Patient Information Library

HIL- Health Information Library

Welcome to the Health Information Library (HIL). This website has been created to help patients understand their illness and become more involved in treatment decisions and to support health professionals in their patient care information needs. The website is developed in-house by the Library Professionals at Patricia Bowen Library & Knowledge Service and does not carry advertising, we fund for the site hosting from our Library Budget. The library is based at the West Middlesex University Hospital, part of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Authority: The web developer and editor is Uma Devalapalli, Library Services & eLearning Manager. Uma has MSc in Foods Nutrition & Diet Therapy, MSc in Library Science and she is a Member of Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals (CILIP). She has been working in NHS libraries over 15 years.

The website has been tested by health professionals in the hospital and approved by the library commitee members (a team of Doctors and nurses).

The mission statement of Patricia Bowen Library is to positively contribute to the health of the community by providing current, comprehensive, quality, accessible and timely information for all our users. The website helps the library to achieve this by providing

	Direct links to information on various health conditions from different good quality websites
	Information to Health professionals tailored for their patient care needs
	Local & National Support Group information
	Links to useful websites Health professionals associated with West Middlesex University Hospital can request information on any of the following by phone on 0208 321 5968 or e-mail
	General Health Care information
	Medical Conditions, Diseases and Disabilities
	Treatments, Tests and Surgery
	Local support & self help information

Quality Checks and Selection Criteria: Only sites that have appropriate information for UK patients/families have been included and only sites that fulfil the following quality and accessibility criteria have been included.

	Relevance - All the content should be suitable for the public audience
	Design and navigability - ease of use, speed and appropriate use of graphics is assessed
	Authorship - authors and those who were involved in creation (ie: if patients were involved) and level of expertise of authors and reputation of the organisation should be identified. Contact details should be available.
	Sponsorship - sponsors should be clearly stated and suitable - it is important that there is no bias in the information given
	Readability - appropriate level of language for the audience
	Currency - date of update should be clear and content still valid and regularly reviewed
	Legibility - sites ideally should adhere to RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) guidelines etc.
	Accessibility - there should be no registration, cost or special software required to enter the site and sites should be viewable in most browsers and ideally fully accessible to those with a visual impairment
	Copyright - the information should be in the public domain

Content is the most important factor for inclusion and certain aspects of poor design of a site or US site may be allowed if the content is of value to the audience and is not contained in other sites. The information provided under each topic is not comprehensive. The content is updated as and when necessary and the support group information is checked periodically by the web developer.

Contact us with details of your enquiry. Dedicated staff will research your enquiry and provide you with the most relevant information. The enquiry form can be filled in electronically and returned to us by e-mail or printed and returned by post.

Disclaimer: The information on this website is provided for information only. While every care has been taken to provide accurate and up to date information, we cannot guarantee or take responsibility for its correctness and completeness. The information provided by us does not constitute medical advice and should not be used to make a diagnosis. The information should not be used without further independent professional advice from a doctor or other qualified professional. If you have any concerns about your condition or treatment always check with your doctor.

Health Information Library website is designed to act as a gateway to quality sources of health information and hyper links are provided for your convenience and to guide you to accurate, clear and relevant information. However, medical knowledge is constantly evolving and we cannot guarantee that all of the linked websites are current or authoritative. The Library accepts no responsibility for the websites linked to or the information they contain.

Links Policy: All the links from this website are provided for information only. The links are made to websites that have been through quality checks. A link does not imply endorsement of that site. We do not accept responsibility for the sites linked to, or the information displayed there. You can create appropriate links to this web site and do not require permission, however links to this site should be reproduced accurately and should not be used in a derogatory manner or in a misleading context, and should be acknowledged.

Confidentiality: All information gathered or held regarding our customers will be held in strict compliance with the Data Protection Act.