Library & Information Services

The library offers a comprehensive service, providing information for evidence-based patient care, continuing professional development, education and research.

Colleague peruses book shelves of Hospice's Library

Our Library

The library houses a multi-disciplinary collection of materials on all aspects of palliative and end-of-life care, including specialist journals, books and online resources.

Contact

General enquiries: library@arhc.org.uk

Or call us: 

Library: 01223 675782

Education Centre: 01223 675801

Professional Resources

Awareness Bulletin

Health Education England’s Horizon Scanning Service provides new information on Palliative Care including best practice, innovation in service provision and future risk factors.

You can browse regular updates via: 

https://palliativecarenwpctl.wordpress.com/

Our Library and Learning Resource Officer is happy to help with literature searches. To request a literature search please complete and return the Literature Request Form to library@arhc.org.uk.

Requesting items not held in the library*
If we do not have the journal article or book you need we can usually get it from another library. Please send details to library@arhc.org.uk

How long does the request take?
Most articles arrive within 24 hours of the library requesting them. The rest usually arrive within 2-3 days. Book requests usually arrive within 3-14 days, depending on where they are being borrowed from.

*Charges May Apply

KOHA is the East of England NHS Libraries catalogue. A full list of resources can be viewed via the online catalogue.

For help using the Library catalogue go to the help page.

We have developed a useful resources guide for children, teenagers and young people which families can use to help them think about serious illness and bereavement.

Critical Appraisal is a process of systematically evaluating evidence for accuracy, relevance and validity, eliminating research that isn’t relevant or robust enough for the question you are asking.

More information can be found via the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) or the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine (CEBM) websites

Arthur Rank Hospice Charity subscribes to the Mid & South Essex University Hospitals Group Equality & Inclusion current awareness bulletin. The weekly online publication provides links to relevant commentaries, evidence based articles, events, multimedia resources and more.

Access the bulletin here

Evidence, knowledge and literature searches made easier https://library.nhs.uk/knowledgehub/ 

BMJ Best Practice, a clinical support tool for health professionals. Versatile and smart, BMJ Best Practice is your expert guide to diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and prevention, anytime, anywhere. 

Staff, volunteers and students working at Arthur Rank Hospice also have access to the national core content, a range of electronic databases, full-text journals and e-books. An Athens account will be needed for most of these resources. Go to the NICE Open Athens website to register.

Quality standard [QS13]Published: 28 November 2011 Last updated: 02 September 2021, please follow the link for a PDF.  LINK.

Membership

Membership is available to Arthur Rank Hospice staff and volunteers and to staff working for other healthcare organisations in the area who are providing palliative or end of life care to patients. Students on placement and those attending courses at Arthur Rank Hospice may be given temporary membership.

Non-members are welcome to use the library for reference purposes and may photocopy items of interest.

To apply for membership please email a completed application form to library@arhc.org.uk

Download application form here.

Location and opening hours

The library is situated in the Education and Conference Centre on the first floor of the Hospice. It is staffed on Mondays between 9.00am-4.00pm and Wednesdays between 9.30am-2.30pm.

The library space is, however open outside of these hours offering both a study area, access to networked computers and an informal seating area.

Learners attending courses at Arthur Rank Hospice Charity are encouraged to use the library for relaxation, study and reflection.

Photocopying and printing is available. A small charge may apply.  Please note *ALL PHOTOCOPYING AND PRINTING IS SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT LAW*

Piotr Czosnyka

Piotr has a MA in Library and Information Science from UCL, his areas of interest include supporting researchers, information literacy, cataloguing, customer service. Piotr’s library experience is anchored in higher education, health, and special collections. Please do not hesitate to visit the library or send him an email library@arhc.org.uk.