Health Education volunteer opportunity

Essex Library Services are really excited to announce a new volunteer opportunity. We are running a pilot scheme, funded by Health Education England, working with CILIP, Libraries Connected and Arts Council England, to help residents in Harlow, Tendring, Basildon and Castle Point who are unable to access health resources online. This Health and Digital Literacy volunteer role will assist customers with:

• Downloading and accessing the NHS App
• Making their appointments online
• Ordering medicines safely and securely

To join in and become a volunteer, email LibraryVolunteer [at] essex.gov.uk or call us on 0345 603 7628.

Nearly half the adults in England (43%) struggle to read and understand written health information. When that health information includes numbers as well as words, that rises to 61%.  At the same time, along with many aspects of daily life, information about health and wellbeing is now widely available via the internet, and healthcare services are becoming increasingly digitised.

To help address this issue and empower patients, families and carers, Health Education England’s NHS knowledge and library services team is working with CILIP, the library and information association, to co-lead a partnership to improve health and digital literacy at a local level.

With Libraries Connected, the strategic lead for public libraries, and Arts Council England, which supports community initiatives, the partners are working together to develop a sustainable approach to improve health literacy.

Sue Lacey Bryant, National Lead for NHS Knowledge and Library Services said: “If we are to tackle health inequalities, it is crucial that communities come together to improve levels of health and digital literacy. And there are no organisations better placed to do this than local public and health libraries right in the heart of the communities they know and understand.”

If you know someone who would benefit from working with one of our Health and Digital Literacy Volunteers, then you can get in contact with us at information.enquiry [at] essex.gov.uk by stating ‘Health and Digital Literacy Support’ and your local library in the subject of the email, someone from your closest library working in this pilot, will be in touch.

We have 26 libraries who are taking part in this pilot, but any library in Essex will be able to point you in the right direction and provide information on the scheme. The libraries taking part in the scheme are below.

See locations and opening times here.

• Old Harlow Library
• Mark Hall Library
• Tye Green Library
• Great Parndon Library
• Harlow Library
• Billericay Library
• Pitsea Library
• Laindon Library
• Vange Library
• Wickford Library
• Fryerns Library
• Basildon Library
• South Benfleet Library
• Hadleigh Library
• Canvey Island Library
• Great Tarpots Library
• Manningtree Library
• Harwich Library
• Greenstead Library
• Wivenhoe Library
• Brightlingsea Library
• West Clacton Library
• Holland Library
• Clacton Library
• Frinton Library
• Walton Library