2019 Finalists
BEST USE OF CRISIS COMMUNICATION
Hospital Acquired Infection
NHS Lothian
Situation
• A serious mould related infection crises, at a time when public concern over hospital acquired infections was at its height
Communications Activity
• Delivered a highly proactive, multi-channel strategy to ensure risk to patients was minimised
Results
• Patient feedback confirmed that they felt well-informed, supported and reassured
• Media reporting was fair, factual and non-hysterical
Brexit and its impact
Scottish Government
Situation
• As the UK approached the 29 March and then 12 April date for exiting the European Union, there was an urgent need to prepare for the potential consequences of a ‘no-deal Brexit’.
Communications Activity
• Ensure joined-up messaging across health and social care sector to provide public reassurance and NHS workforce
• Organised a Scotland-wide communications group with NHS and social care Comms leads to keep partners informed of the latest developments, and to hear about any issues that had arisen on board areas
• Utilised social media for key messaging with target audience groups
Results
• Although the UK has not left the European Union, a tried and tested structure is in place to ensure information can be cascaded quickly and effectively throughout the health and care system.
BEST USE OF DIGITAL
Emoji Emergency
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Situation
To support the reduction of inappropriate attendances at Hospital Emergency Departments, this campaign sought to:
• Highlight the types of inappropriate conditions people attend with
• Inform the public of a more appropriate care pathway.
Communications Activity
• Working closely with the Unplanned Care team, a campaign was produced on the top ten most common reasons people inappropriately attend Emergency Departments.
• As the campaign was run entirely on social media, competing amongst all the other social media ‘noise’, this resulted in the use of a short, sharp message, accompanied with a bold, simple and recognisable emoji graphic.
Results
• The entire campaign was well received and we achieved our highest performing post with the ‘poo’ emoji on 11 December. This accompanied the message ‘We know you feel bad, but not every illness is an emergency’ which achieved a reach of over 217K with almost 36K engagements. We also received broad press coverage from The Times, Daily Record, Evening Times, The Sun and Paisley Daily Express.
Monklands Hospital Replacement
NHS Lanarkshire
Situation
Public consultation on the proposal to refurbish or replace the University Hospital Monklands
Communications Activity
• Developed and delivered a comprehensive digital campaign to communicate, consult and engage with a large and complex stakeholder group
Results
• Use of analytics evidenced high levels of broad reach stakeholder engagement
• Using the website as a lynchpin, it played a major part in face-to-face stakeholder engagement sessions including:
o 637 public meetings
o 250 community group meeting
o 410 staff meetings
BEST IN-HOUSE CAMPAIGN
Speak Up Pharmacy
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Situation
• The 'Speak up' pharmacy campaign was aimed at driving-up awareness amongst staff about the contribution they could make to support friends and families in the most effective use of medicines.
Communications Activity
• Developed a campaign focused on the following key issues:
o reviewing repeat prescriptions • safety issues of out of date medicines • inability to re-use or recycle drugs • better understanding of generic drugs • promoting pharmacists as key points of contact when concerned about medications / drug reviews
Results
• Pre and post survey results suggest the campaign has encouraged behaviour change.
• This has led to wide uptake of campaign materials amongst other organisations
DNA Campaign
NHS Forth Valley
Situation
With around 600 people a month missing outpatient appointments, or making last minute cancellations, this campaign focused on raising awareness of the impact this has on patient care and the hundreds of thousands of pounds wasted in NHS Forth Valley every year.
Communications Activity
• Created a series of animations for local and social media highlighting:
o the number of people who fail turn up to appointments, the impact this has, and information on what patients should do if they can't attend
• Created an easy online form for patients who wished to cancel or change their appointment
Results
• Since the start of the campaign, DNA rates for new appointments went down from 10% to 5.5% and DNA rates for return appointments are down from 7.2% to 6%
• Between Dec 18 and Feb 19 the animations collectively reached over 60,000 people and received 8,000 likes/comments
BEST IN-HOUSE GRAPHIC DESIGN
HIS Brand Guidelines
Health Improvement Scotland
Situation
• There was a requirement to bring together a mix of uncoordinated identities to present a unified organisation focused on driving health and social care improvements
Communications Activity
• Conducted intensive research and engagement with all stakeholders to develop cohesive branding for the redevelopment of associated brands and identities within Healthcare Improvement Scotland
Results
• With internal politics and history to overcome, the final design solution brings together the many component parts of Healthcare Improvement Scotland that showcases an organisation with many parts and one purpose
Take Stock
NHS Fife
Situation
Campaign objective was to reduce medicine waste by highlighting the sheer amount of preventable waste and to highlight the associated cost of this in Fife.
Communications Activity
• Created a 'Take Stock' concept that asks people to take stock of their medicines before ordering more
• Produced a range of awareness raising materials and digital content
Results
• Produced blanket awareness-raising materials - via posters, pop up banners, radio advert, tent cards, t - shirts, social media content - focusing on five key messages
• Social media results (Jan-March 2019) – Facebook: 50k reach; 6,674 engagements – Twitter: 14,718 impressions, 316 engagements
BEST INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
Long Service Badge
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Situation
• As part of the 70th anniversary celebrations, this engagement campaign was created to boost staff morale and celebrate the loyalty and dedication so many of our staff have shown to the NHS over the decades.
Communications Activity
• Our in-house team designed badges marking 20, 30 and 40 years of service. A commemorative thank you card was also designed and issued with each badge. The long service scheme was promoted through our internal communications channels. Following feedback from staff a 50 year service badge and card were also developed.
Results
• Within the first month of promoting the scheme, 4,000 requests were received and to date over 7,000 badges have been distributed. In addition, the campaign received very high levels of staff engagement via social media, with staff sharing posts and encouraging each other to apply.
Change Hub
Health Scotland
Situation
• Redesign of existing Change Hub to improve the way organisational change is communicated to staff.
Communications Activity
• Development of new microsite to provide staff with a better user experience; improved design to ensure cleaner delivery of content; implementation of content governance and ownership.
Results
• Innovative use of an existing website to quickly produce a new microsite
• Buy in from staff
• Use of date to drive change and assess effectiveness
• Increased page views and time on page, reduction in bounce rate
BEST PARTNERSHIP CAMPAIGN
Healthy Weaning
NHS Lanarkshire
Situation
• Research with parents at neonatal clinics highlighted a need for digital weaning content
• Weaning babies on store-bought jars and pouches can be costly
• Many new parents need support on creating home-made, healthy weaning food
Communications Activity
• Partnering with local mums and Tesco, this campaign produced a series of step by step, easy to follow video guides on creating healthy, affordable weaning foods
Results
• Over 50K video views; 98K Facebook Reach; 58K twitter engagements
• After watching the videos 60% said that they had changed their weaning plan. 100% of families who watched the videos said that they had learned something new. 60% of parents who watched the videos had tried one of the recipes. The remaining 40% said that they planned to soon
• Almost one in five children in Lanarkshire are living in poverty. By following the steps outlined in this campaign, these families can save a substantial £53.48 each month.
Distress Brief Intervention
NHS Lanarkshire
Situation
Provision of strategic communications support for the controlled implementation of the DBI mental health programme in four geographical areas
Communications Activity
• Implementation of a communications cascade system in each partner area, including the creation of a DBI website to provide programme information and bespoke staff communications for each of the four key staff groups - A&E, Police, Ambulance, Primary Care
• Regular newsletter and #dbi_scot to encourage interaction across all pilot areas
• Use of anonymised stories to inform frontline staff of the positive impact of DBI service
• Usage of landmark events/visits (Ministerial visit, 1000th programme referral) over the course of the year to promote the concepts and purpose of DBI in each programme area.
Results
• user experience demonstrated very high levels of compassion from frontline staff, with those who had presented in distress prior to DBI reporting a much improved experience
• Positive media coverage of the DBI programme with no negative or critical reporting
TEAM OF THE YEAR
Donor Marketing
National Services Scotland
"DME are a truly agile and responsive team, with the sufficiency of the blood supply at the forefront of their minds. DME can create and implement a highly targeted direct response campaign within a matter of hours, which can be essential if there is a sudden large requirement for a blood group in hospital – for example a large patient bleed. DME care about SNBTS, donors, and patients and continue to work hard to ensure patients in Scotland have their transfusion needs met. They are great colleagues and work very hard to support NHS Scotland"
NHS Lanarkshire
"This is an ambitious team that cares deeply about the work it does, summed up by their team purpose, developed this year: "To develop innovate, specialist and effective communications that improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Lanarkshire". They are a joyful team to work in with plenty of laughs, however challenging the work is. Team members have the trust and confidence to speak their mind within the team safe in the knowledge that relationships are strong and views are welcomed. The team is very resilient and has continued its high performance despite some changes and personal challenges."