HLG 2024 Conference Reflections #2
A fantastic two days of learning, networking, ideas and discussion took place during the CILIP Health Libraries Group Conference at the Royal College of Physicians, London on the 20th and 21st June 2024.
The next couple of posts will share a collection of reflections from our bursary recipients who attended either virtually or in person.
Added value of summarising search results
Claire O’Connor, Deputy Library & Knowledge Services Manager, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
This was my first proper conference and I really enjoyed it. The venue at the Royal College of Physicians was fab and there were so many examples of good practice and presentations to choose from it’s a shame I couldn’t go to all of them.
There were examples of excellent cross-organisational collaboration from both Gavin Moore & Suzanne Toft, Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust on their regional repository, and from Dom Gilroy from Leeds libraries talking about how public libraries, academic libraries and NHS libraries are coming together to deal with problems such as digital and health literacy.
Part of my job involves literature searching and summarising so I was very interested to attend two different talks on this. Firstly, my former colleague Anna Shipway talked about the RCN library’s search summary service and how this is organised and how thematic summaries are produced. Secondly Preeti Puligari and Nicola Ager from Sandwell and W. Birmingham NHS Trust talked about their contribution to a Trust-wide initiative called ‘welearn’ including the creation of monthly evidence summary briefings. It was good to hear that at their Trust clinicians had been given protected time for these learning activities which had improved outcomes including reduction of harm and never events. Both these services showed the added value librarians can bring despite being quite time consuming to produce.
An unexpected treat was hearing Michael Rosen speak so eloquently about his experiences of being a Covid patient during the pandemic. We are definitely going to buy a copy of the book he read excerpts from entitled ‘Many different kinds of love’ which contained entries from his patient diary. It was at times both funny and moving, and brought back the emotions of what was such a difficult time for everyone.
The garden party with stonebaked pizzas and (free!) drinks was really lovely and we were entertained in the garden by the local parakeets. The sun shone and it was a great opportunity to network in person and to reflect on a busy day’s learning.
I would like to thank NHSE for the bursary and having this opportunity, and I would definitely recommend the HLG conference to anyone – everyone was so friendly and keen to share ideas and good practice. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
A last reflection from me - can anyone explain to me why we don’t have a national set of both clinical and corporate policies that could be adapted for local use in the NHS? Why do so many Trusts spend so much time creating and updating so many policies that are essentially the same as their neighbours’? Knowledge mobilisation anyone? Just a thought….
Shaking off the imposter syndrome
Lisa Stooks, Outreach Librarian, University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
Sue Lacey Bryant’s keynote address reminded us of what the Roman philosopher Seneca once said, “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” and I certainly felt lucky to be attending my first HLG conference whilst at the same time being given the opportunity to present.
The conference lived up to expectations with multiple presentations and workshops to attend – choosing was difficult and I will watch the recordings of those I missed.
Hearing about great examples of collaborations between libraries and clinicians is always inspiring such as the Leeds Partnership, and the CAREPATH and the HIPS projects at UHCW.
How to “shake off the imposter syndrome” really resonated with me while listening to the ‘how to move KLS professionals along the journey from novice to expert’ lightning talk. Interesting reflection on how ‘confidence and quality can have an unusual combination’ and was interested hearing about the pilot course for ‘developing the NHS knowledge and library service researcher’ - will also check out the COP on Future NHS.
How lucky to hear that NHS Scotland staff have ‘One less password’! I am sure this would be appreciated by many in our Trust too, plus cutting back on the administration is always welcomed.
Adopting “guerilla interviews” like Gloucestershire sounds a great idea, lets “give people what they actually want, not what you think they want”, as evidenced in the ‘Learner-centered knowledge skills training programme’ survey and how library users prefer 1-1 sessions. Thank you for sharing the idea of sending out personalised Christmas cards to staff with padlets of library information – when is it too early to start planning Christmas!
Being fortunate to work on a hospital site with lots of green space, I really loved Keri Bramford Hales ‘Seed Library’ what a great way to combine wellbeing, inclusivity, and sustainability – and ‘sowed’ some thoughts for what ‘green’ initiatives we could do for the staff in our trust.
I tried the systematic review escape room but failed. (my phone not my knowledge of systematic reviews- honestly!) Great concept, great opportunity to interact - “learning is not a spectator sport” - and have a bit of friendly competition, will definitely look at using the idea of an escape room in some of our training sessions.
I won’t deny that the surprise guest was a particular high point - Listening to the wonderful Michael Rosen’s speak about his COVID coma via his patient diary entries, both moving and funny. What a privilege. ‘Many different kinds of love’ is already on our book order.
All in all, I felt connected to my profession, connected to other health professionals across the two days and came away with ideas and learnings from other organisations about how they connect with their users. I feel energised to continue to make a positive impact on the staff in our organisations, while particularly understanding that as Sue Lacey Bryant said at the beginning of the conference – knowledge mobilisation is the ‘game changer’ (oh and not forgetting ‘AI is here to stay’).
Adopt, adapt and assemble
Helen Williams, Knowledge Specialist, Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
After nearly 20 years in the NHS, I finally made it to HLG. I blame a young child, a pandemic, service finances and distance for my non-attendance but I had no excuses this year. I received a very welcome NHS England bursary, was able to attend virtually and now have a teenager who can fend for themselves. The theme of connections was visible throughout the sessions. Here are my thoughts on some of the sessions I attended. Apologies if your session isn’t mentioned.
You can rely on Sue Lacey-Bryant to deliver and with her keynote she didn’t disappoint. Reminding us of our existing skills and ethics and how we must use them for the seven priorities she highlighted for health libraries. Alongside how vital our work is to support society and the challenges it faces.
Dom Gilroy’s presentation on the Leeds Health Partnership is a great example of how connections and collaboration bring great benefits for all parties. From systems and projects to training of both customers and library staff.
Bridget O’Connell’s support of the international CAREPATH project connecting clinicians across Europe in their creation of a consensus clinical guideline. We have all been there as librarians, not only providing training but also offering encouragement, reassurance and problem solving before it is even noticed.
As I have just started to work with my Trust’s policy writers, Mandeep Heer’s session on streamlining clinical guidelines at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust made me see what is possible and look forward to the work ahead. Maybe we will be able to take an adopt, adapt and assemble approach to our clinical guidelines in the future. (Adopt a national guideline, adapt a national guideline or assemble a local guideline as there is no national guidance.)
A business case for a repository for my Trust is one of my objectives this year, the West Midlands Evidence Repository (WMER) presentation gave much food for thought and lots of things to learn about. (You can never say this profession is boring and that there is nothing new to learn.)
The final session of day one from Ruth Carlyle was on how we can connect with policy could have been a tough sell being just before the pizza but it was well handled. Her example of increased apprentices with a lack of HE library support being something the NHS libraries can do if we had more space etc resonated with me. It made policy streams (what we want to achieve) and policy windows (something that we can help solve/support) easy to grasp. Policy authors do not explicitly say library. But if we look for those words we get excited about like evidence, knowledge, research, education, learning and wellbeing we can see how we are involved or use that policy as a lever for change or to drive support.
The model of learning from incidents described by Preeti Puligari from Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust was a great example of how Trust’s might overcome the perennial problem of disseminating learning and how libraries can be involved.
When we were all starting to tire, Paul Cannon’s escape room for systematic review training was great and you could hear the buzz in the room – even though I was virtual. Escape rooms are something we are looking to explore for our training.
I won’t be the only one whose highlight of the conference was Michael Rosen sharing extracts from his latest books on his experience and recovery from COVID. To hear him speak was both moving and a privilege.
My experience of attending virtually was great. The technology worked and I didn’t feel I was missing out on the sessions. I even attempted that conference dash between rooms to see two different sessions. With as much success as when I attend in person. What I did miss was catching up with colleagues from around the country and the all-important conference refreshments. I am sure the takeaway pizza in front of the football at home was no match for the RCP pizza!
Librarians are very nice people
Liz Wright, Outreach Libarian and Knowledge Specialist, Univeristy Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
HLG was the first national conference I had been to and presented at. It was definitely a very new experience, if not a little nerve wracking to be presenting for the first time, Luckily this was on the first day so I could relax at the garden party that evening.
My key takeaways from the event were that librarians are very nice people, and you don’t need to worry about the presentation because they are already a captive audience and are there because they want to be, unlike some of the staff we train/present to at the hospital! Having said that I would definitely make sure you run through the presentation before-hand and check timings, also check what IT is available and how it works before your present. We did have to get the AV technician to come and help us during the presentation – he had quickly tried to tell us what to do beforehand but neither myself nor my colleague are technically gifted!
I also got lots of ideas from the other presentations I attended that we could implement in our library, which I have shared with the rest of the team. We are now interested in starting up a seed library, creating escape rooms and focusing more on targeted marketing. It was a bonus having two of us from there so we could cover more of the talks and get more ideas. The other good thing is that you can speak to the people who did these initiatives, so you get more of an idea of what is involved and have their details if you have any questions further along the line. I will also share the information we found out with our colleagues across Dorset.
Overall, it was a really positive experience, I met new people, chatted to some familiar faces and grew a little bit more confident in my abilities to present – and I cannot, obviously, forget the wonderful presentation by Michael Rosen – a definite highlight of the two days. We are now desperately looking for a new project or initiative to talk about at the next conference!
Building meaningful connections within this vibrant industry.
Richard Looney, Library Assistant, Norfolk & Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
This was my first visit to the HLG conference, and it did not disappoint. The event, held at The Royal College of Physicians, left a lasting impression. As the two-day conference unfolded, it felt like a whirlwind—sessions, networking, and insights blending seamlessly.
Leading up to the conference, I grappled with a sense of disillusionment regarding my impact. However, as the day passed and I listened to a variety of speakers I found myself reflecting on this. Our libraries do make a real difference, we serve as knowledge hubs, connecting staff and students with our impact extending beyond being mere repositories of information but catalysts for innovation, evidence-based practice and for supporting patient care. This realisation left me feeling reassured that I do indeed make a meaningful impact.
During the refreshment breaks, I had the opportunity to network with colleagues, some new faces and others familiar. These interactions inspired me and offered a broader perspective on the latest trends and challenges in our industry.
The Keynote address left me reflecting my own personal why? And what I want to achieve and I found a quiet spot to scribble a few notes about the ideas that this sparked within me.
Yet, the conference wasn’t solely about learning; it was about forging connections. In those moments between sessions, I pondered how to share my newfound knowledge with others. And then came the highlight: a surprise talk by Michael Rosen. His powerful and moving insights into being cared for by the NHS resonated deeply. Some attendees even had the privilege of sharing a cup of tea and a chat with the great man afterward.
As the final day drew to a close, I left with a renewed sense of purpose. The HLG conference had not only enriched my understanding but also ignited a passion to contribute more actively to our industry. I returned home, eager to apply what I’d learned with colleagues and to continue building meaningful connections within this vibrant industry.