The Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) and NHS England have signed a new five year licence agreement which improves access to published content for all NHS England staff and, for the first time, the deal includes hospices delivering NHS-commissioned care. The new deal will enable health workers to reproduce and share essential research and other content from digital and print versions of books, journals and magazines to support the delivery of patient care.
The licence also includes a supply of copyright-fee-paid Digital Rights Management (DRM)-free articles ordered from the British Library, one of the largest document collections in the world.
This ‘Licence Plus’ enhancement will also include broader storage rights meaning staff can now save articles and extracts on their personal devices for as long as they need them and share them across the NHS and hospices in England.
Helen Bingham of Health Education England said:
“The Licence allows us to make fullest possible use of the copyright materials that the NHS has paid for, which not only benefits patient care but also optimises our return on investment in digital and printed information resources. Delivery of high quality patient care means that copyright materials need to be widely shared across all parts of the system, and the Licence allows this by treating all NHS and affiliated bodies – now including hospices – as a single organisation.”
Jane Berg, Deputy Director – Skills, Knowledge and Research at Princess Alice Hospice agreed, saying:
“We approached Health Education England just over two years ago about the difficulties in sharing and using published information. The single CLA licence enables the exchange of digital copies between staff working in different parts of the NHS and hospices, which will allow for a more integrated approach to information and research proliferation. We are grateful to Health Education England for recognising the close partnership between hospices and the wider health and social care system.”
The new licence is available at CLA Licence Plus for NHS England
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