1. An overview of Health and Health Service Information at NHS Direct December 2007 Kim Diprose – Health Information Manager (Library & Information Services)

2. NHS Direct Multimedia health service organisation Available 24 hours per day 365 days per year Offering evidence based health advice and information to the public

3. What is Health &Health Service Information (H&HSI)? Website Digital TV Call Centres Online Enquiry Service

4. Health Information at NHS Direct Personalised health information is offered via: 5 of the telephone call centres (working virtually to offer a national service) The Online Enquiry Service (OES) link on the website Seek to provide detailed and targeted information Information not advice Assist informed decision making and empower patients

5. Enquiry received Warm transfer Telephone service Webmail service Queued for callbackQueued for response Health information advisor (HIA) gathers appropriate resources based on the available information Information provided to the caller in response to their enquiry Standard Enquiry

6. More complex enquiries Webmail enquiries The enquirer may be asked for additional information e.g. details of their diagnosis Sometimes the answer to the enquiry is not available from an evidence based source Telephone enquiries The HIA may be able to provide the information after a little further research, and will then either post this to the caller or telephone them, depending on what has been agreed with the caller A research team is also available, who are able to do further research, particularly where information is requested regarding e.g. a new treatment, or a very rare condition

7. Resources Database of quality assessed resources including:  Websites  Leaflets  Books Database of validated local and national organisations and services including:  Voluntary and community agencies  Support groups  Statutory services  NHS services  Helplines Specialist databases e.g. Travax; Medicines Complete; Toxbase Librarians and researchers based at each health information site

8. All information must be: Accurate Validated Accessible Evidence based Relevant Jargon free Up to date Based on the needs of the caller

9. Developments: Ability to fax and email information from the telephone service Video clips on the website Database of local and national service information available via the website Possibility of including information about assessed leaflets on the website

10. Health & Health Service Information contacts in 2006/7 Health Information calls : 800,000 for 2006/2007 Online Enquiry Service (OES) enquiries : 57,869 for 2006/2007 Website visits : 20,639,695 for 2006/2007

11. Examples of other projects:  Information Prescription pilots – OES working with Evelina children’s hospital and community pharmacists  Working in Partnership Programme with DH and PCTs in North England – providing local services and support information for series of pilot self-help programmes  Hearing Direct service run by Health Information Advisors in Nottingham whereby hearing aid users may opt to have a hearing assessment carried out over the phone with an HIA rather than attend an audiology clinic.

12.  Partnership working with Cancer Services Collaborative to share accreditation information on Cancer resources for Cancer Networks Information Prescription pilots  Compass End of Life Information line – providing information for palliative care patients and their families in South London  Health Alert cascades – providing a real time communications cascade on public health issues to local primary care practitioners. Examples of other projects: