Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust communications strategy July 2015

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Agenda Item 9.3

CENTRAL MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHSFOUNDATION TRUST

Report of:Executive Director of Human & Corporate Resources Margot Johnson

Paper prepared by:Associate Director of Strategic Communications Karen Doyle

Date of paper: December 2014

Subject:Central Manchester University Hospitals CommunicationsStrategy 2015 - 2017

Purpose of Report:

Indicate which by

Information to note

Support

Resolution

Approval

Consideration of Riskagainst Key Priorities

The Communications Strategy aims to support the delivery ofthe organisations key strategic priorities. All key deliverableswill be risk assessed and a quality impact assessmentundertaken using the usual risk management scoring system.These will be signed off by the Executive Director of Human &Corporate Resources.

Recommendations The Board of Directors is asked to approve the proposedstrategy and key deliverables.

Contact Name: Karen Doyle (Assoc. Director of Strategic Communications)Tel: 0161 276 4841


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Central Manchester University Hospitals Communications Strategy2015- 2017

This Communications Strategy will continue to evolve to reflect the changing nature of theTrust. As the strategy is implemented, new priorities will become clear and the strategy willbe updated as required.

1. Introduction

Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT) is the leadingprovider of tertiary and specialist healthcare in Manchester and treats more than 1 million

patients a year.

CMFT currently runs eights hospitals in Manchester and Trafford, as well as specialistservices to patients from Greater Manchester, the North-West and further afield. Within thecatchment area there are areas of great affluence alongside areas of great deprivation,which affects communication needs and approaches. Over half the population are under 30years old and almost half (47%) are from black and minority ethnic groups; these two factsalone highlight the Trust as an organisation which should be focusing more on digitalcommunications and ensuring information is easily accessible for hard to reach groups.

The healthcare landscape is also changing markedly. As a Foundation Trust, CMFT is

operating in an increasingly competitive climate as patients have more choice andGovernors and other stakeholders (including members) play an influential role in thepriorities of the Trust.

To maintain its leading position, the Trust has an ambitious vision for the next five years,which is:

To be recognised internationally as leading healthcare;excelling in quality, safety, patient experience, research,innovation and teaching; dedicated to improving healthand wellbeing for our diverse population.

There are seven aims that underpin the delivery of the Trusts vision:

1. Improve the safety and clinical quality of our services2. Improve the experience for patients, carers and their families3. Develop our specialist services and, in collaboration with our health and social care

partners, lead on the development and implementation of co-ordinated care4. Increase the quality and quantity of research and innovation across the organisation

to improve patient health and wellbeing5. Provide high quality education and training6. Develop our organisation, support the wellbeing of our workforce and enable each

member of our staff to reach their full potential7. Remain financially stable and generate a surplus to invest in our services


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This is against a backdrop of increasing costs and greater financial pressures. Therefore,supporting these aims are six values that recognise the crucial role people play in helpingthe Trust to achieve its vision:

Pride: I will show pride by being the best in everything that I do

Respect: I will show regard for the feelings, rights and views of others

Empathy: I will show empathy by understanding the emotions, feelings and views ofothers

Consideration: I will show thoughtfulness and regard for others, showingconsideration for their feelings and circumstances

Compassion: I will show understanding, concern and contribute to providing a safe,secure and caring environment for everyone

Dignity: I will show respect and value all individuals and their diverse needs

These values run through everything that the Trust does and acts as a guide for how staffshould behave towards one another and towards patients and their families.

Since becoming a Foundation Trust in 2009, CMFT has expanded and taken on a number ofdifferent services, such as acquiring Trafford Hospital, or, running services within thecommunity setting. The past five years has also seen the completion of a leading-edgehospital campus, which brings together on one site:

- Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital- University Dental Hospital of Manchester- Manchester Royal Eye Hospital- Manchester Royal Infirmary- Saint Marys Hospital

This creates its own set of challenges as staff often dont feel that they belong to CMFT,but, they do feel a great affiliation to the particular hospital they work in. There is a greatneed to capitalise on this passion by creating an identity for each hospital that staff andpatients can feel proud of. The advantages of being part of a large Foundation Trust can beused when referring to benefits such as career progression, financial stability or sharing best

practice.

It is vital that CMFT is clear when the individual hospital brand should be the focus and whenCMFT as a Foundation Trust is the lead. Not only will this give clarity of message for ourstakeholders, but, it is proven that staff who feel more engaged with work will perform better;which in this case will ultimately lead to better patient care. The Communications andOrganisational Development team must work closely together to deliver this change.However, it is everyones responsibility to ensure communication and engagement isdelivered and that the values are adopted in the Trusts daily work. Communication is morethan an exchange of information it involves a two way partnership and is as much aboutattitudes and behaviours as it is about delivering messages.


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2. Communication Strategy

The absence of a clear communications strategy for the organisation in recent years hasresulted in communications being reactive, internal and external communications channelsnot fit for purpose and a lack of clarity around the brand.

In order to achieve its vision the Trust needs to effectively communicate and engage with allits stakeholders to ensure it is ready for the challenging times that lie ahead.

Therefore the vision of the communications team is to:

Engage everyone in all that we do

The communications team is the central point of contact for a variety of differentstakeholders, both internal (e.g. nurses and consultants), and external (e.g. politicians andjournalists). It is vital that the Communications Team is considered best in class with

everyone it engages with and becomes the go to team for any communications support.

However, CMFT needs a step change in how it approaches and delivers communication andengagement activities over the next five years. It needs to move from an inform and directculture to one of empowerment and involvement. Supporting the CMFT OrganisationalDevelopment Team to deliver the programme of cultural change is also a key component tosuccessfully delivering the Communications Strategy.

This is supported by a recent study conducted by The Department of Health, which looked athow communication is used to support the development of high-performing organisations. Ithighlighted that better-performing Trusts committed more resources to communication, weremore likely to have marketing strategies in place and had communications teams that were

more influential. It went on to identify four attributes that contribute to what good looks likein terms of communications internally:

An excellent understanding of the brand Excellence in planning, managing and evaluating communications Leadership support for communication Communication as a core competency

The Communications Strategy for CMFT identifies three key areas it needs to focus on tobecome a high-performing organisation.

(i). Build Communications team capability

All roles in the Communications Team are aligned to a division (hospital) rather thana communication specialism, which has created a silo mentality amongst the teamand resulted in the Trusts communication channels being neglected. There is alsono opportunity for career progression, which means the Trust will potentially losetalent and create a demotivated workforce. A new structure will provide trustedadvisors at the right level of seniority to face into the organisation to developstrategic plans with divisional and corporate directors and prioritise support.Specialist communication roles will also be created to drive forward improvements incommunication channels and ensure the team is able to support the ever morecomplex and demanding requirements of our stakeholders. Development plans willbe agreed to ensure the team is performing at its optimum level.


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(ii). Develop CMFT and Hospital brands

There are significant inconsistencies in how the brand is adopted within theorganisation and a lack of central control. CMFT is an established Foundation Trustand the focus needs to be on developing the various hospital brands that resonate

with staff and patients alike. A brand hierarchy needs to be developed that showswhen CMFT should be promoted and when it should be an individual hospital. Inaddition, there are a number of pieces of work that are being developed in silosacross the organisation (for example the roll-out of Values and Behaviours, the re-branding of RMCH) and these need to come together to strengthen CMFT andprovide clarity for our audiences.

(iii). Review effectiveness of communication channels

There is currently no measurement of the effectiveness of our internal or externalcommunication channels, which means there is a lack of understanding of the usersand their requirements. Channels need to be developed that are relevant and thepurpose of each is clear. Each channel needs to be easily accessible to its targetgroup or groups, to afford them the opportunity to feedback and interact with theTrust. This will contribute to staff, patients, members and the public feeling involvedand engaged and will ensure consistency of message.

Running through all of this is a constant focus on proactively promoting the Trust with localand national media and building relationships with our key partners.

3. Implementation Plan

Outlined below are the key deliverables:

Deliverable 1: Build Communications Team Capability

Goals

Re-structure the team so it is aligned by communications specialism to better supportthe organisations needs

Ensure there is career progression within the team to help retain talent by creating

more senior roles Design and implement a development plan for the communications team to ensure

they are working towards becoming trusted advisors. Develop an External Communications Specialist post to focus on relationships with

key media and stakeholders to better understand requirements

Deliverable 2: Develop CMFT and Hospital brands

Goals

Develop the CMFT group brand and that of each Hospital, through focus groupswith patients, staff and other stakeholders

Produce a clear brand hierarchy and guidelines so people understand when to relyon the hospital brand and when to rely on the group brand.

Develop key messages for CMFT and each hospital to ensure consistency Develop a PR strategy that proactively promotes the work of the Trust to increase the

number of positive news stories, for example promoting particular awards that CMFTand its staff have won


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Deliverable 3: Review Effectiveness of CMFTs Communications Channels

Goals

Redevelop the Trusts website to align with the outcome of the branding work and

build the identities of individual hospitals in response to stakeholder requirements Improve patient information and accessibility not only to the website but also via

other forms of communications, such as patient information leaflets Create a central repository of patient information leaflets and make them more

accessible. Improve the Trusts digital offering, such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs to provide

timely information that is open to feedback to encourage involvement andengagement from a broad range of stakeholders. Consider the use of digitalchannels, which are also a primary way to target hard-to-reach groups.

Survey stakeholders to understand their communication requirements to informimprovements

Develop a channels matrix that outlines the key channels, purpose and audience so

messaging can be targeted Introduce measurement for all channels, where possible, in order to make informed

decisions on improvements required (e.g. type, frequency and tone of voice) alongwith demonstrating effectiveness.

Build an entirely new intranet site so it can function as an effective communicationschannel and information portal, saving time for staff and engaging them in the Trust.

4. Monitoring, Evaluation and Review

The Board will review progress twice yearly with more frequent reporting through the TrustManagement Board.

5. Governance

It is essential that proper governance is in place to ensure delivery of the CommunicationsStrategy. Executive Director responsibility rests with the Director of Human and CorporateResources.

6. Next Steps

The immediate next steps are:

By February 2015 A detailed implementation plan will be drawn up that indicates the keycommunications activities, budget and resources allocated to delivering the strategy. Theplan will also include proposed timescales and identify particular milestones to ensure thereare clear steps towards ultimate goals.

As staff engagement is critical in this role, the communications plan will also closely alignwith the OD (inc. Values & Behaviours) and Transformation strategies in order to strengthenorganisational plans by working together.

Members and Governors are also key stakeholders (and audience) therefore the CMFT

Communications Team needs to work closely with the Chairman, Trust Board Secretary andMembership Manager to ensure connectivity with members and governors, and thatchannels are relevant and messages aligned.

By July 2015 first six-monthly update to the Board on progress.


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7. Recommendations

The Board of Directors is asked to approve the CMFT Communications Strategy 2015-2017and note:

- the alignment with other key CMFT strategies including the OD & Transformation strategies

- the completion of a detailed Implementation Plan by February 2015

- that the Board will receive a six-monthly report on progress

Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust communications strategy July 2015

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Transcript of Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust communications strategy July 2015