A New Day Dawns for the NHS

It’s here! The day many clinical and non-clinical leaders have been working hard to get to and the day that will see a challenging yet very exciting change for the NHS. We are, of course, talking about CCG takeover.

Health reforms were implemented on April 1 2013 and today marks, for many, the first working day in their new roles. While there is a long way to go it seems from speaking with and reading articles, Tweets and blogs from CCG board members across the UK many are filled with pride and excitement at being given an opportunity to make a real difference for patients and clinical outcomes. Communicating these changes and creating better patient engagement is something that many are looking to address therefore, we thought, to mark this very special day in the NHS calendar we would give you a run-down of 5 important lessons learned by the eskimosoup team, having worked on over 400 NHS projects and 50 health campaigns since 2006. 

Engaging with local communities

5 principles we’ve gained from working with the NHS

1) Engagement works best when the messages are very targeted by segment.
 

Whether we segment geographically to a ward, age group, health and wellbeing, interest or a combination of these, it greatly increases the chances of success if an intervention, programme or campaign really speaks to specific types of people with the messages most pertinent for them.

In action > eskimosoup supported North East Yorkshire and Humber Clinical Alliance (Cancer) develop a creative communications strategy for a throat cancer behavioural change campaign targeting men of a specific age and locality (and their key influencers) to great effect with a 37% recall, two national awards and validated statistics that the campaign saved lives.

2) To achieve meaningful dialogue hang out where your target audience hang out.

Having segmented your audience consult with them about how they wish to be actively engaged with and create methods that allow a two-way dialogue. Whether its community meetings, social media, newsletters, clinics or something else we are much more likely to succeed when communicating with each other in the right environment.

In action > eskimosoup developed with NHS Hull a pioneering engagement programme to improve health behaviours amongst young mothers in specific wards of the city. Creating an approachable Facebook profile and character alongside a blend of other methods the campaign exceeded expectation, received tremendous media coverage and has been used as a case study by Oxford University and at Facebook’s annual conference.

3) Active engagement can be achieved by creating causes that bring out passion. 

We know that when it comes to the NHS many people take action when there is a threat of something being taken away that has a perceived negative impact on the community. This can be flipped on its head to motivate people to really want to bring in new or better activity, campaigns or partnerships within communities.

In action > eskimosoup was one of the first companies to work with the NHS to roll out a localised social media-led communications campaign through effective partnership with schools and local business. The “Keep Measles Out!” campaign combined education and film production that put the voice and opinion of young children at the heart of the campaign leading to a strong increase in MMR vaccination amongst the target age group and area.

  
4) Tie our engagement under a consistent banner.

Segmenting campaigns and activities is effective, though it is crucial that stakeholders understand that there is joined up thinking and movement towards a common goal that benefits the community as a whole.

In action > eskimosoup has developed umbrella brands for a range of aligned health and behavioural objectives. The Health Central, West and East identities alongside the Leeds Let’s Change campaign continue to lead as a strong brand under which specific goals and services can thrive. 

5) Create benefits that far outweigh costs. 

One convention of social marketing is to understand the perceived costs of behaviour, engagement or any action in the mind of our target audience. To achieve buy-in, engagement and ultimately positive action we need to create and communicate a compelling case that we can and will make a change for good that is worth it.

In action > eskimosoup has developed and implemented the “Smokes No Joke” interactive programme into secondary schools. This boldly challenges the motivations of smoking from the perspective of young people including looking at the cost-benefit of giving up. The combination of humour, interaction, hard-hitting messages and self-realisation has three times been re-commissioned and has a waiting list amongst schools.

We love this kind of work and would welcome a chance to discuss your communications and engagement challenge in more detail.

What a day!

Many of you may already know from taking a brief look at our dedicated health website that eskimosoup is highly involved in a localised campaign running alongside the NHS Time to Change campaign called ‘1in4 of us’. Having recently exhibited the work we have done on behalf of NHS Hull at a big local NHS mental health workshop for businesses it got us thinking about what is being done to help workforces and whether businesses in other parts of the UK, who may not have access to these free and informative mental health first aid training sessions, wealth of resources and expert advice, may benefit from similar NHS lead schemes in their area.

eskimosoup has been involved with the ‘1in4 of us’ campaign since it started in April last year in an effort to eradicate mental health stigma and make local people aware it is happening to “us”, you or me, family or friends or even those within your workforce.

Paying close attention to what this campaign has been doing for businesses the website, which acts as a hub for the community to seek advice and to help eradicate mental health stigma, has a dedicated section for organisations. It is within this section where businesses can understand a bit more about what they can do to help spread the ‘1in4 of us’ message and help staff with mental health problems from simply displaying a poster, raising the subject in team meetings through to something far more comprehensive. It offers staff advice on what to tell their employer and where to get help as well as handy tips on different activities directors can put on for staff and their families, helpful videos, practical legal tips and sources of specialist advice.

Five million British workers are affected by such mental health conditions including depression, anxiety and stress and this website aims to end the myth that those with mental health problems are unable to work. In fact, with the right help and support employees can maintain productivity, save businesses money and in turn staff can become more loyal, engaged and motivated.

The campaign also runs a number of different events including a Tea and Talk day as part of World Mental Health Day as well as taking the campaign’s fun and friendly bubblehead characters into major local corporations to spread the message, get people talking and promote the need to create mentally healthy workplaces free from discrimination.

It is amazing to see how quickly word can spread and the possibilities organising events with other mental health charities and organisations can have. It was certainly impressive to see so many major businesses in our area becoming more proactive when it comes to improving their healthy staff agendas through better understanding and supporting their workforce when it comes to mental health.

A healthy lifestyle is not just for New Year

A new year a new you! This is the mantra across many people’s lips as we kick start 2013. Adverts are telling you that you too can lose 15lbs, magazines are telling you to eat better and the NHS campaign Change4Life is informing everyone why they need to be more active. With so much emphasis surrounding living a much healthier lifestyle it got us thinking how much people are really taking all this in and, more importantly, how long it will take them to return to their old habits.

Just the other day we spotted someone on our social media feed saying a pretty similar thing in that they would be attempting it for a couple of weeks after their festive food frenzy and then returning to their normal diet of pizza and full-fat coke in a matter of weeks. A very unhealthy choice according to Change4Life unveiling that there is a massive 17 cubes of sugar in a bottle of cola and a wine glass full of fat in some large pizzas!

One healthy lifestyles campaign we worked on which seems to have stood the test of time is the Leeds Let’s Change which is an all year round campaign. This runs alongside the national Change4Life project and includes a fun, consumer friendly and interactive website which gives people advice about such subjects as reduced alcohol consumption, healthy eating, physical activity, smoking and weight management.

Other benefits users welcome are an interactive map telling people where they can go for help and advice regarding how to live healthy lifestyles. The website is updated daily and gives local people opportunities to take up the latest local gym and fitness offers in the city. A live Twitter feed and other online resources are also integrated into the site which is designed to work on all computers and mobile devices to give people access to tips on the move.

Working on this project was a real eye-opener as it is shocking to see sheer amount that people living unhealthy lifestyles can cost local NHS groups. It is a project we are extremely proud of and have received lots of positive feedback for. We know other areas would benefit from similar kinds of services and are looking forward to exploring new BIG ideas to help other NHS groups UK wide.