Lancashire Libraries's List: Find: Health and Welfare

NHS Choices is the online 'front door' to the NHS. It is the country's biggest health website and gives all the information you need to make choices about your health.

This short free courses shows you how you can use the NHS Choices website to find health information, support and services, and provide feedback to the NHS.

Lancashire County Council's Welfare Rights Service exists to help you, your family, and your friends, with claims for the whole range of social security and local authority benefits and tax credits. Whether you are unemployed, sick or disabled, a pensioner, a carer, on low wages, or finding it difficult to manage, our aim is to ensure that you get your full entitlement to benefit. Includes information on office locations within Lancashire. 

The web site of the NHS Direct service. It includes a Health Encyclopaedia and a Local Information Database which can help you find doctors, dentists, opticians and pharmacists. 

Guidestar currently provides information on all the registered charities in England and Wales and hopes to expand to include Scotland and Northern Ireland. The base information about each charity is provided from the records of the Charity Commission . This is subsequently maintained and updated by the charities themselves. 

The BNF is the official publication listing details all medicines that are generally prescribed in the UK, with special reference to their uses, cautions, contra-indications, side-effects, dosage and relative costs. 

This website has an A to Z list of substances explains appearance and use, effects, chances of getting hooked, health risks and UK law, it also offers free confidential drugs information and advice 24 hours a day.

Contact details for the Benefit Enquiry Line which provides advice and information for disabled people and carers on the range of benefits available. 

Blue parking badges allow cars carrying people who are registered blind or who have severe walking difficulties to park near shops, stations and other facilities. 

Netmums describes itself as "a local network for mums by mums with a wealth of information and advice on being a mum with young children in your home town". Registration is required to use the site but there is no charge for this. Information and advice on toddler groups, baby groups, childrens' classes and lessons, family outings, activities for children, childcare, preschools, places to go, children's parties etc. Patrons of the network are Anita Roddick of Bodyshop fame and John Bird, founder of the Big Issue. 

A web site giving general medical information and advice. Over 250 of the UK's and Europe's leading doctors and health professionals write, edit and update the contents of NetDoctor.co.uk. 

Nationwide Access Register was developed, in partnership with RADAR and Employers Forum on Disability, and provides a guide to accessible facilities including transport and leisure, hotels and services. Searches may be refined according to disability type. 

The web site of the mental health charity. The "information" link on the left-hand side gives access to a series of useful fact sheets on a range of relevant topics. You can also find information on a MIND association in your area. 

The Mental Health Foundation is a registered charity. The web site provides information on the Foundation and comprehensive information and fact sheets on mental health problems. 

A useful source of information on proprietary medicines published by Datapharm Communications Ltd . The eMC (electronic medicines compendium) pages give contact details on the drug companies, names of products, compositions of drugs, contraindications etc 

This is a site providing general advice on medicine and health. It also provides links to sites that give information about local NHS services. 

An interactive NHS tool designed to help improve you and your family's health. Includes actions you should take now and actions you should consider. NHS LifeCheck has been redeveloped as a single tool to replace the three former independent tools: BabyLifeCheck, TeenLifeCheck and MidLifeCheck. It is aimed at all sections of the population, including socially disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. There are also links to information on NHS Choices and Change4Life. 

Lancashire Young Carers website has been set up to help and support young carers across the county.A young carer is a person under 18 years of age, who is significantly affected by caring for a person with a long-term illness or disability - including mental health issues and substance misuse. The site includes details of available support, contact details etc 

There are currently about 6,000 dentists listed on this site from the British Dental Association. You can find a dentist in your area and practices that specialise in particular areas of dentistry. 

eMedicineHealth is an advertising sponsored first aid and consumer health information site written by physicians for patients and consumers. It includes slideshows and a medical dictionary.