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Changes to National Core Content as of 1st July 2025

Changes to National Core Content as of 1st July 2025

The National Knowledge and Library Services team at NHS England funds subscriptions to a collection of digital knowledge resources that is free at the point of use for all staff and learners across the NHS in England. This collection includes databases (such as Medline, CINAHL and Embase), e-journals and e-books, and BMJ Best Practice and the Royal Marsden Manual. Due to a national budget reduction of £1.7million for 2025/26 a difficult decision has been taken to cancel the contracts for some of the existing content.   

Having reviewed usage figures, value for money, and the availability of content in each of the packages, as well as feedback from clinical stakeholders, the following will be removed from the national collection from the 1 July 2025: 

  • ProQuest (for resources including AMED, British Nursing Index, Health Research Premium Collection, PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES)  
  • Oxford University Press (for Handbooks and Textbooks collection and Specialist Handbooks) 

All other national content will remain available to all eligible users. This includes: 

  • BMJ Best Practice and BMJ e-journals 
  • EBSCO databases: CINAHL, Medline and Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection 
  • Royal Marsden Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures 
  • Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines 
  • Ovid databases: Embase, Emcare, Medline, HMIC and Social Policy & Practice 
  • Trip Pro
  • Cochrane Library, CKS, BNF, BNFc and NHS OpenAthens (all provided and funded by NICE) 
  • Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines 
  • Ovid databases: Embase, Emcare, Medline, HMIC and Social Policy & Practice 
  • Plus, the supporting infrastructure, like the NHS Knowledge and Library Hub to simplify access. 

We realise how disappointing this news will be for you and your colleagues that rely upon these resources to inform their practice. 

If you would like to feedback about this announcement, please use this form  explaining how this change is impacting upon the learning, research and direct patient care undertaken by you, colleagues and learners across your organisation.