This page is for patients, their families and carers as well as the health and care staff supporting them.
We want to help everyone understand their own health and care better and we provide a lot of support for anyone interested in health literacy and patient information.
Free elearning course for anyone
Did you know that 43% of adults aged 16-65 struggle with text-based health information and that increases to 61% if the information also includes numbers? If you want to know more, and learn how you can help people understand health information better, take this 35 minute e-learning course
Easy read guides to download and share
For people with learning disabilities and autism, we have also co-produced two easy read guides to download. ‘Get ready to talk about your health’ prepares them for what to do before they go for a consultation with any health or care provider. ‘3 questions for better health’ suggests important questions to ask during an appointment.
Resources for staff to use and share with the people they care for
For anyone working or studying in health and care, as well as patients, their families and carers with general health and wellbeing we have collected books and online links – take a look at our Uplifting Resources and Your Health Collection. The books are available to staff working a Trust via their health library, but most people will be able find the books in their local public library too.
Understanding health literacy in your area
We have worked with the University of Southampton to develop an online health literacy geodata tool. By allowing health economists, commissioners and planners to see the levels of health literacy in their area means they are better equipped to tackle health inequalities aligned to other local challenges. By simply putting in your local authority you can see place based data. Try it out to find out what that looks like where you live.
NHS website
The NHS website is the main route to information and services from the NHS. In the Health A-Z section, you will find immediate links with buttons to a comprehensive health encyclopaedia and to Medicines information.
The NHS App
The NHS App lets you book GP appointments, order repeat prescriptions and access a range of other healthcare services.
Patient UK
Patient UK has lots of healthcare information. There’s a wellbeing section, where you can get the most recent updates on helping you enjoy a healthy lifestyle, as well as A-Zs for conditions and medicines.
There are videos and discussion forums are other useful aspects of this site – there is even a newsletter you can sign up for.
Watch this short video to find out more about the right questions to ask to help understand your health choices.