Athens

Athens is an access management system which provides access to professional academic resources. A large number of healthcare journals have been purchased for the use of staff and students working within the NHS in England.
 
Staff groups that are eligible to access Athens are:
  • NHS Staff
  • any registered dentist as described in section 26 of the Dentist's Act 1984
  • any dispensing optician or ophthalmic optician as described in section 36 of the Opticians Act 1989
  • any pharmacicst as described in section 132 of the Medicines Act 1968
  • hospice and other healthcare staff working with the NHS, providing services to NHS patients which are free at the point of delivery
  • specialist nurses working with the NHS such as Marie Curie and Macmillan nurses
  • staff working for any Government funded body providing social care.
  • staff in recognised health and social care charities providing services to NHS patients which are free at the point of delivery
  • MOD clinicians and nurses
  • HMP clinicians and nurses
  • certain university employees who deliver information training to NHS staff (applications considered on an individual basis)
  • students from the day of their starting in any HE or FE institution who embark on a medical/nursing related career which involves practice and placement with NHS institutions. In addition staff supporting those students within acemdemic institutions will also require access.
This is not comprehensive, if in doubt about eligibility please consult the library staff.

How to obtain an Athens password

To get an Athens password select the Health Information Resources link in the further information box. You must have a valid email address in order to register. This can be an NHS email address or you can use your home email. It is recommended that you register from an NHS computer as if you register from a non-NHS computer there may be a delay of up to 15 days before you receive your details.
 
An account activation email will be sent to the address you give. Once opened select the link in the email to activate your account which will remain inaccessible until the link is opened.

Searching the literature

NHS staff can access NHS Core Content resources, which include key biomedical and nursing databases. These databases are hosted by Health Information Resources from NHS Evidence using NHS Search 2.0.
 
In order to connect to the databases, you will need your Athens username and password.