Communication Strategies (with users/stakeholders): their importance to specialist public health practice

1. Communication Strategies (with users/stakeholders): their importance to specialist public health practice Chris Lines Director of Communications NPHS/Wales Centre for Health

2. Curriculum vitae • 20 years in public relations • Private, public and voluntary sectors • With NPHS since 2005

3. Presentation • Communication strategy • Corporate communications • Internal communications • Stakeholder communications • Public communications • Case study: childhood leukaemia in North Wales

4. Communications • Understanding • Two way process • Perceptions and reality • Action and words

5. Communication strategy • What are the objectives? • What are the issues? • Who are the audiences? • What are the audience perceptions? • Who are the communicators? • What are the messages? • What are the best communication tools?

6. Corporate communications • Structural context • Political and media contexts • Very little public understanding of corporate roles and responsibilities • Difficulty in establishing internal and stakeholder understanding

7. NPHS corporate challenges • 750 staff on 40+ sites • From different organisations • Teams embedded in Local Health Boards and NHS Trusts • Partnership working • Variety of specialisms – niches • No statutory responsibilities • Service not a health authority

8. Service culture • Compare with consultancy • Not just doing what ‘customer’ wants • Help meet the ‘customer’s’ needs • Requires ‘customer’ confidence • Requires service and communications excellence

9. Internal communications • Identification with the organisation • Understanding the organisation • Making all the connections internally • Representing the NPHS consistently • Communication of the same messages

10. Strategic response internally • Intranet • e-bulletin • Information Exchange – Regional Forums • National Forum • Staff Conference • Director’s Diary • Corporate identity

11. Stakeholder communications • Stakeholders or partners • Range of stakeholders • Tensions between stakeholders • Understanding of the role • Everything in partnership • Invisibility of NPHS • Recognition of contribution

12. Strategic response externally • Internal communications strategy • Web site • Stakeholder e-news • Stakeholder conferences • Liaison meetings • Public health leadership and contributions

13. Public communications • Different publics • Engagement or communication • Reactive • Systematic or ad hoc • Complex subject • Different communicators • Confusing and mixed messages

14. Strategic response publicly • Engage staff, stakeholders and partners • Engage and understand public • Credible communicators • Credible and consistent messages • Proactive • Systematic

15. Childhood leukaemia in North Wales • Fears of raised levels of childhood cancer in Menai Straits resulting from Sellafield radiation • Fears raised by: • Green Audit • Alun Ffred Jones AM • Y Byd ar Bedwar

16. Health response • Analysis of data by Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU) • Report by National Public Health Service for Wales (NPHS) for Gwynedd and Anglesey LHBs

17. Government response • Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) asked to review : • Green Audit paper • WCISU paper • NPHS paper

18. WCISU NPHS Wales Gwynedd LHB Anglesey LHBs COMARE WAG NRPB HPA Environment Agency British Nuclear Fuels Local Authorities GPs Interested organisations

19. Report findings • “There was no evidence to link the diseases with nuclear discharges” (WCISU) • “There is no evidence of an increase in retinoblastoma or in tumours of the brain and spine in the Menai Straits area.” (NPHS)

20. COMARE findings • The pattern of diseases in the studies does not suggest a connection with man-made radiation • The analysis and methodology adopted by WCISU was appropriate • The interpretation of the WCISU study by the NPHS was appropriate

21. COMARE findings • “The Green Audit analyses have several significant weaknesses and cannot be regarded as reliable”

22. Communication issues • Radiation • Sellafield • Cancer • Scientific validity of small area figures • Morass of authority and expertise • Family and community needs for an explanation

23. Public Health message • There is no evidence to link the diseases with nuclear discharges

24. Communication opportunities • Get the message across to reassure the public • Lead the agenda

25. Communications threats • No categorical guarantees • Spin • Media sensationalism • Pressure Group activism • Political hijack ahead of a General Election

26. Communications strategy • Reassure the public • Get the facts on the record • Set the agenda • Be independent and authoritative • Reduce opposition opportunities

27. Communications plan • Jointly agree plan • Jointly agree statement and Q&A • Use single spokesperson • Quick timeline for correct notification • Focus on briefing time • Wider distribution by post and e-mail • Web site

28. Statement, letters andQ&A • Partner perspectives • Working with scientists • Complicated issues • 9 drafts!

29. Timeline for notification • Confidential briefings for partners • Minister’s letter to AM • Media briefing • Web site • Letter and reports to opinion-formers

30. Media coverage

31. Results • On-message and extensive media coverage • Limited pressure group response • No political storm • Appreciative opinion-formers responses

32. Conclusions • Strategy worked well • Message delivered effectively But… • Just one episode in communication • Green Audit is still campaigning

33. Conclusions • Engage staff and stakeholders first • It’s a long game!