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NHS Choices are this years winners of the National eWell-Being Awards for Reaching the Digitally Excluded. The Libraries Inclusion Programme was chosen by the Race Online 2012 team.

NHS Choices Libraries Inclusion Programme aims to use existing community IT hubs (libraries) to tackle social and digital health inequalities. In order to reach disadvantaged groups and help them get online the NHS have partnered up with libraries and UK Online Centres to promote online and facilitate access to online health information to those at risk, helping them control their health and well-being throughout their lives.

The project provides an online training programme for the NHS Choices website to provide staff with the skills and confidence to use the website. Since 2009 approximately 2,200 library staff have logged on to the site and feedback has been very positive. Trained staff are then able to provide support and assistance to people using computer at libraries for example to access the information they need.

The judges were impressed by the use of existing resources to challenge social and digital inequalities. They thought that the premise of providing people with information and access to that information in order to better manage their health conditions was simple and brilliant. This project has also enabled people to develop IT skills which are relevant to other areas of their lives such as work, education and so forth.

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