Bristol North Primary Care Trust Board Report
Board Meeting 4th March 2004
Agenda Item 12.2 Outline Media Report 27 January – 26 February
The biggest Bristol health stories over the last month have been the ‘Have Your Say’ campaign for the Bristol Health Services Plan and the consultation for the South Bristol Community Hospital which have both had extensive coverage in all media. In addition to the advertising space bought in papers and on GWR, the Evening Post, Western Daily Press, all editions of the Bristol Observer, various local radio stations, BBC TV, HTV and Venue Magazine have all featured articles. Many of these have been leading stories and have been accompanied by photos. The Health Service Journal on 19 February also carried a feature on the Bristol Health Services Plan: Air Apparent, and an editorial: Taking the public with you. ‘The Bristol health services plan is long overdue, but that does not mean it will be easily ‘sold’ to the public,‘ says the editorial. It continues: ‘MPs and a traditionally downbeat local media are already stirring.’ The MP who ‘stirred’ most in the last month was Steve Webb. He put out a statement saying that the BHSP leaflet was misleading about the future of Southmead and Frenchay hospitals and this caused some interest in the media. However, the local media have remained very largely positive about the BHSP engagement and interested in covering it. Other health stories that have been picked up by the local media include : The local health service debt with ‘the West’s debt-ridden trusts’ being described as having ‘turned the corner’ and a story about NBT having asked for £70 million from the NHS to ‘keep it out of financial trouble’ for the next three years. A story about a patient in south Bristol who could not get advice from an out-ofhours doctor because he did not have a telephone and so could not be called back. This resulted in him calling an ambulance which the Ambulance Trust thought was inappropriate. This story featured on the front page of the Evening Post and triggered a letter to the Evening Post from another patient complaining about out-ofhours service as well as a reply from Brisdoc. Although this is a Bristol South and West PCT story, it comes hard on the heel of some press coverage of complaints about Primecare and is likely to increase the public’s anxiety about the new out-ofhours service when it is launched. Various smoking stories which always seem to be of interest to the media. This month they have included a report that no-smoking areas in pubs do not protect people from second-hand smoke and a report that Bristol could be one of the first cities to try a New York style ban on smoking in public places. Stories about the difficulties of finding an NHS dentist. Reports that Bristol consultants were amongst those who were signatories to an national advertisement saying that taxes alone will not fund the NHS adequately.
27 January 2004