Making sure everyone can access high-quality health information

Posted: 03/07/23

It’s important that we get good information to help us keep our bodies and minds healthy. That’s why we are supporting Health Information Week 2023.

Karen O’Rourke is Patient Information Centre Manager at CNTW. She says, “With so much available online, it can be hard for people to work out what information is high quality, accurate, and up-to-date.

“We write our award-winning self-help guides with the help of clinical psychologists and other NHS professionals, and people who’ve used our services and their carers. People can have confidence in the guides we provide.”

Self-help guides

We produce a range of award-winning mental health self-help guides. They are also available in easy read, British Sign Language and audio formats.

Our guides can help you with lots of different things. They cover stress and trouble sleeping, anxiety, panic, self-harm, and much more.

Lots of our guides have been recognised by the British Medical Association’s Patient Information Awards.

Browse our self-help guides

Quality-Approved Resources

All our 400+ patient and carer information resources have been developed to make sure that they are:

  • accurate
  • clear
  • up-to-date
  • easy to use
  • evidence-based

All the information we produce meets the NHS England Information Standard Principles.

We do this by asking service users and carers to give us feedback when we’re producing information. We involve experts to make sure that information is accurate. These experts also review the information at least every three years. And we have a dedicated Patient Information Centre, who oversee the process and give advice.

Accessible Information Standard

The Accessible Information Standard is about making information easier to understand. It’s also about providing it in a way that you can understand, if you have particular needs.

Talk to a member of staff about how you need to receive information to help you understand it.

This animation from the charity Sense explains more about the Accessible Information Standard: