It’s been a busy year at BTHFT and library staff have been working hard to deliver an effective service despite some staffing challenges.

Wellbeing
Thanks to a successful bid to HEE we have been able to develop a Wellbeing Corner in the library with books on a variety of topics including mindfulness, addiction and healthy lifestyles.

We are working with the HR Engagement Officer – Wellbeing to further promote these resources and have set up a small ‘library’ within our Accident and Emergency Department so that staff who find it difficult to come to the library still have access to these books.

We arranged with the Head of Corporate Affairs for the library to have stalls for a variety of Health Promotion Campaigns in the main concourse of the hospital which enabled us to further promote the library and we reached out to relevant departments to work collaboratively on the stalls with.

Joy in Work
After attending a training session which detailed the stress colleagues experience, Federica was inspired to see how we could help. She made a connection with the Trust’s Specialist Occupational Therapist and together they developed the Joy in Work.

LGBT+
We have added a number of LGBT+ books to our collection and, in support of the NHS Rainbow Pledge, created a library leaflet that was specifically about how we could assist staff with their learning in relation to LGBT+ issues. We also presented at a number of the Rainbow Pledge training sessions in relation to this.

From making these connections we were then invited to be involved with the review of our Trans Equality Policy which has helped us to further promote the support we can offer in this regard such as literature searches.

iPad Loan
The library offer 4 iPads to be loaned to staff in need to use apps to show patients useful apps to manage their conditions when they are away from the hospital. This year we have increased the usage for this equipment and we now offer advice to staff looking for relevant and trustful health apps.

BTHFT Staff publications
We now prepare a monthly report of articles published by staff affiliated with our Trust. They are publicly available on our Education Website to show the volume of knowledge in our organisation.

Federica Bianchini
Library Lead | Library Services | Health Library, Field House Education Centre
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust