2018 Winners

BEST CRISES COMMUNICATIONS

Wannacry Cyber Attack
NHS Lanarkshire

BEST INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

Staff News 2017
NHS Forth Valley

Staff News is designed to inform, entertain, engender a sense of belonging and generate pride in NHS Forth Valley. It aims to raise awareness of key issues, encourage conversation and celebrate successes. It is also a valuable way of keeping staff updated on service changes and developments across the organisation by presenting material in a lively and easy-to-read format, with a modern feel.

Special four-page features have been introduced covering everything from e-Health to Health and Safety and iMatter. The popular ‘In the Spotlight’ on the back page highlights particular roles as well as giving a glimpse of someone’s life outside the NHS. New profiles of senior managers have also been introduced in response to feedback from frontline staff who said they didn’t always know who’s who. Our Everyone Matters section has included features on staff saving suggestions, redeployment and the introduction of new personal development reviews.  Overall our magazine is designed to be ‘fun’ yet informative and continues to evolve in response to feedback from frontline staff.

We were delighted to receive the 2018 award for Best Internal Communications, and see it as proof of the ongoing success of our quarterly publication.

BEST PARTNERSHIP CAMPAIGN

Meet the Experts
NHS Lanarkshire

BEST USE OF DIGITAL

Cervical Screening Flower Campaign
NHS Health Scotland

'Flower' was a joint campaign between NHS Health Scotland and the Scottish Government, which aimed to grab the attention of young women aged, 25-35, and start breaking down some of the barriers to attending cervical screening appointments. The overall ambition of the campaign was to increase levels of uptake in cervical screening in lower socio-economic groups living in Scotland. They felt the campaign needed to evoke an emotional reaction to overcome the significant barriers around the topic area, which is reflected in the language and imagery used in the 50-second film, which was at the heart of the campaign.

The results were extremely positive, indicating the combined strength of the creative and channels used. NHS Health Scotland were successful in engaging with their target audience on social media, generating conversation and ‘talkability’ with bold yet relevant content, designed to break down barriers.


BEST IN-HOUSE CAMPAIGN

Organisational Improvement Project
NHS 24

BEST USE OF GRAPHIC DESIGN

NES Annual Report
NES

NES set out to present the work of their organisation in a rational and user-friendly manner and create a visual experience of the highest quality while taking an innovative approach to the delivery of their corporate Annual Report.

To achieve this, they established a cross-disciplinary Design and PR team to analyse the previous year’s activity, identifying web, social media and Mailchimp preferences among their audience and developed communication through colourful animations and infographics to create a clean, contemporary environment.

This new approach has increased traffic to their site from 944 to 2200 sessions when compared to the same period in the previous year. NES also received more positive spontaneous qualitative feedback than in previous years, with the work being commended by fellow NHS Comms professionals, non-Executive Board members and on Twitter.


BEST EVENT

NHS Fife Achievement Awards
NHS Fife

NHS Fife’s Achievement Awards celebrated the work of NHS Fife staff, volunteers and public partners. Staff were encouraged to nominate fellow individuals and teams, with nominations whittled down to a shortlist of 30 across 10 categories.

The Awards recognised staff who go ‘above and beyond’ and aimed to boost staff morale and enhance the community spirit throughout the organisation. Good staff engagement in the run-up to and after the awards was a key priority.

The event was produced entirely in-house. No outside agency was involved in the production of any aspect of this event, including event publicity collateral, videos summarising each nomination and AV services on the night.

Despite its very low cost, the event packed an enormous punch in terms of its impact. It was, for many a very emotional night and it generated unprecedented levels of staff pride, extensive local media coverage and public appreciation.


TEAM OF THE YEAR

NHS Fife

This is an extremely flexible team who constantly look for new ways to improve their effectiveness. Undaunted by a very small departmental budget they demonstrated the creative ambition to make an impact. With just 2 days training on the Adobe Creative suite, the team now films and edits all videos in-house – a service that has had considerable impact both internally and externally.

The creation of an in-house video production unit has had an enormous impact, producing around 50 videos over the past year and targeting a wide variety of stakeholders. The team have really shone due to the ease with which they collaborate to become greater than the sum of their parts. They get their best ideas when they bounce them around together, they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, help each other out and are unashamed to ask each other for support. 

 

COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Lynne Kidd
NHS National Services Scotland

After 35 years as a communications professional in NHSScotland, Lynne Kid, Marketing Manager, retired in March 2018. Her outstanding contribution will be greatly missed. Lynne delivered across the full spectrum of management, providing leadership, motivation, energy and guidance to a team of around 20 marketing and communications colleagues in National Services Scotland.

As well as strategic planning, she managed special campaigns; took her turn at on-call media handling and managed crisis communications. She supported the Penrose Inquiry and organised high profile anniversary celebrations for the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) at Stirling Castle and the Scottish Parliament.

Lynne's skills in nurturing relationships have yielded a valuable business network, the benefits of which she shares openly with colleagues within NSS and across the health sector. She is modest but it is clear to others how much she has contributed and achieved.


YOUNG ACHIEVER

Calum Farquharson
NHS 24

The role of the Digital Content Assistant is a relatively new one at NHS 24, having grown from a Modern Apprenticeship. Despite the challenges that a new role can often present, Calum has managed to establish his position as a key member of the team with his innovative solutions and approaching the role with enthusiasm and, crucially, flexibility.

Since May 2017, Calum has been responsible for NHS 24 Twitter account. In that time, all engagement metrics increased from the previous eight months and the number of Twitter followers rose exponentially, at a steeper rate than the previous eight months.

No challenge is too great and no problem is insurmountable. Calum brings a measured and professional perspective to every issue and can support colleagues to identify an approach that might not otherwise have been considered.