knowledge for commissioning prospectus for …charities and think- tanks and keeping up-to-date may...

“ The application of best practice is massively beneficial to quality and productivity.”

Sir David Nicholson, NHS CEO, 2009

Knowledge for CommissioningProspectus for Clinical Commissioning Groups

NHS library and knowledge services (LKS) offer a unique service to commissioners that complements and builds on the work of other commissioning support agencies to provide comprehensive business intelligence. Through us, you can be confident that your commissioning decisions are based on the most robust evidence from research and best practice.

1. Department of Health. Innovation, health and wealth: Accelerating adoption and diffusion in the NHS. DoH, 2011.

Added valueAlthough numerical data answers questions about ‘how many...?’ and ‘how often...?’, it does not tell you ‘why?’, ‘how do we change it?’ or ‘what are others doing?’ Our specialists will give you the knowledge to answer these questions, bringing added value to the commissioning process. We provide the context for your data analyses. You can then interpret your business intelligence in the light of this knowledge.

The evidence we provide adds to your knowledge for, among other things:

•serviceredesigns•impactanalyses•needsassessments•priority-setting

Robust evidence-baseThe Government has made it a duty for clinical commissioning groups to “seek out and adopt best practice”, whether pharmaceutical, therapeutic or technological.1 Through our searches and reviews, you can be confident that your decisions are based on the best clinical practice nationally and internationally.

Save time, save moneyWhen evaluating the knowledge service of a Sussex LKS, 40% of respondents said the information supplied had changed a clinical service and 26% said that use of the LKS had saved them significant amounts of time or money. Another 26% said it had helped them meet targets. One commissioner commented: “The information was critical in stopping proposals that were notevidence-basedandtailoringrecommendationsthat will be more efficient if adopted.”

The Benefits

Knowledge for Commissioning

Knowledge is the enemy of disease.Sir Muir Gray, Chief Knowledge Officer of the NHS, 2005

A good decision is based on knowledge, not on numbers.Plato


www.knowledge4commissioning.nhs.uk

Getting it rightGrounding quality improvement initiatives on reliable evidence means that the right things are done in the right way and that local people get effective care. Anevidence-basedapproachrequiresascepticalattitude to innovation, asking for clear evidence before changing practices or services.2 Only a fraction of published research is strong enough to change practice, but our people have the skills to find and evaluate the evidence that matters and help you to incorporateitintoyourdecision-making.

Keep in touchYou need the right intelligence at the right time to informyourdecisions.Butthousandsofhealth-relatedarticles are published each week. Add to them the policy documents and analyses from government, charitiesandthink-tanksandkeepingup-to-datemayseem impossible.

Our alerts and current awareness services can provide you with short, targeted updates on newly published evidence. They will be highly specific to your needs and won’t add significantly to your workload.

But can you be sure that the knowledge you collected last year hasn’t moved forward? Can you tell what will change over the next year or two? We can provide periodicsubjectreviews,givingyouthestate-of-the-artandsomedegreeofhorizon-scanning.

Learning and professional developmentSupport for career development is essential, as your team upgrades their skills and competencies to meet new demands on your organisation. LKS teams provide educational resources and information skills teaching to NHS staff and students. We have decades of experience in this and our libraries are often rated higher than local universities and colleges for the quality of their support.

Know what you knowAs organisations change and people move, there is a risk that crucial knowledge and experience will be lost as the corporate memory fragments. Our understanding and expertise with knowledge management techniques can help you to capture, record and share the knowledge and learning ofyour teams.

2. Glasziou P, Ogrinc G, Goodman S.Canevidence-basedmedicineandclinicalqualityimprovementlearnfromeachother?BMJQuality&Safety2011;20(Suppl1):i13-i17.

The Benefits (cont.)

Commissioners...must insist on quality, and challenge the inefficiencies of providers, particularly un-evidenced variations in clinical practice.Health Select Committee Inquiry, 2010

Our ambition must be for an NHS defined by...its success in the rapid adoption and diffusion of the best, transformative, most innovative ideas, products, services and clinical practice.Innovation, Health and Wealth, DoH, 2011


Authors:Rachel Cooke, Surrey & Sussex HealthcareNHS Library and Knowledge Service

Mike Roddham,West Sussex Knowledge & Libraries

Ben Skinner,Brighton & SussexNHS Library & Knowledge Service

Jenny Turner,East Sussex HealthcareNHS Trust Library services


Evidence baseWe will search for and gather the evidence base on topics of your choice. As required, we will critically appraise, review or summarise the evidence.

Alerting and horizon-scanningWewilldevelopbulletinsandalertstokeepyouup-to-date with new research, guidelines, best practice and policies. We will research and prepare ‘state of the art’ reviews on your chosen topics.

Corporate memoryWe will develop and maintain knowledge management systems and processes to help you share, track and record local knowledge, decisions, and guidelines.

Document supplyWe will trace and supply specific publications requested by you. As part of our evidence reviewing we will, at your request, supply the original reports and articles.

Knowledge SpecialistsOur experience indicates that best value is obtained by having our knowledge specialists work alongside your staff. In an ‘embedded’ role, they can:

• identifyareasofuncertaintyandproviderelevant research•helptheteamskeeptrackoftheknowledge gathered during projects•actasa‘knowledgedetective’•keepteamsup-to-datewithnewresearch, guidelines, policies relevant to their work

Learning and professional developmentWe will assist your staff in their professional and personal development through study skills, a dedicated learning environment, supplying texts from reading lists andsupportingessayanddissertation-writing.

Our Service Offer


Further information NHS North of EnglandNorth WestDavid Stewart, Director of Health Libraries North [email protected] or 01942 482 582

North EastEdward Young, Programme [email protected]

Yorkshire and the HumberKim Wilshaw, Knowledge Services [email protected] or 0113 295 2055

NHS Midlands and EastEast MidlandsRichard Marriott, Contracts & Quality [email protected]

East of EnglandLyn Edmonds, Acting NHS East of England Library [email protected] or 0148 036 4145

West MidlandsClare Edwards, Strategic LKS [email protected] or 0121 695 2255

NHS LondonRichard Osborn, Strategic Library Services Development [email protected]

NHS South of EnglandSouth East CoastLouise Goswami, Head of LKS [email protected]

Thames Valley and WessexHelenBingham,Library&E-LearningResourcesManagerhelen.bingham@wessex.hee.nhs.ukor01962718561

South WestTriciaEllis,HeadofKnowledgeManagement&[email protected]


knowledge for commissioning prospectus for …charities and think- tanks and keeping up-to-date may...

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