NHS resources (Athens)

Students on some courses will be eligible to access NHS resources in addition to the University Library resources for academic study and current awareness. Find out about these resources, who qualifies and how to get access below.

Who qualifies for access?

Qualifying students include those on the following programmes:

BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing
BSc (Hons) Community Health
BSc (Hons) Healthcare Science
BSc (Hons) Mental Health Nursing
BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy
BSc (Hons) Specialist Community Public Health Nursing
BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy
BSc (Hons) SCPHN
MSc Adult Nursing
MSc Advanced Clinical Practice Degree Apprenticeship (2 and 3 year programme)
Msc Advanced Clinical Practice (modular route)
MSc Mental Health Nursing
MSc Occupational Therapy (pre reg)
MSc Physiotherapy (pre reg)
MSc Speech and language therapy programme
Return to Practice
Return to practice unit (in CPD flexible portfolio) 
PgDip SCPHN
PgDip Community Health
Non-medical prescribing (NMP and V150)
Nursing Associates
FDSc Health and Care Practice (Nursing Associate)
FDSc Healthcare Science (part of Science & Engineering Faculty)

Students on these courses qualify as they include practical placements within NHS provider services for the duration of their programme. Staff who teach these students can also gain access to the resources.

Other students who are employees of the NHS should be able to request a NHS Athens login from their NHS Trust library. If you are undertaking a short placement within an NHS Trust setting and are not on one of the courses listed, you may also be able to gain access through the NHS Trust library.

What resources can be accessed?

The NHS resources are a good source of quality information that can be used for academic study and current awareness. There are some overlaps between the NHS and the Manchester Metropolitan University resources, but there are also features unique to each, so it is worthwhile using both resource collections when searching for literature.

Please note that some resources are not available to Athens education accounts but will be accessible to full Athens accounts from the NHS. If you are working for the NHS, you should be able to get a full account from your Trust librarian.

You can search for health and care evidence from Health Education England through the Knowledge Hub: https://library.nhs.uk/knowledgehub/. You can log in with your Athens account here.

There are also links to BMJ practice, the NICE guidelines and individual databases such as the British Nursing Index, CINAHL, Medline, PsycINFO, TRIP Pro and EMBASE. You can search specific journals from the tab at the top of the page.

How can I access these resources?

If you qualify for access you will need an Athens account to log in to the resources. To register for an account, you can either email [email protected] or contact the NHS library at the trust you work in.

When you request an Athens account, you will be sent an activation link; you need to follow this link and complete setting up your account before the link expires. Once the account is activated, you can set your own password and log-in.

Your Athens login is for NHS resources only. All other resources from the University Library should be accessed with your University login. It is advisable to use different browsers, e.g. Firefox, Chrome, Edge etc., for accessing NHS resources and university resources to avoid conflict between accounts and access entitlements.

You can log into your Athens account at: https://openathens.nice.org.uk/Auth/Login or head to the knowledge hub to search the resources: https://library.nhs.uk/knowledgehub/.

Further Support

If you need further support or are having any issues accessing your Athens account please email [email protected] or contact your NHS Trust library.

Those undertaking a placement in Manchester and needing to contact the Trust library can contact Oxford Road [email protected] or Trafford [email protected] 