This document discusses the Primary Care Knowledge Specialist Vanguard, a proof-of-concept program launched in 2021 to embed qualified librarians and knowledge specialists across primary care teams in England. The vanguard aims to ensure primary care staff benefit from dedicated knowledge support services and to demonstrate how these specialists can inform decision-making. Initial findings show the knowledge specialists are helping primary care providers access evidence to support direct patient care, management, research, and professional development. The document outlines how knowledge specialists can save staff time by providing efficient access to evidence and knowledge to underpin high-quality healthcare decisions.

1. NHS knowledge specialists,
the human connectors to
mobilise evidence and
knowledge to inform policy
and practice: The Primary
Care Knowledge Specialist
Vanguard.
Alison Day (she/her)
Senior Manager,
NHS Knowledge and Library Services
NHS England
Evidence, Innovation and Connections

2. NHS bodies, their staff, learners,
patients and the public use the right
knowledge and evidence, at the right
time, in the right place, enabling high
quality decision-making, learning,
research and innovation, to achieve
excellent healthcare and health
improvement.
Knowledge for Healthcare: Our ambition
https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/knowledge-for-healthcare

3. A knowledge specialist carried out an evidence
synthesis to inform a region-wide strategy on
inequalities in access to eating disorders
services.
The evidence reinforced local data and
experience and the Collaborative has been
awarded NHS England funding to continue to
develop the Strategy.
Katie Beeston, Head of Business and Service
Development, Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation
Trust
Regional Inequalities Strategy
“We started to see a picture emerging, with the
research supporting what the data is telling us. This
gave credibility to the workshop, by helping
stakeholders see the national position alongside the
regional impact”
NHS knowledge and library specialists
take the heavy lifting out of getting evidence into practice

4. Mobilising evidence and knowledge

5. Search for and retrieve research evidence and knowledge
for translation into practice (Inform function of KM*)
Share and spread knowledge, good practice and know-
how through social networking (Relational function*)
Improving institutional environment for
sustainable knowledge sharing (Institutional function*)
Shaxson et al (2012)
Knowledge specialists enable organisations, teams and individuals to use
evidence and share ‘know-how’.
NHS Librarians and knowledge specialists as connectors
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a08a6e40f0b649740005ba/KStar_ConceptPaper_FINAL_Oct29_WEBsmaller.pdf

6. Historically the majority of NHS
knowledge and library services
have been aligned to secondary
care.
Provision of NHS knowledge
and library services for the
primary care workforce has
been patchy
Benefits of having dedicated
knowledge specialists
embedded with primary care
teams is unknown
The challenge
History Provision Benefits

7. Proof-of-concept Vanguard.
Launched September 2021.
Fully-funded for 2 years by
Health Education England.
15 qualified
librarians/knowledge
specialists working across 14
Primary Care Training Hub
locations
Identifying evidence and
knowledge priorities for
primary care organisations,
staff and learners.
Delivering tailored and
targeted knowledge services.
The Primary Care Knowledge Specialist Vanguard
What? Who? How?

8. To ensure the previously
under-served primary care
workforce benefits from
dedicated knowledge
specialists.
To demonstrate the benefits to
inform decision-making across
Primary Care
To establish an embedded
NHS knowledge specialist role
in each of the 42 Primary Care
Training Hubs in England
Goals and Ambition of the Vanguard
Goals Ambition

9. • Retrieving evidence and summarising this to make it easier to use
• Support for Quality Improvement initiatives
• Updates on the latest research and best practice
• Providing evidence to underpin bid and project proposals
• Bite-sized information skills training
• Free access to journals, reports and e-books
• Raising awareness of health literacy and techniques for effective
communication
• Connecting people to share knowledge and insights
Improving access to, and use of, research evidence and knowledge
How can a knowledge specialist help you?

10. 11

11. Knowledge specialists provide a weekly public
health intelligence bulletin to around 200
decision makers across the health and care
system.
Evidence from the bulletins informs
commissioning decisions, health needs
assessments and service design as well as
driving content for journal clubs.
Natacha Bines, Head of population insight, Public
Health, Suffolk County Council working with
knowledge specialists at North East London NHS
Foundation Trust
Public Health Intelligence
NHS knowledge and library specialists
take the heavy lifting out of getting evidence into practice
“The bulletin is shared across the Suffolk system,
enabling quick digestion of the latest evidence on a
frequent basis. This enables robust, evidence based
decisions to be made on high quality evidence and
intelligence.”

12. Get the answers you need anywhere, any time
BMJ Best Practice
13
“I use BMJ Best Practice summaries every day I
work. It is a quick, up to date, well referenced
guide - perfect for GPs. I would struggle without
access as I really feel it improves my clinical
knowledge and benefits patients”.
Dr Charlotte Reynolds, GP,
Leeds

13. The national collection of digital resources
https://library.nhs.uk/knowledgehub/
“It meets my needs. It’s as good as any
search engine we use. It’s my go-to one
because I can get direct access to an article.”
Occupational Therapist

14. Saving time, informing decisions and improving patient outcomes
Findings so far…
Searches and summaries have included topics to
inform:
Direct Patient Care
Management decision making
Patient health and wellbeing
Research and professional development
Plus regular bulletins to keep staff up to date with
the latest evidence and knowledge in a topic

15. Vanguard activity to date

16. Benefits of NHS Knowledge Specialists
library.nhs.uk @NHSKFH
Underpinning evidence-informed policy and
practice
Supporting development and lifelong learning
Facilitating effective collaborations and
connections
Driving research and innovation
Keeping staff updated with the latest good
practice and evidence from research
Saving staff time
Delivering a national collection of high-quality
digital knowledge and evidence resources to all
healthcare staff and learners 24/7 in England
Providing spaces and resources specifically to
support the wellbeing of staff

17. Impact of librarians & knowledge specialists
Take the ‘heavy-lifting’ out of getting evidence into practice
• Reducing risk; improving safety
• Improving quality of patient care
• Reducing costs; contributing to financial
effectiveness
• Informing decisions
• Contributing to service improvement
• Facilitating collaborative working
• Enhancing personal and professional development
Providing healthcare professional staff with
time-saving accelerated access to better
quality evidence which, in turn, enables the
NHS to meet its statutory obligations to
utilise evidence from research, and, as
importantly, for healthcare professionals to
use their time more effectively to drive
improvements against the quadruple aim.
Value Proposition: The Gift of Time, 2020
Saving staff time - a net economic benefit £3.85
For NEL, investment in the Primary Care Knowledge Specialist would return £142,000
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15323269.2022.2124772​

18. 9 steps system leaders can take
How to ensure all your decisions are evidence based?
And Step 10
Speak to Sherin and Natasha to find out more about
how they can connect you to evidence, knowledge and
‘know-how’ across your integrated care system.
Tel: 07976 737 316
Email: NELPCKS@nelft.nhs.uk
Twitter: @NELPCKS
https://library.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/03/9Steps_A3_Poster_WEB.pdf

20. Thank You
@nhsengland
company/nhsengland
england.nhs.uk
Via e-mail: Alison.Day25@nhs.net
On Twitter: @alisonday3 @NHSKFH
Via LinkedIn: in/alisonday1
Via website: library.nhs.uk