Website Review |
NHSPlus
NHSPlus has come a long way since its inception and so has the current website. NHSPlus defines itself as a network of National Health Service (NHS) occupational health departments across England and the purpose of the organization is explicitly stated. The intended target audience will find their interests represented through various internal links. The three-column presentation with ‘latest news’ and ‘what’s new' provides an easy update for a reader in a hurry.Employers will find the business contribution section compelling. Information provided in the cost/benefit analysis page presents a good case for seeking occupational health services. Successful examples from small and medium enterprises (SME) would persuade hesitant SME clients who are the main target for NHSPlus. Finding your local registered NHSPlus provider is quick and easy.
The evidence-based guidance area will be a good resource for occupational health professionals and other related health care workers. The section is clutter free and well presented. As expected the guideline on occupational aspects of chronic fatigue syndrome is presented with all the accompanying leaflets but all other information is accessed by hyperlinks that direct you to different websites. In this age of dynamic changes to web portals (NHSPlus itself is an example), the webmaster must ensure that the links are functional and lead to the anticipated websites.
The consensus guideline section presents a collection of links to various documents although some of the links such as driving and fire fighters were non-functional at the time of this review. I found it hard to understand why the British Thoracic Society's previous (2000) guideline for tuberculosis was presented in this section while a link for March 2006 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guideline was available from the evidence-based guideline page.
The expectations of NHSPlus if an NHS occupational health unit wishes to join the NHSPlus network are well presented and the application process is easy to find. The NHSPlus standards are set out clearly and it is worth your time to go through it. This can serve as a good audit tool as well. A pdf document would have been more user-friendly and printer friendly.
The website has simple layout and maintains the format in both IE7 and Firefox web browsers. The absence of embedded flash or other features ensures that the web pages can be easily loaded both in slow and fast connections. Search results are provided in some cases for specific documents and in most cases to the web page. An individual user does not have to register to access information from this website but access to the ‘NHSPlus provider community area’ requires registration and this is for the provider unit.
This site is of general interest to occupational physicians and should be bookmarked by the NHS occupational health providers. The simple and crisp layout with good clarity in the presented information wins my heart.
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Scores |
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 Top Scores |
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- Access speed = 4/5
- Speed of searches = 3/5
- User-friendliness = 4/5
- Links to other websites = 2/5
- Overall score = 4/5
- Speed of searches = 3/5
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