Showcasing ideas and expertise whilst offering high-quality, innovative paid-for services has always been a balancing act when it comes to consultancy. But the current and necessary focus on productivity and efficiency requires us to do exactly that. SCW Transformation directorate’s diverse work to support primary care is offering a wide range of practical solutions to common challenges – and collaboration is key.
In my previous role as director for an award-winning PR agency, there’s no way I would have been offering workshops with prospective clients to tell them how we do our job. But effective communication and engagement is no dark art – in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Thankfully, life is different in the NHS where collaboration and partnership are fundamental to improving services and experience for patients.
That’s why it has been a joy to develop and deliver a series of practical, online workshops to help colleagues in evolving and maturing Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and in hard-pressed frontline primary care roles to actively consider, plan and create effective communications and engagement with patients and communities.
Part of a range of workshops, seminars and learning opportunities for primary care, commissioned by NHS England South West, the sessions were highly practical and interactive, using online whiteboards for collaboration and discussion, and sharing template documents for development and completion during and after the workshop. View case study for more details.
As demand for services increases and resources – both human and financial – remain incredibly challenged, coupled with an ever-more communicative world, building trust and understanding with patients and communities has never been more important. The sessions offered some simple tools and techniques to identify audiences and stakeholders and how they differ, and to step into their shoes to consider how best to reach them.
In all honesty, despite our role as ‘subject matter experts,’ we weren’t teaching participants anything they didn’t already know. PCN and practice leaders are experts on their own communities and patients. But the exercises, examples and templates allowed participants to apply that knowledge and understanding to create their own practical, bespoke communication and engagement strategies.
Other colleagues in SCW Transformation are supporting GP practices to review and develop accessible, user-centred websites, aimed at improving a patient’s journey, interaction and therefore relationship with their practice. This work is taking place at regional and national levels to share the opportunity and expertise as far and wide as possible. Again, not an approach I could have taken in private consultancy – making it all the more exciting to see such practical innovation and collaboration in action.
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