Fortunate Collision Spaces — Libraries as Wellness Hubs

There are so many surveys going on at any given time in the UK NHS that it can sometimes feel overwhelming. One of the more manageable ways to interpret the results is to look at particular themes, including well-being in the workforce. Another survey that assesses well-being is the annual General Medical Council survey, which allows doctors to provide feedback on their experiences within the NHS.

It’s apparent from these sources and others that levels of reported well-being in the NHS have not yet recovered to what they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a library service, there are many strategic and organisational factors that are far, far beyond our circle of influence, but we can help by providing small opportunities for well-being. Something we can do is to provide access to a quiet, neutral space. In fact, it’s part of the contract we have with our major stakeholder and a source of finance at NHS England.

Each NHS library has some autonomy over what’s provided in that neutral space.

It’s taken us a while — around eighteen months, in fact, by the time we identified funding — but we have managed to install a Teams/study pod in the main library. Another is due to be ordered for installation in the spring of 2026, and a water fountain has also just been installed.

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Users have access to computers to complete e-learning, catch up with their emails, or write a report in peace. There is some quiet study space, and a couple of areas with slightly more comfortable seating. We even have books on the shelves, although many of our titles are now electronic.

In addition to the main library, there are two other major sites belonging to the hospital Trust where staff need dedicated study space. One has a small, very traditional library, highly suited to the intensive, very specialised orthopaedic work carried out on the site. It provides a calm space with access to computers and study options.

As part of our contractual agreements with our major stakeholder, we need to provide study facilities on ALL key sites. With funding at a premium, however, we need to find a sustainable way to provide these.

The learning climate within the NHS has changed dramatically over the last few years, as pressure on clinical staff, particularly, has increased. When I first worked as a medical librarian, over twenty years ago, clinicians were often able to study in the library during their on-call time in addition to scheduled teaching sessions, either as a trainee or as an instructor. Clinical staff are now lucky to be able to snatch twenty minutes here and there for a break.

The distance between the two smaller hospital sites and the main site, where the main library is hosted, looks short on a map. Due to intense pressure on car parking spots, however, along with often high levels of traffic congestion and frequent roadworks, the journey can easily take twenty minutes each way. Public transport takes even longer.

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The third main site, however, does not currently have a library, study space, or dedicated staff wellness area, although activity there has been increasing with the establishment of additional operating theaters for day surgery. Over a decade ago, the third site had a library, but it has been closed. Since then, the number of students on placement has increased dramatically as the Trust became a teaching hospital. The Trust is now aspiring to achieve university hospital status.

It’s highly unlikely that an exact replacement for the previous library will be possible or even appropriate on the third site, but with the current emphasis on and understanding of wellness, we are currently trying to find a way to identify space and resources for a combined well-being and study area.

Assuming space and funding can be found, the solution may be what is called a “collision space.” In this case, the description can refer to an area that incorporates both wellness components and study space, and offers opportunities for staff at all levels to connect and take a break from the intense activity of the clinical areas.

It’s by no means certain yet what this space will look like, but ideally it will include access to computers for study and CPD in a quiet environment. Other NHS hospitals have incorporated activities into these areas to help with creativity and relaxation. These include colouring sheets, jigsaws, crystal lamp areas, and cosy, relaxing corners. It’s even rumoured that some larger organisations have managed to install sleeping pods, although that’s not an option we’d be able to contemplate!

Others—including some of the hospitals I’ve worked in previously—have partnered with libraries in other sectors to deliver projects that benefit the wellness of both staff and patients. These have included lending blood pressure monitors and other health trackers, as well as encouraging access to reliable health information.

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The year 2026 is, hopefully, an auspicious time to work on this — it has been designated as the National Year of Reading by the UK government. While the main focus is on public libraries and schools, the underlying aim is to promote reading for those who might need a little encouragement by identifying topics that are of direct interest.

This year, we’re hoping to work on improving health literacy and the availability of texts and other resources that would be more accessible to readers without a medical or nursing degree. This may include signposting to information in straightforward language that doesn’t require a medical degree to understand.

This overall project will involve working with other teams within the Trust and organisations outside the NHS — and is likely to require assessing information from charities and other organisations holding what is known as the “PIF tick” or quality mark.

As always, the overall aim of any partnership project we work on is to widen access to the library as a place for far more than books and computers — for all our users and potential users.

References

About the PIF Tick (2026). https://piftick.org.uk/about-pif-tick/

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