Marketing's role in saving the NHS

Last week Lord Darzi of Denham published his latest independent review of the National Health Service in England. We’re guessing you’ve only had time to skim its 163 pages at best perhaps only seeing his 7-point conclusion highlighting the following key areas that he believes need to be addressed: 

1. Re-engage staff and re-empower patients.
2. Lock in the shift of care closer to home by hardwiring financial flows.
3. Simplify and innovate care delivery for a neighbourhood NHS.
4. Drive productivity in hospitals.
5. Tilt towards technology.
6. Contribute to the nation’s prosperity. 
7. Reform to make the structure deliver.

Well, we’ve taken the time to dig a little deeper to help health marketers spot 3 of the elements that will help you to better communicate with those working within the NHS.

1. Honesty

‘The first step to rebuilding public trust and confidence in the NHS is to be completely honest about where it stands.’ 

Not only is honesty vitally important in helping the NHS to regain the confidence of the general public it’s also an essential tool for those speaking to NHS workers. For some reason, historically, marketers have shied away from the truth about the state of the health service and, consequently, their comms have often missed the mark. By doing this, communications end up lacking empathy and understanding which ultimately means they have fallen on deaf ears. In our marketing communications, our tone has to be spot on. We’re not talking doom and gloom, but we are suggesting a huge dose of realism. 

Understand the world of your NHS audience and show them that you understand.

1. Never over simplify

2. Never over promise 

3. Never over exaggerate

2. Frustration and exhaustion

‘Every day, more than a million NHS staff start their shifts ready to do their best for their patients. All too often, they end their shift frustrated and exhausted.’

As a nation we’re in danger of paying lip service to our ‘overworked heroes’ and as healthcare marketers, we need to be very careful not to fall into the same trap. We hear how busy and tired NHS workers are so often that a complacency about this can set in. We mustn’t. Let’s use this understanding to help us better communicate with this audience. 

‘Every day, more than a million NHS staff start their shifts ready to do their best for their patients. All too often, they end their shift frustrated and exhausted.’

As a nation we’re in danger of paying lip service to our ‘overworked heroes’ and as healthcare marketers, we need to be very careful not to fall into the same trap. We hear how busy and tired NHS workers are so often that complacency about this can set in. We mustn’t. Let’s use this understanding to help us better communicate with this audience. 

By targeting these human needs first, before anything else, you’re much more likely to engage this audience and stand a better chance of positioning your business as a trusted partner.

Ask yourself questions like: 

How can our products/services alleviate an element of frustration from their day?

Which of their challenges can we best address? 

How can we aim to revitalise them in some way through our interactions?

What can we do to help alleviate their exhaustion?

Don’t just tell a good story, be useful.

3. The patient voice

‘In some respects, particularly in its decision-making and systems, the patient voice is simply not loud enough.’

As Darzi states ‘At its heart the NHS is about people.’ Perhaps obvious, but all too often forgotten. In the work that you create, how can you best help champion the patient and assist your HCPs with patient insights? What can you do to turn up the volume on the patient voices in the fields you serve? Darzi highlights that ‘communication with the people the NHS serves is sometimes lacking.’ Surely as marketers this is something that we can support our NHS customers with? Sharing the burden of patient engagement and education. Supporting time-poor HCPs in the way they interact and communicate with their patients by providing them with cutting-edge, insight-driven materials.

Our role must go beyond product alone if we are to win the confidence of our customers. Serving their patients well, through useful and clear information, is a key way to do this.

Lord Darzi concludes that ‘the NHS is in critical condition, but its vital signs are strong’ We believe that whilst this presents some challenges to those communicating with healthcare professionals it also serves up key opportunities. Learning from some of the softer elements of his report such as those above, will help us all to create better communications for this audience and better serve them in caring for their patients.

To find out more about how we do this through our Human First approach to healthcare, please contact the Managing Partner of our Health business, Nick Dutnall.