Arch Stories #2

A crucial element of good PR is being able to spot what the real story is – and to change the way you tell it to different audiences.  Here’s my latest PR tale….

Right Care was a special programme launched by the Department of Health to spread best practice across the NHS – and in particular, to tackle local variations in healthcare which couldn’t be explained or justified.

Sounds quite technical – and it is. But it’s important. For example – why is it that certain parts of the country spend more treating particular conditions and get worse results?

Arch Communications was commissioned to help raise the profile of the programme and its work. We supported Right Care for several years until its appreciation of its importance grew and it became part of NHS England.

Our work was centred around publicity and media relations, copywriting and stakeholder liaison – with a particular focus on Right Care’s flagship project, the NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare.

The Atlas was an amazing publication, with maps and a whole host of data highlighting differences across a broad range of health issues – everything from antibiotics prescription rates to diabetes monitoring, stroke care and cancer deaths. It told NHS professionals from Cornwall to Tyneside where they could improve.

I was responsible for promoting several different editions of the Atlas. From a PR perspective, there was almost too much in them, so easy-to-read summaries were the way to go. As an ex-journalist, I could spot the most newsworthy bits (both positive and negative) and then present them in a way which made it easier for reporters to see the story. 

As a result, we were successful in securing widespread media coverage, including by the BBC nationally. This was important, because we wanted to raise the profile of the Atlas so that care professionals across the country would use it.

We also spread the word through content in newsletters and bulletins and engaged with a wide range of stakeholder groups, including the Royal Colleges, statutory bodies such as NHS Transplant, National Clinical Directors, relevant charities and patient groups. 

Other support we provided for Right Care included:

• Creating and applying a clear narrative, so that it was easier to understand Right Care’s work
• Writing up online case studies, demonstrating the positive impact of the programme
• Securing features in specialist publications, which we wrote in collaboration with a range of senior doctors

This was a case where we had to adapt the story were we telling, so it worked across the news media, wider public and healthcare professionals. It was possible because we came to really understand what Right Care was about.

It’s pleasing to see how the programme has developed and become “mainstream”, as part of NHS efforts to do more with less. Here’s what Right Care said about us:

“The specialist support has been outstanding in its quality, reliability and versatility. Arch Communications has been a valuable resource in producing and delivering effective strategies, presenting complex issues to diverse audiences, and securing significant positive national media coverage.”