MP opens hospital health info centre
SADIQ KHAN, MP for Tooting, was the guest of honour at a special ceremony to open a new information centre for patients at St George’s Hospital.
The Health Information Centre is run by volunteers and stocks a wide range of free information about health, diseases and operations.
Opening the new centre, Mr Khan said:
“Giving patients access to high-quality information about their health is essential and I am delighted to see that St George’s Hospital has seized the initiative and established this important resource for the local community.”
Patient and Public Communications Manager Jean O’Shaughnessy, who manages the Centre, said:
“There is a huge demand for high-quality information about health. People want access to trusted sources of information to help them make informed decisions about their treatment. They also want ideas for ways they can improve their health and avoid falling ill.
“We already have a thriving patient information scheme at the hospital but it was in response to this demand that we decided to set up a resource for our local community where people could access free leaflets and publications produced by the hospital and other health organisations.
“If we don’t have something in stock, then our trained team of volunteers can direct people to other, quality sources of information they might find helpful.”
Around ?50k of capital money was spent on the new centre. The money came from generous donations from the St George’s Charitable Foundation and the hospital’s League of Friends.
More than 200 information leaflets produced by the hospital will be available from the centre along with publications from special health organisations and charities.
Information will also be provided in a number of languages and in special formats for people with learning disabilities and those with hearing and sight difficulties.
