Secondment support to communicate major healthcare changes in North West London

Freshwater supported a collaboration of NHS clinical commission groups (CCGs) in North West London to communicate major changes to maternity and paediatric services, with members of the Freshwater team seconded to roles within the CCG offices throughout the contract.

This involved developing a number of communications materials to inform the public about the changes and what it meant for their care, along with regular stakeholder briefings to ensure staff, politicians and community groups were kept abreast of what was happening and when.

Freshwater was appointed, on recommendation from NHS England, to support the collaboration of CCGs in North West London (NWL) in communicating major transformations to healthcare services for the two million residents living across its eight boroughs. This included all communications on high-profile changes to maternity and paediatric services under the ‘Shaping a Healthier Future’ programme.

Recognising that the NHS needed ‘boots on the ground’ quickly, Freshwater supplied two members of staff to work on secondment at the NHS offices in NWL, with further strategic support provided when required.

We oversaw the roll-out of an extensive communications strategy which involved internal and external communications activity in the form of public relations, social media, public speaking training for clinicians and healthcare professionals, the production of briefing packs for politicians and NHS leaders, and the development of frequently asked questions and scripts for use by health professionals and engagement teams.

We organised and attended regular engagement meetings at children’s and health centres, both with local organisations and seldom heard groups, with feedback from these meetings allowing us to adapt our communications strategy where necessary.

We developed tailored communications to audiences including midwives, GPs, politicians, CCGs and trusts, patient and public representation groups, community groups and the general public. Freshwater oversaw the design, production and distribution of a range of communications materials, including an NWL-wide maternity booklet, travel and service location maps and patient journey posters.

As well as supporting the ‘Shaping a Healthier Future’ reconfiguration programme, our scope of work was further extended to copywriting and overseeing the development of a new Healthier North West London website. Freshwater also developed 12-month public relations plans for all six of the CCGs’ transformation programmes, as well as a narrative for each to disseminate across all future internal and external communications activity.

Freshwater was originally commissioned to support the CCGs over an intensive two-week period. However, due to the success of the arrangement, the team was seconded to work from the NHS offices in NWL for 11 months, with two members of Freshwater staff appointed to interim roles within the NHS team, including one as its communications manager.

The transition of maternity services was communicated to all stakeholders, with the client describing the booklet announcing the changes as “one of the best things we (the NHS collaborative in NWL) have done”. Moreover, the NHS was able to proceed with crucial changes to maternity services without delay, allowing it to begin the process of subsequent changes to paediatric services.