The Research Council for Complementary Medicine, in partnership with the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital and School of Integrated Health at the University of Westminster are continuing to develop a Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Specialist library for the NHS National Library for Health.

The project has the support of a wide range of other stakeholders and senior academics who form the wider External Reference Group and Editorial Board. NeLCAM will focus on complementary therapies and the evidence for their use and effectiveness in specific conditions. Links will be provided to quality assured sources of information.

The National Library for Health (NLH)
The aim of the library is to support evidence based decision making by patients, clinicians, managers and commissioners through the organisation and mobilisation of best current knowledge. The service aims to make a significant contribution to the continuous improvement of health and healthcare in the UK, not only by providing access to high quality information, but also by providing an opportunity for the users of information to become actively involved with its development and integration, in order to support local decision making. A primary aim has therefore been to create and sustain communities of users, through the development of Specialist Libraries.

Specialist Libraries are both a collection and a community of practice for all those interested in generating, organising, mobilising and utilising knowledge in their domain. The primary task of the Specialist Library is to organise special knowledge collections for their topic based on the core content of the NLH. They are led by health care professionals within the NHS, and utilise the expertise of experienced information scientists both as project staff and through a network of NHS library and information specialists, in order to ensure that knowledge services in the NHS are integrated and seamless.

NeLCAM will focus on the identification of 'best-evidence', initially prioritising therapies included in the current Department of Health funded RCCM NHS Priorities project (cancer, mental health, coronary heart disease and stroke, chronic disease - www.rccm.org.uk/cameol). Links to clinical guidelines (for example the NICE guidelines on cancer and palliative care) where there are implications for CAM will be provided. Links between NeLCAM and its users will be ensured by representation of a wide range of stakeholder organisations via the External Reference Group.

The Research Council for Complementary Medicine (RCCM)
The RCCM has, since 1983, facilitated collaboration between researchers and practitioners of conventional and alternative medicine. It has made a major contribution to developing research in complementary medicine and continues to provide quality information about the evidence on CAM. The RCCM also provides a research network that currently has over 350 members worldwide.

The Royal London Homœopathic Hospital
For 150 years The Royal London Homœopathic Hospital has been the leading complementary provider in the UK, and is Europe’s largest public sector hospital for integrated complementary and alternative medicine. Homoeopathy remains its backbone, but many other therapies form integral parts of the service offered. In 1948 the hospital became part of the newly created NHS and, in the same year, by permission of King George VI, the London Homoeopathic Hospital became the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital. Subsequently, on her accession to the throne, HM The Queen became the Hospital’s patron.

The Hospital also plays a vital role in the growing demand for education in complementary medicine and has also led much of the research effort into new techniques and therapies in complementary medicine. In 1995 the Hospital opened its Academic Unit and appointed Directors of Education and Research.