MANAGING COMMISSIONING COMMUNICATIONS
“The trick is to create a brand that portrays the values, remit, geographical area or any other
defining aspect of the CCG”
you want to publicise a recent achievement, people will immediately recognise your CCG and associate that positivity with your brand.
GUIDELINES New branding guidelines for authorised CCGs have recently been published, outlining the various requirements around using the NHS logo and recommendations around written communication. Probably one of the most important areas the guidelines cover is ‘tone of voice’ and how to get it right. They state that CCGs must be ‘concise, honest and open’ in all forms of written communication and should be free of jargon, acronyms and ‘overly technical language’. To date, I don’t think I’ve ever read a single document issued by the NHS that has managed to be free of acronyms and technical language. But with CCGs now at the helm, you have the opportunity to change that. Thinking about your audience is key: People looking at your
website and downloading information documents will be from a variety of backgrounds and industry sectors, so you need to be able to communicate with all audiences in an appropriate manner – without overloading them with too much information, but at the same time avoiding condescension. One way of achieving this is to clearly state who a particular document is tailored to. If it is aimed towards medical professionals or NHS staff, then say so – likewise if your message is for patients or carers; make this clear.
WEBSITES Websites are obviously the first place most people turn to when looking for more information about an organisation. CCGs are slightly different in that all providers come under the umbrella of the NHS brand. So if you have chosen to update
your PCT website now that the CCG is operational there are certain questions that should be considered before you do – as recommended in the guidance document: •
Is a new website necessary?
• Will it duplicate information already provided elsewhere, for example on
nhs.uk or NHS Direct Online?
• Would your content be better placed on another site in the NHS health community?
• What is the purpose of the website? • How does it fit in with your overall communications strategy?
• What other functions, systems and processes will be affected by the change?
You should also consider the reasons why people will be
visiting your website – most people will be looking for something specific and will therefore be making use of your search function. Many Government based websites make it very difficult to find specific items due to the way search listings come up; often starting with older documents at the top of the list instead of the other way round. Ensuring your search function is as accurate as possible and that categories and tabs are clearly displayed on the home page can only do good things for how your CCG is perceived by the public. Branding and communications are important in that they
let the world know what you and the NHS as a whole is doing to improve patient outcomes – which is ultimately what CCGs should be most concerned with when developing their new identities, says Horwood. “The NHS brand is memorable, and one of the most recognised brands in the UK. What CCGs need to make memorable is the quality of service provision they preside over and their local population’s experience of this.”
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