Hi-tech help for patients who want to research health care

THE often frustrating and time-consuming way of finding out about your personal health is set to be a thing of the past in Airedale.

People who visit Airedale Hospital’s health information centre to find out more about their health can now make use of a new hi-tech information pod.

They can also use video, audio and interactive websites through the computer in the enclosed area to discover more about staying healthy and managing long-term conditions. The service will be a drop-in service, but patients can also pre-arrange a specific time to use the pod between 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday which is in the hospital’s education centre.

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Information will be available about: conditions and interventions, self-care and management advice, other patients’ personal experiences, advice on benefits and social care, details of local or national support groups.

Health information centre staff delivering the information service will direct patients to reliable and appropriate information such as NHS Choices and Patient UK – but they will not offer opinions or advice.

Paul Stevenson, health information specialist said: “Patients and carers can use the patient information pod to look at whatever specific information is relevant to them personally, at a particular point in their illness – rather than simply receiving general information leaflets. People can often find the process of locating high-quality information specifically for their individual needs to be time-consuming and at times frustrating.

“We are happy to provide high-quality patient information directly to the patient in the usual way in the library, but we can also help visitors to explore reliable sources of healthcare information at their own pace using the new pod.”

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The Government has increasingly placed patient information and self-care as a central part of modernising healthcare. Research shows that a majority of patients (80 per cent) actively seek information about how to cope with health problems. Experts say one way of involving patients in their care and treatment is to provide them with good quality information and they say there is evidence that this can lead to higher quality of life, greater ability to self-manage conditions and reduced time spent in hospital.

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