across NHS England.
The Hub is a ‘one-stop’ gateway which, for the first time nationally, connects NHS staff and learners in England seamlessly to articles, reports and other evidence-based resources all in one place.
You can access and search the Hub athttps://bit.ly/NHSKLH, and sign-in with your NHS OpenAthens username and password to take full advantage of time-saving benefits, including:
Cross-searching across a wide range of databases to locate journal articles and e-publications such as reports and conference proceedings
One click access to PDFS where available, or request a copy via our NHS Article Request service
Searches that can be carried across to clinical decision support tools such as Uptodate, BMJ Best Practice or the Royal Marsden Manual and even selected e-books
Access to individual databases such as Medline, CINAHL and Embase for advanced literature searching
A national NHS system available to you wherever you work in NHS England via your NHS OpenAthens account, connecting you to library services such as our NHS Articles Request Service.
The Hub is an exciting new HEE initiative, designed with all NHS staff and learners in mind- please send any queries or feedback on the ‘Hub’ to liaison@sgul.ac.uk, so we can keep working with our providers to enhance and improve this new service.
If you have any questions, please contact Karen John-Pierre, NHS and Liaison Manager at St George’s Library on kjohn@sgul.ac.uk
Health Education England (HEE) has invested in a collection of ebooks for NHS staff, now available through Kortext.
The collection of ebooks covers subject areas including key clinical topics, nursing and healthcare management, alongside titles on critical appraisal, mentoring and revision resources for medical exams.
To access the books, go directly to the Kortext website: https://app.kortext.com, select St George’s University Hospitals NHS Trust from the list of institutions and enter your OpenAthens details. You will also find a link to Kortext in ‘My Resources‘ when you log into your OpenAthens account.
On the landing page of the site, click on Collections to view the full list of ebooks. Selecting an available title will add it to Books, which is your personal bookshelf. Books that you open will remain on your bookshelf for the duration of their loan period.
Kortext offers accessiblity options which allow you to change the formatting of a book, including options for the background colour, the font and the size of the text. When reading a book, make use of the options to take notes, highlight content, bookmark pages or print – all notes, highlights and bookmarks are saved in your account.
If you wish to read offline, create a personal Kortext account and download the app; Kortext apps are available for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android.
Example titles:
Bailey & Love’s Essential Clinical Anatomy
Care of the Cancer Patient
Children and Young People’s Nursing Skills at a Glance
Essentials of Management for Healthcare Professionals
Essential knowledge and skills for healthcare assistants
Medical Statistics at a Glance
Patient-Centred Ethics and Communication at the End of Life
Research Methodologies for Beginners
Supervision in Clinical Practice : A Practitioner’s Guide
The doctor’s guide to critical appraisal
The Foundation Programme for Doctors
The textbook of non-medical prescribing
This collection is an addition to those ebooks which are already available from St George’s Library, and which can be accessed through Hunter.
Health E-News is a weekly update on policy and guidelines from organisations including NICE and individual Royal Medical Colleges, and news and views on health related subjects and research from trusted sources such as The King’s Fund, Cochrane, The Health Foundation, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care.
New joint guidance produced by the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, the Intensive Care Society, the Association of Anaesthetists and the Royal College of Anaesthetists, outlines key principles for clinical directors to consider when planning service changes. The guidance aims to enable services to increase the availability of critical care facilities for COVID-19, while also protecting planned surgery, preserving training, and protecting the health and wellbeing of healthcare staff.
A new discovery in the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein could offer a potentially significant means of eliminating the COVID-19 virus. An international team led by the University of Bristol, who have been examining the molecular composition of the virus, have made a finding that suggests that it might be possible to develop anti-viral drugs to target a particular part of the virus spike, thereby stopping its infectivity. The full findings are available in an article published in Science.
A piece on the Cochrane blog offers a summary of the existing Cochrane Reviews and Special Collections on various aspects of the virus. These include reviews on detecting COVID-19, testing and screening options, measures for controlling the spread – which include PPE, quarantine and travel-based measures – and treatment options for patients with COVID-19. The piece also considers the impact of the pandemic on other areas of health and wellbeing, and links to relevant reviews. Keep up to date with Cochrane news and reviews on COVID-19 at their page dedicated to Coronavirus resources.
The GMC, NMC and the six other UK healthcare regulators have published their joint ‘Whistleblowing disclosures report 2020’. The report covers any disclosures made between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020, and outlines the number of disclosures received by each of the regulating bodies, as well as summarising the actions taken as a result of these disclosures.
A recently published Cochrane review investigates the use of three common psychological therapies for chronic pain in adults: cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), behavioural therapy (BT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). The review is based upon studies of face to face treatment delivered by trained psychological therapists, and found that CBT offers small benefits on pain, disability and distress, while the evidence for ACT and BT was uncertain.
A report from the King’s Fund, ‘The courage of compassion: Supporting nurses and midwives to deliver high-quality care’, examines the pressures faced by nursing and midwifery staff, and investigates the workplace transformations that could contribute to improved health and wellbeing, decreased stress, and increased motivation. The report suggests that three core needs of autonomy, belonging and contribution must be met, and provides recommendations for how these can be achieved.
This year’s flu vaccination programme will be expanded in an attempt to provide the vaccine to 30 million people, as findings from Public Health England (PHE) research earlier this year suggests that the risk of death more than doubled for people who tested positive for both flu and COVID-19, compared to those with COVID-19 alone. The vaccine will first be offered to all primary school children, two and three year olds, and the most at-risk groups, including adults over 65 and those with long term health conditions, before being rolled out to others later in the season. All staff at St George’s can, of course get their flu jab from the daily flu clinic.
An evidence review commissioned by The Healthcare Improvement Studies (THIS) Institute at the University of Cambridge, and carried out by the RAND Corporation, explores the key influences affecting the implementation of improvement processes in healthcare. Based upon a review of publications covering a range of improvement approaches, six factors were found to be key influences on the successful implementation of improvement. These include leadership, patient and public involvement, and the use of data. The review is intended to highlight the issues that need to be considered when designing improvement initiatives.
Health E-News is a weekly update on policy and guidelines from organisations including NICE and individual Royal Medical Colleges, and news and views on health related subjects and research from trusted sources such as The King’s Fund, Cochrane, The Health Foundation, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care.
Findings in papers published this week in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), have reinforced evidence that outcomes for patients severely affected by COVID-19 can be significantly improved by corticosteroids. The first of the papers examines the effect of hydrocortisone on mortality and organ support, finding more rapid recovery and better survival rates in treatment with the steroid. The second paper looked at mortality over a 28-day period after the start of treatment with corticosteroids, estimating a 20 percent reduction in risk of death.
The government has announced funding for increasing the current capacity for existing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) COVID-19 testing, with the aim of enabling large-scale repeat population testing. In addition, funds will go to expanding pilot trials of new testing techniques and technology, including a rapid test that could provide results in as little as 20 minutes.
A systematic review published in the BMJ offers further detail to the known risk factors, clinical manifestations, and outcomes in pregnant and recently pregnant women with COVID-19. The key findings of the review are: that increasing maternal age, existing co-morbidities or high BMI are risk factors for severe COVID-19 in pregnancy; that women with the virus are more likely to experience preterm birth; and pregnant women are less likely to manifest symptoms of fever and myalgia than non-pregnant women with COVID-19.
A briefing from the Nuffield Trust explores how the pandemic has pushed the adoption of technology in the delivery of NHS services and notes the increased usage of digital health services by patients. The report examines what has enabled these changes, considers possible risks of the move to remote service delivery alongside the positive outcomes, and calls for the balancing of change with evidence of its benefit. Finally, the funding, infrastructure and workforce requirements of sustaining any lasting technological adoptions is highlighted.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has published a statement on the role of paediatricians in supporting the mental health of children and young people. Noting the increasing incidence of mental health issues among children and young people, the heightened risks for those in vulnerable groups, and the anticipated increase in support needs resulting from COVID-19, the statement makes a series of recommendations relating to training for paediatricians, and also for service developments.
Health E-News is a weekly update on policy and guidelines from organisations including NICE and individual Royal Medical Colleges, and news and views on health related subjects and research from trusted sources such as The King’s Fund, Cochrane, The Health Foundation, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care.
The College of Optometrists and The Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) have developed a joint vision for the two professions to continue to work together to support the delivery of safe and sustainable eye care services in England. The vision sets out three key principles and recommendations for the development and governance of high quality eye care service. The three principles are: balancing visual loss due to delays against the risk of acquiring COVID-19; decisions about the most effective patient care being made by the appropriate clinician, and; all pathways to be underpinned by the highest standards of joint optometry and ophthalmology clinical governance.
Findings, published in the BMJ, of an observational study of 651 children and young people (aged less than 19 years) with COVID-19 admitted to hospitals across England, Wales and Scotland between 17 January and 3 July 2020, offer further details of the symptoms, risks and outcomes of the virus in children. The nationwide study highlights that a very small number of children (six) died, and that those children most at risk of requiring intensive care are babies under one month old, and children aged 10 to 14 years. In common with adults, the study found that obesity, and black ethnicity were factors that increased the risk of requiring intensive care.
The government has outlined a number of measures that will allow the safe future mass rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine. These include an expansion of the trained workforce that can administer vaccines, in order to increase access; and giving the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) powers to consider approving use of a vaccine ahead of a full product licence; providing that robust clinical trials demonstrate its safety and effectiveness. Linked with these proposals, a consultation is seeking views on the safe distribution of potential COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has launched a new ‘Fair pay for nursing’ campaign, seeking an immediate pay rise of 12.5% for all NHS nursing staff. The RCN highlight that the pay rise is needed to: provide safe and effective patient care for all people of the UK by addressing the staffing crisis within nursing; recognise the skill, accountability and expertise of a safety critical profession; and recognise that the salaries of nursing staff have not kept pace with increases in the cost of living. The campaign page also notes the political nature of health care funding in its call for action to address the years of inadequate support for nurses.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) considers some of the factors that are contributing to the ongoing trend of declining vaccination rates in the UK. The piece highlights some of the potential barriers that prevent access to vaccines; considers the significant role of misconceptions, misinformation and belief; and in light of the pandemic, also discusses the impact of disruption to routines and the development and distribution of new vaccines.
The NHS Confederation has written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, calling for the routine inspections of hospitals and other health care providers to be put on hold until after winter. Pausing inspections, the organisation says, will enable hospitals and other providers to focus on the backlog of treatment that has built up, as well as address issues like staff exhaustion, while also managing the ongoing threat from coronavirus. A recent report by the NHS Confederation makes the case for learning from the present moment, and asks questions of what governance and regulation of healthcare could look like if bureaucracy were reduced.
A report from NHS Providers, ‘Getting it right for everyone: Meeting the needs of people with a learning disability and autistic people in NHS services’ looks at the longstanding structural inequities faced by people with a learning disability and autistic people, and the further impact of the pandemic upon these inequalities. Drawing upon interviews with leaders in trusts providing good and outstanding learning disabilities and autism services, the report sets out in detail the common themes behind high quality care, offering detailed case studies of how they have succeeded.
Health E-News is a weekly update on policy and guidelines from organisations including NICE and individual Royal Medical Colleges, and news and views on health related subjects and research from trusted sources such as The King’s Fund, Cochrane, The Health Foundation, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care.
The NHS has published a guidance document offering recommended actions across several key areas, including: addressing inequalities in provision and outcomes; mental health planning; and the restoration of community health services. Responding to the publication of the guidance, the NHS Confederation welcomed the emphasis on tackling the health equalities exposed by the pandemic.
A new report from NHS Providers, drawing on the responses from 112 trusts to a survey conducted during June and July, explores the experiences that trusts have had with the national testing strategy so far. The report examines levels of confidence in the government’s approach and strategy, and trust leaders’ confidence in being able to meet testing requirements; considers issues relating to variable turnaround time for test results, and the implications of these; and calls for greater local involvement and control in testing in order to manage routine testing of staff and patients as services resume.
The REACT (REal Time Assessment of Community Transmission) study, which has been using antibody finger-prick tests to track past infections and monitor the progress of the pandemic, has published pre-print findings on antibody prevalence based on 100,000 study participants. The findings indicate that 3.4 million people – 6% of the population – had been infected by COVID-19 by 13 July 2020. People living in London were most likely to have been infected, as were those working in care homes and health care, and people from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups and people living in larger households. All findings from the study can be found on the group’s page on the Imperial website.
The NHS Staff Council Executive has published FAQs on pay protection relating to workforce issues arising from COVID-19. The document is an addition to existing guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care, and answers questions relating to staff who are redeployed to help service and patient needs, or in cases of redeployment following a risk assessment.
A new study published in Anaesthesia, explores the extent to which healthcare staff involved in procedures such as intubation might be exposed to elevated risk of acquiring COVID-19. The study of 1,718 healthcare workers from 503 hospitals in 17 countries shows that overall, 1 in 10 healthcare workers involved in intubating seriously ill patients with COVID-19 later reported symptoms, or had lab-confirmed COVID-19 themselves. The study authors recommend use of the findings to inform service planning, and suggest future work should aim at identifying interventions to reduce risks to healthcare professionals.
Research published in The Lancet Oncology, from a trial involving 23 breast screening units across Great Britain, suggests that yearly mammography commencing at age 40 or 41 years could lead to reductions in breast cancer mortality. The trial involved over 160 thousand women, recruited between October 1990 and September 1997, and the publication offers analysis of the data at 23 years of follow-up.
A new report from the BMA examines the experiences of disabled people studying, training and working in medicine, and offers recommendations for improving the support on offer. The report, based upon responses to a BMA survey, shows that just over half of respondents receive adjustments that they need, and which are a legal duty to provide. Over three quarters of respondents also expressed concerns over being treated unfavourably if disclosing a disability or long-term health condition.
We would like to welcome all new doctors who have recently joined us at St George’s. Below are some key things to help get you started.
Register with the library
To register with the library, simply complete the online registration form here.
Self-register for an OpenAthens account
If you need to set up a new OpenAthens account, use the self-registration form; if you already have an existing account with another organisation, you can transfer it to St George’s. If you have any questions, or need any help, contact our OpenAthens administrator, Stephen Reid.
Key resources
BMJ Best Practice
BMJ BestPractice is an online point of care tool that gives healthcare professionals fast and easy access to the latest information when making diagnosis and treatment decisions. Access via your OpenAthens account.
UpToDate
UpToDate is an online evidence-based medicine resource providing point-of-care clinical information. Access via your OpenAthens account, or from the trust intranet.
Databases
The library website has a list of databases available to all NHS staff. This inlcudes a version of PubMed which links to OpenAthens full-text content, Medline, Embase and additional resources including Aclands Video Atlas of Anatomy.
BMJ OnExamination
Designed to assist doctors in training to prepare for membership examinations with current and relevant online revision courses. Voucher codes providing 2 months access to the site are available from the library. Contact liaison@sgul.ac.uk for further information, or to request a voucher.
Journals
OpenAthens journals A-Z
To see which journals are available to access with your OpenAthens account, visit the NICE journals A-Z. Login to see full details.
University journals A-Z
Further titles are available from the St George’s, University of London collections; see the searchable A-Z list. All university journals are accessible from the computer rooms adjacent to the library; visit the library helpdesk to obtain a login.
Our e-book collection can be found using Hunter, the library search tool. Filter results to ‘Online Resources’ for e-books, and login with your OpenAthens account.
Library guides
The library has produced a range of guides, designed to support clinical practice, research, and professional and service development. These include a guide to COVID-19 resources and research, quality improvement, and a guide on carrying out systematic reviews. The full list of guides can be found here.
Literature searching service
CARES is our literature searching service, available to all NHS staff. The service supports clinical practice, service development, research and teaching by providing librarian-run literature and evidence searches on your behalf.
Contact
For help, or for further information on library services, support and training, and the resources that are available to you, contact us on liaison@sgul.ac.uk
Health E-News is a weekly update on policy and guidelines from organisations including NICE and individual Royal Medical Colleges, and news and views on health related subjects and research from trusted sources such as The King’s Fund, Cochrane, The Health Foundation, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care.
NHS Employers have information on the latest COVID-19 guidance updates. Updates include: details on the government announcement confirming that registered health and care professionals travelling to the UK from high-risk countries will be required to self-isolate for 14 days; revised guidance on quarantine, including leave and pay options for staff required to quarantine; and guidance relating to the pausing of shielding, which is effective 1 August.
In a response to the publication of Office for National Statistics (ONS) comparison of all-cause mortality between European countries, and the latest figures for the test and trace programme, Dr Layla McCay, a director at NHS Confederation, expressed concerns over the week-on-week decreases in the percentage of close contacts being reached by tracing system, and stressed the importance of this system to the ability to identify and manage any surges in infections.
In a report published by the NHS Confederation this week, chief executives from NHS trusts across England revealed concerns about the impacts of COVID-19 on their staff. Executives voiced serious concerns over: the increasing levels of anxiety and fatigue reported by staff during the pandemic; the safety of BME staff, in light of the disparities of COVID-19 impacts; and protecting the safety of patients and staff as routine services are resumed.
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has announced joint funding with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) of six new research projects to eek to explain and mitigate the disproportionate death rate from COVID-19 among people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. One of the studies, UK-REACH, led by the University of Leicester, will establish a unique partnership between national healthcare organisations to specifically address the prevalence of COVID-19 amongst BAME healthcare workers.
A new website from NHS England has been launched, offering an ‘online portal’ to help the rehabilitation of patients discharged from hospital post COVID-19 and those managing their illness at home. The site has been developed with the support and input of several royal colleges, professional bodies and charities. The site offers support for managing a variety of common physical effects those recovering from the virus may experience, as well as for supporting mental health and wellbeing.
A report from Public Health England (PHE), which summaries findings from recent publications examining he effects of excess weight and obesity on COVID-19, confirms that the data show that obese people are significantly more likely to become seriously ill and be admitted to intensive care with COVID-19 compared to those with a healthy BMI. The report also summarises evidence regarding the nation’s eating and exercise habits during the COVID-19 pandemic. While some data suggests that more people have exercised during lockdown, evidence indicates that the nation’s exercise levels have not increased overall since before the pandemic.
NHS England is planning to roll out new emergency care standards, designed to replace the four-hour A&E target, before this winter. The new standards have not been published or consulted on and do not have official sign-off from ministers, though the plans have the backing of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and other royal colleges. Details of the proposed changes are outlined in a paper discussed at an NHSE and NHS Improvement board meeting.
Evidently Cochrane discusses a recently updated Cochrane review, ‘Induction of labour at or beyond 37 weeks’ gestation’, looking at the effects for women and their babies of inducing labour towards the end of pregnancy. The review found evidence that induction later in pregnancy, when compared to waiting for birth to happen, reduced the number of perinatal deaths, led to fewer babies requiring intensive care, and a probable reduction in the number of caesareans required. The review does highlight the variation in values and preferences, and reiterates the need for collaborative discussion and shared decision-making.
A new Dysphagia Guide, developed in conjunction between Health Education England (HEE), Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists has been made available to access without registration on the HEE e-Learning for Healthcare website. The guide is intended as a resource for health and care professionals working with people with dysphagia, as well as carers and those living with dysphagia themselves.
The NHS People Plan has today (30 July) been published, outlining actions that organisations, employers and staff will need to take in the coming months. We are the NHS: People Plan 2020/21 sets out guidelines for employers and systems within the NHS, as well as actions for NHS England and NHS Improvement and Health Education England throughout the coming months and year. While welcomed by royal colleges and professional bodies representing health professionals, there was widespread comment on the need for action on staff shortages and a commitment to funding. This was echoed by the Health Foundation in it’s response.
Health E-News is a weekly update on policy and guidelines from organisations including NICE and individual Royal Medical Colleges, and news and views on health related subjects and research from trusted sources such as The King’s Fund, Cochrane, The Health Foundation, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care.
The Nuffield Trust have published a briefing examining how other countries are handling issues relating to health service resources and capacity, and the resumption of services as lockdown measures are eased. The report, drawing upon data from the WHO, the European Commission, the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, and the OECD, also considers what lessons the NHS might learn from the experiences of other countries.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have published a bulletin on deaths involving COVID-19 by local area and socioeconomic deprivation. Presenting figures at national, regional and local authority level, the bulletin offers provisional analysis of deaths between March 1 and 30 June, focusing on differences between local areas. The analysis also shows the differences between proportion of COVID-19 related deaths as they relate to an area’s level of deprivation. Mortality rates in the most deprived areas of both England and Wales were around twice those of the least deprived areas.
The team of scientists at Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group have published results from Phase I/II trials in The Lancet this week. The study, which involves researchers from St George’s, has found that the vaccine candidate produces both T-cell and antibody responses against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including robust neutralising antibody responses. No safety concerns were noted.
The government has accepted the recommendations in the latest Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) report, which will see pay for NHS doctors and dentists in England rise by 2.8%. The rise will be backdated to April 2020.
A draft partial update of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) 2016 guideline on the assessment of low back pain and sciatica has been published for consultation. The draft guideline says that people with acute or chronic sciatica should not be offered gabapentinoids, other antiepileptics, oral corticosteroids or benzodiazepines. It also recommends that people with chronic sciatica should not be offered opioids, and states that no evidence recommends the use of antidepressants for sciatica. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy intends to respond to the consultation, and recommends that individual members also contribute.
St George's Library blog 