Subjects we can answer questions on
We are happy to answer your questions on health and social care management. We hold information on:
- how to manage, organise and improve health and social care services
- how to implement government policies
- how to evaluate and monitor services.
We place particular emphasis on the focus of the King’s Fund work which is to improve the health and healthcare of Londoners.
We do not hold information on the clinical or medical aspects of health care, so we will not be able to answer questions on this topic.
For example:
- we have material on managing, improving and evaluating services provided to people with mental health problems and their carers
- we have information on the National Service Framework for Mental Health
- we do not have information on the diagnosis and treatment of a mental illness.
Facts and figures
We will endeavour to find up to three appropriate statistics in response to your question. One statistic is defined as:
- a single figure from a single table
- a piece of data for up to three years (eg 1975; 1985; 1995) from a single table
- a piece of data for up to three countries (e.g. OECD GDP) from a single table.
Please note that we are unable to interpret statistics, and that the statistic you require may not have been collected in that form.
Checking references and tracking down publications
Have you heard vaguely of a King's Fund publication or a Department of Health document and need the full details? Or are you about to send a report to the publishers and realise the date is missing on one of the references? Or maybe you want to check we hold an item before you come in? We are more than happy to check our database to find this information, but no more than five please.
Essays and assignments
We can help you by pointing you in the direction of information sources. However, we cannot interpret your essay or assignment questions, nor can we write them for you! Your own institution’s library will always be a good starting point and the librarians there should be able to direct you to appropriate sources.
Literature searches
We will carry out, free of charge, literature searches using our own database. Please note that we are unable to offer this service to full-time students.
The search results will contain the bibliographic details of up to 40 references. When requesting a literature search, it would help us if you could ask as if you were holding a conversation with us, so tell us about the background - for example, are you about to do a presentation, are you looking to improve an existing service? Then:
- think about any keywords you might use or have heard
- think about the time period - for example, are you looking at the last three years only
- think about the geographical area - England only; examples from Europe.
To help with this, consider the following questions - as a memory aid, the first letter of each question forms the word ECLIPSE:
- Expectation - why do you require the information, what do you expect the answer to look like?
- Client group - at whom is the service aimed? For example, older people.
- Location - where is the service sited? Is it in primary care, across the NHS
- Impact - What is the change in the service, if any, which is being looked for? How is this being measured?
- Professionals - who is involved in providing/improving the service? For example, doctors, lay people, social services.
- SErvice - for which service are you looking for information? For example, outpatient services, intermediate care.
For further information on ECLIPSE see: Wildridge V and Bell L 'How CLIP became ECLIPSE: a mnemonic to assist in searching for health policy/management information' Health Information and Libraries Journal 2002; 19 (2):113-115
Sample questions
Question: What is the latest guidance from CRAG and what does CRAG stand for?
Answer: The latest guidance can be found at
http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/10/72/94/04107294.pdf. CRAG is the abbreviation for Charges for Residential Accommodation Guide.
Question: You have several reading lists on ethnic health issues. However, I'm specifically looking for qualitative evidence on how minority ethnic people’s needs are or are not being met?
Answer: A specific search of our database yielded relevant references which were sent to the enquirer.
Question: I understand that the Department of Health has produced a framework for the changes to the Arms Lengths Bodies?
Answer: The report is called 'An implementation framework for reconfiguring the DH Arm's Length Bodies: redistributing resources to the NHS frontline'. It was published in November 2004 and is available at:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/09/81/57/04098157.pdfQuestion: Has the King's Fund College got a website?
Answer: The King’s Fund College is now Leadership Development. Information about them can be found on our website at
http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/Leadership/.
Question: What is the incidence of diabetes in the United Kingdom?
Answer: A factsheet from Diabetes UK says that 1.8 million people in the United Kingdom are known to have diabetes. See
http://www.diabetes.org.uk/diabetes/get.htm
