Communications Strategy 2007- 2010

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Communications Strategy 2007-
           2010




 DOCUMENT CONTROL
 Version:            2 (Version 1 issued October 2003)
 Type:               Operational
 (Tick Appropriate   Corporate Services                    ü
 box)                Risk Management/Health & Safety
                     Personnel
                     Mental Health Act

 Author:             Communications Manager
 Ratifying Body:     Strategy and Operational Performance Committee
 Approving Body:     Trust Board
 Approval Date:      27 September 2007
 Issue Date:         19 October 2007
 Review Date:        August 2010

 Distribution:       All Policy Manual Holders             ü
                     MHA Manual Holders
                     Operational Manual Holders
Communications Strategy 2007-
           2010
CONTENTS




 1.0   Introduction

 2.0   Vision and Values

 3.0   Scope

 4.0   Communications Principles

 5.0   Corporate Identity

 6.0   Communicating with people from diverse backgrounds

 7.0   Audiences

 8.0   Process

       8.1     Internal Communications

       8.2     Stakeholder and External Communications

       8.3     Media relations

       8.4     Communications Strategy and Marketing


9.0    References

10.0   Related Trust documents

11.0   Appendices




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1.0       INTRODUCTION

Communication is central to every organisation. When used effectively it supports
the creation of a positive working environment, cements working relationships with
internal and external parties and sets the tone for the entire organisation.

Good communication is more than a simple exchange of information and messages:
it must involve attitude and behaviour too. Every member of Lincolnshire Partnership
NHS Foundation Trust has a role and responsibility to support effective
communications, whether it means staff taking part in a media interview, talking to a
service user or carer, or answering the telephone.

An environment of trust and openness is crucial to effective, robust communications.
This is also the responsibility of all staff, but managers will need to take the lead in
developing and maintaining such an environment.

As the Trust moves into its new regime as a Foundation Trust, communications are
as important as ever as we seek to engage with a new set of audiences. There is
evidence to show that corporate image and reputation are bound up in the success
of any organisation. Effective communication will also be essential in helping the
Trust achieve the benefits we believe can come of being a Foundation Trust, which
are to:

      •   Improve the promotion of mental health well-being
      •   Reduce the level of stigma associated with mental illness
      •   Progress the social inclusion agenda
      •   Achieve greater levels of involvement and participation of the local community
          in its work
      •   Ensure that the diverse needs of the community are met
      •   Achieve improved partnership working with other organisations
      •   Utilise the financial flexibilities to improve long term planning and financial
          sustainability.
      •   Utilise the membership to “champion” mental health issues in the area, raising
          awareness and developing opportunities for people with mental illness to be
          full members of their local community.

Aside from Foundation Trust status, the Trust is also working in a very different
health and social care environment, one which is increasingly competitive.
Commissioners are afforded greater flexibility in terms of whose services they
purchase on behalf of the people of Lincolnshire, with diverse providers now
operating in the health and social care arena.

In order for the Trust to compete, it needs to give consideration to how it will promote
itself to its “customers” – commissioners, GPs and service users and carers.

Communication also plays a vital role in enabling the people who use our services to
exercise choice.



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“Choice means different things to different people. For most of us it is about the
power to express preferences, make decisions and thus to take an increased
amount of control over our own lives. But for people who use services, making
meani ngful choices also depends on access to relevant and up-to-date information,
discussion with others including staff, carers, family and friends and a sense that
they are working in partnership with services that provide personalised care.”

“Our Choices in mental Health: A framework for improving choice for people who use
mental health services and their carers” (CSIP, February 2007)

2.0           VISION & VALUES

Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s vision

 The Trust’s vision is to be:

          •    The specialist provider of choice for high quality mental health and social
               care services for all people within the communities it serves.
          •    In the top five of mental health trusts in the country

Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s values

          •    The needs and aspirations of its service users and carers at the heart of
               everything the Trust does;
          •    The Trust supports recovery and independence through the use of safe and
               effective interventions;
          •    The Trust values the contribution of its staff and provides a supportive and
               flexible working environment;
          •    The Trust works in partnership with other organisations to deliver integrated
               health and social care services;
          •    The Trust manages its business with integrity by upholding the highest
               professional, ethical and governance standards;
          •    The Trust strives to achieve excellence through performance and
               innovation.

We wish to ensure that the vision and values of the organisation are reflected in the
way we communicate internally and externally.

3.0           SCOPE OF THIS STRATEGY

This Strategy should be read in conjunction with the Membership Strategy,
proposed Internal Communications Plan 2007/2008, Media Handling Policy and
Guidelines (to be approved) and the Trust’s Policy on the Provision of
Information to Service Users/Patients/Carers (OPR23), which includes the toolkit
for producing public information literature.

Its scope includes:

      •       Internal communications – informing and involving staff



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      •   Stakeholder communications – including service users and carers, partner
          organisations and Foundation Trust members
      •   External communications – media and external relationship management

4.0       COMMUNICATIONS PRINCIPLES

The Trust’s communications strategy will adhere to the principles of NHS
communications and will be:

Open: Decision-makers are accessible a nd ready to engage in dialogue. When
information cannot be given, the reasons are explained.

Corporate: The messages communicated are consistent with the aims and values of
the organisation and the NHS as a whole.

Two-way: There are opportunities for open and honest feedback, and people have
the right to contribute their ideas and opinions about issues and decisions.

Timely: Information arrives at a time when it is needed, relevant to the people
receiving it and able to be interpreted in the correct context.

Clear: Communication should be in plain English and jargon-free, easy to
understand and not open to interpretation.

Targeted: The right messages reach the right audiences using the most appropriate
methods available and at the right time.

Credible: Messages have real meaning, recipients can trust their content and expect
to be advised of any change in circumstances which impact on those messages.

Planned: Communications are planned rather than ad-hoc, and are regularly
reviewed and contributed to by senior management and staff (as appropriate).

Consistent: There are no contradictions in the messages given to different
stakeholder groups or individuals. The priority to those messages may differ, but
they should never conflict.

Efficient: Communications and the way they are delivered are fit for purpose, cost-
effective, within budget and delivered on time.

Integrated: Internal and external communications are consistent and mutually
supportive.

In addition, the Trust will support the dissemination and delivery of national targets
by directly promoting health and social care initiatives across the community. We
will support and add value to regional communications activity through our
involvement in the East Midlands NHS Communications Network, Lincolnshire NHS
Communications network and other appropriate groups.




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Our communications will focus on the importance we place on delivering services to
the highest standard. We wish to add value to that delivery by being seen to be
doing what we said we would do. We will look for opportunities to do things
differently if it will bring improvements. Communications will also enshrine the need
to ensure that best-practice is achieved through research-informed approaches to
care. The Trust will cultivate and support a vibrant research community where new
approaches are discussed, evaluated and communicated to practitioners, users and
carers.

The Trust is developing an environmental policy to minimise the impact it has on the
environment, and has adopted a “reduce, recycle and re-use” approach towards its
consumption of resources. The Trust’s communications will be conducted according
to this ethos, making use of new technologies (such as CD Rom, blogs, text
messaging and podcasts) and communication trends wherever appropriate and
possible.

5.0    CORPORATE IDENTITY

The Trust will abide by the principles of corporate identity laid down by the
Department of Health – www.nhsidentity.nhs.uk - recognising that this is more than
an issue about the Trust logo.

All leaflets and brochures will be produced in line with the Trust’s Toolkit for Public
Information Literature, and content for the website produced in line with the
Standards for Website Content included in this document.

The communications team will provide advice to staff about corporate identity and
training will be provided as necessary.

6.0    COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS

The Trust will ensure its communications are accessible to all sections of the
community it serves.

We will ensure appropriate communications systems and mechanisms are in place
to meet the particular communications needs and abilities of people from ethnic
minorities and those with physical and learning disabilities. Appropriate
communications methods for different groups might include interpreting and
translation services, written information in different formats and languages,
information in large print, Braille, audio tapes, the use of ‘signers’ etc. The Trust will
provide information in different formats and languages on request and key
information leaflets will be pre-prepared in a variety of languages and formats.

Communicating in an inclusive way to our diverse population

The NHS is committed to promoting equality and will take the opportunity to speak in
a meaningful way to our diverse communities. Care will be taken to use language
that is inclusive to people of different cultures, faiths, and to gay, lesbian, bi-sexual
and transgendered people. Those we employ and serve should feel welcome,
understood, and never judged.


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Meeting the communication needs of new arrival communities

It has been shown that statistically, new arrival communities, particularly those
seeking asylum, are likely to experience a high proportion of mental health problems,
exacerbated by stress, problems with housing and difficulties in accessing a GP. It is
therefore crucial the Trust provides adequate information about how to access its
services. There are also issues of stigma and mental health to be addressed, and
these differ from culture to culture.

We will develop guidelines for staff on cross-culture communications.

The Trust recognises that there is a gap in basic information about NHS and other
statutory services for new arrival communities and we will work with other agencies
on collaborative projects to address this.

7.0   AUDIENCES

The Trust’s key audiences are most easily divided into three main areas:

Internal                 Stakeholders                           External
All Lincolnshire         Service users                          General public
Partnership NHS
FoundationTrust and
Lincolnshire NHS
Shared Services staff
Non Executive            Carers                                 Media: local, regional,
Directors                                                       national, specialist
Secondees                Volunteers
Staffside/union          Linking Voices (service user and       NHS East Midlands Strategic
                         carer group)                           Health Authority
                         Health Scrutiny Committee              Department of Health
                         Patient and Public Involvement         MPs
                         Forum
                         Foundation Trust members               County and District/City
                                                                Councils – officers and
                                                                councillors
                         Foundation Trust Governors             Town and Parish Councils
                         Monitor                                NHSC Litigation Authority
                         Monitor account manager                National Patients Safety
                         (quarterly report)                     Authority (NPSA)
                         Lincolnshire County Council,           East Midlands Development
                         children’s services                    Agency
                         Lincolnshire County Council,           Housing (local authority and
                         community services directorate         housing associations)
                         Lincolnshire Teaching Primary          Lincolnshire Police
                         Care Trust
                         Other commissioners (eg out of         Potential staff
                         county)
                         Primary care (GP’s, health visitors,   Universities, schools, colleges


                                                                                      6
                           district nurses etc)
                           Practice based commissioning         Courts/solicitors
                           cluster leads
                           Voluntary organisations              Prisons
                           Advocacy services                    Healthcare Commission
                           Nursing Homes                        Mental Health Act
                                                                Commission
                           United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS
                           Trust
                           East Midlands Ambulance Service
                           Mental Health Act Managers
                           Other partners in Drug and Alcohol
                           Action Team

8.0       PROCESS

8.1       INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

Everyone working in the Trust as a direct employee, contractor o r volunteer has both
rights and responsibilities for ensuring the success of the communications strategy.
Staff are the Trust’s greatest ambassadors as well as being members of the public.
Effective communication must be at the heart of the Trust and is a key task for
everyone, particula rly those with the responsibility for supervising and managing staff
and those with direct service user contact.

Policy

The Trust will promote a culture that is:

      •   Open to ideas and suggestions
      •   Maintains patient confidentiality
      •   Welcomes constructive criticism and is open to challenge
      •   Responsive to staff development
      •   Manages change constructively

The Trust will provide clear direction for staff consistent with the Trust’s values and
the principles of good communications identified. We will strive to ensure our
communications are timely, relevant and consistent and inclusive of all staff groups.

We will seek to address the findings of the annual staff survey, which for the last two
years has identified poor communication as a key concern for employees.

Arrangements

A wide range of tools and mechanisms has been identified to promote
communications within the Trust. Proposed arrangements for internal
communications are outlined in the draft Internal Communications Plan for
2007/2008, which will be formally agreed after consultation with staff.




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Responsibilities

The Communications and Involvement Manager will take lead responsibility for
facilitating and promoting good communications , as well as providing professional
advice and support to the Board.

All managers, team leaders and senior clinicians will continue to have the
responsibility of ensuring regular and timely informal communication with individual
staff and teams in addition to formal communications. This will include supervision,
formal objective setting and appraisal processes.

They will be supported by the communications team and the workforce and training
departments. In particular, managers, team leaders and senior clinicians will be
required:

   •   to hold regular face to face discussions with their teams,
   •   encourage an exchange of views and ideas,
   •   act upon staff ideas and concerns ,
   •   identify good news stories or issues that could damage the Trust’s reputation
       and report them to the communications team in accordance with the Media
       Handling Policy and Guidelines.

Specific responsibilities:

Everyone

   •   To keep themselves informed of initiatives, trends and key issues relating to
       the Trust and wider NHS using the various methods of communication offered
       by the Trust
   •   To clarify any areas of mis - or non-understanding with their manager
   •   To raise any points of concern with the manager
   •   To seek and ask for information, particularly from their line manager
   •   To respond to requests for information and ideas.

Executive Directors

   •   To ensure that all important issues are communicated to staff in the
       organisation, in a timely and accurate manner
   •   To work with the communications team to agree messages and the methods
       of appropriate communication
   •   To ensure that all information, as far as possible, is communicated interna lly
       before externally
   •   To ensure that management behaviour and style is consistent with the
       principles in the Communications Strategy
   •   To work in partnership with staff and their representatives, to ensure the
       strategy works.




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Non Executive Directors

   •   Champion the Communications Strategy within their particular areas of
       responsibility
   •   Where they are committee members, identify issues raised in committee
       meetings that require communication to a wider audience.
   •   Act as ambassadors for the Trust to key external stakeholders.
   •   Provide easily accessible mechanisms for the exchange of information and
       views with Governors.

General Managers and Clinical Directors

   •   To ensure that mechanisms exist in the department or service that allow free
       flow of information, upward and downwards
   •   To ensure that staffs’ views are considered, and responses given where
       appropriate
   •   To identify potential blocks to communication within the department or service
       and aim to remedy them
   •   To investigate conflicting information and to stop false rumours circulating
   •   To ensure that all managers are trained in communication skills

Other managers and team leaders

   •   To ensure that the opportunity exists for each member of staff to receive and
       give information
   •   To take responsibility for delivering information, and obtaining the views of
       staff, in a consistent manner.
   •   To ensure personal development for themselves and their staff in
       communication skills

Staff Representatives

   •   To ensure that the information sent to them is communicated to their
       members
   •   To feedback the views of staff through formal and informal mechanisms
   •   To clarify conflicting information and messages with the Chief Executive or
       another Executive Director, and to attempt to stop false rumours circulating
   •   To work with managers in ensuring that the strategy actually works, and to
       work together in dealing with problems

Training

If there are expectations on staff to be able to communicate effectively, the
necessary practical support must be provided to help them develop the required
skills and confidence.

A number of training areas have been identified:

   •   Information technology skills


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      •   Customer relationship and communication skills
      •   Website publishing
      •   Promotion of services to commissioners
      •   Media interview training

Evaluation and review

There will be formal opportunities to review internal communications at regular
intervals via questionnaires, the staff attitude survey and some benchmarking with
other similar organisations/within directorates.

8.2       STAKEHOLDER AND EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

Our stakeholders have been categorised as the key influencers including service
users and carers, members and governors, and commissioners. Contact with these
groups will generally be structured but it is important to recognise that locally non-
NHS stakeholders come from all walks of life and contact may also occur through
informal channels.

Policy

The Trust will respond positively to requests from stakeholder groups and individuals
for information and talks, and we recognise the particular importance of local
structures. We wish to ensure that our stakeholders are aware of the Trust and the
services available, and of the opportunities for involvement. We will take pro-active
opportunities to ensure a good understanding of the Trust’s role and how it connects
with the other constituent parts of health and social care and the community at large.

Staff will be recognised and developed as ambassadors of the Trust in all their
contacts with stakeholders – both formal and informal.

With the advent of Foundation Trust status, the organisation has a new set of
audiences with which to communicate. We will work positively with our new
stakeholders to establish their communication needs and preferred methods of
receiving information and giving their feedback.

Governor and member communications

Good communication will be vital in enabling members to contribute effectively. For
membership to thrive, it will be important to maintain a continual two -way dialogue,
both formal and informal.

The Trust will produce appropriate written communications for members, based on
successful past practice. These will be timely, relevant and written in plain English.
The Trust will provide information in a variety of formats to meet people’s differing
communications needs, taking into account that the Trust’s members will be from a
wide range of backgrounds and have varying abilities.

Communications channels will include:



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   •   Letters and newsletters updating Members on key developments or other
       news, as and when it happens.
   •   Governors-only area on the internet
   •   Members’ magazine – quarterly
   •   Annual Members’ meeting
   •   Special Members’ meetings – frequency to be agreed
   •   Membership office; telephone contact

Governors will need to ensure they are accessible, with a high profile, and are able
to gather the views of their constituents through a range of communications
mechanisms. These may be:

   •   Constituency newsletter
   •   Member/Governor area on the website
   •   Governor’s surgery

The Trust will also explore other methods of communication, such as text messaging
and electronic magazines.




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Arrangements for external and stakeholder communications

Meetings and face-to-        Events                             Publications and
face or telephone                                               correspondence
contacts
Service user contacts        Participation in NHS careers       Board papers
(assessment, treatment,      events
care)
Chairman, Chief              Exhibitions/displa ys/roadshows Annual report
Executive, non executive     and attendance at events such
directors, e xecutive team   as the Lincolnshire Show
and senior managers          (June) and World Mental
meeting with key             Health Day (October).
stakeholders e.g. MPs,
Health Scrutiny
Committee,
commissioners, Patient
and Public Involvement
Forum etc.
Board meetings               Events calendar, maintained        Correspondence:
                             and publicised to Trust staff by       • relating to service
                             the communications team, will            developments
                             ensure opportunities for               • responding to
                             positive PR are not missed.              Freedom of
                                                                      Information requests
Board of Governors           Annual public meeting              Information leaflets and
meetings and minutes                                            posters
Governor and Membership      Members events                     Quarterly members’
support officer’s liaison                                       magazine; and bi-monthly
with members, governors                                         newsletter (“Newslink”)
and community groups
Volunteer co-ordination      Annual volunteer awards            Quarterly volunteer
                                                                magazine (“Volunteer
                                                                Voice”)
Patient Advice and Liaison
Service
Trust attendance (by                                            Production of bi-monthly
invitation) at Linking                                          magazine (“In Mind”) for
Voices meetings                                                 general practitioners
Attendance by Linking                                           Media relations
Voices representatives on
Trust committees
Communications networks                                         News articles routinely
                                                                provided to editors of
                                                                stakeholder magazines
NHS East Midlands weekly                                        Internet
communications
teleconference
Work experience
placements
Other external communications

The principles of good communications will be adhered to in all PR material and
activity. The communications team will support staff in developing materials and
presentations to ensure they adhere to the core standards of presentation and
branding , content, confidentiality and accuracy.

Volunteers

The role of volunteers greatly enhances the relationship between the Trus t and the
community it serves. Therefore, the work of volunteers will be featured in the Trust’s
public relations activities. Volunteers will be requested not to make any statement to
the media about the Trust without first consulting the Voluntary Services Manager or
Communications Team.

Patient and public information literature (leaflets, brochures, posters etc)

We will continue to develop high quality information literature for the public, service
users and carers and commissioners, wherever there is an identified need, such as a
gap in the information we currently provide. This will be developed in line with the
Trust’s toolkit for producing patient information, which requires service user and
carer input through the readers’ panel.

Information will be produced according to the “Five Principles for producing better
information for disabled people” (Office for Disability Issues, 2007). These are:

   1.   Involve disabled people from the start
   2.   Provide information through a range of channels and formats
   3.   Ensure information meets users’ needs
   4.   Clearly signpost other services
   5.   Always define responsibility for information provision

Services will be responsible for identifying the need for written information within
their area, and the communications team will co-ordinate its production. Wherever
possible, services should seek to maximise resources by producing publications that
may be used Trust-wide.

Freedom of information requests

All staff have a responsibility to ensure the Trust responds to Freedom of Information
requests within the legal timeframe (20 days). Freedom of Information requests are
handled by the Corporate and Legal Services Officer, reporting to the Trust
Secretary. The Trust’s policy on handling FOI requests (COR22) provides further
details on this.

Website

The Information Officer will have overall technical responsibility for the website. The
communications team will have editorial responsibility, with a network of editors from
each department responsible for monitoring and publishing content to their
designated area on the website. Each department will nominate a named lead for the
website. They will be responsible for ensuring their content is relevant, up-to-date
and user friendly. The communications team will advise on whether content is
appropriate and written in plain English, but the following points should always be
adhered to:

1. Keep text simple, brief and to the point
2. Bear in mind your readership (external audience). A wide range of people will be
    visiting the website and your information should be accessible to all
3. Use plain English and avoid jargon
4. Use the proper name/title at first use, followed by its acronym e.g. Patient Advice
    and Liaison Service (PALS)
5. For the font style and size, select “Body” and left aligned.
6. Do not use ‘clipart’ graphics
7. Use photographs for a reason (not for the sake of it) and include a caption
8. Use charts where practical – but kept simple
9. Use links to other pages and external sites where appropriate
10. Ensure information is accurate, comprehensive and up to date

8.3       MEDIA RELATIONS

The Trust will communicate with external audiences in a positive, professional and
realistic way. We recognise that one of the most powerful conduits will be the media
- locally, regionally and nationally – but there are other routes for effective
communications. Much of this aspect of communications (publicity, media liaison and
reputation management) is within the professional area o f the Trust’s
communications team (Communications Officer reporting to the Communications
and Involvement Manager), but there are many ways in which all staff can contribute
to successful relations with the local media. These are explained in more detail in the
Trust’s Media Handling Policy and Guidelines.

Policy

      •   We recognise that the local media are our partners in the community and so
          will keep them fully informed of our activities and day to day services.

      •   We will continue to build effective working relationships with the local media
          through the Trust’s communications team.

      •   We will always respond to the media’s enquiries within their deadline – even if
          that is to explain why we are unable to give a full answer to their enquiry.

      •   All responses to the media will be conducted through the Trust’s
          communications team.

Arrangements

Day to day media management and contact will be the responsibility of the
communications team. This will include :



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      •   proactive news management – the communications team will issue a
          minimum of two positive news stories to the media every month. This will
          involve participation by everyone within the Trust to identify good news
          stories.
      •   24/7 communications service through the Lincolnshire Communications
          Network on-call rota
      •   news handling (reactive)
      •   Media interviews - identifying key experts for media interviews (print and
          broadcast)
      •   news briefings in preparation for board meetings and major events.
      •   Department of Health weekly Media Diary – capitalise on opportunities
          relevant to the Trust

In the eve nt of a major incident, the Director of Performance and Information will
contact the Communications and Involvement Manager to lead on crisis
communications handling, with support of the NHS East Midlands communications
lead and Lincolnshire NHS o n-call communications manager as appropriate. Further
detail on communications in a major incident can be found in the Trust’s Emergency
Plan (RM11).

8.4.      COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY AND MARKETING

Communications will support the Trust’s marketing strategy in delivering the
organisation’s key strategic goals, which are:

      •   Customer Focus - Delivering services that are tailored to the needs of its
          customers

      •   Operational Excellence in terms of:
      -   clinical effectiveness
      -   accessibility
      -   profitability

      •   Business Development through expanding existing services and developing
          new services profitably

In particular, promotional activity and public relations will play a key role in the
marketing mix and the Trust will comply with the principles laid out in the Department
of Health’s “Code of Practice in Promotion.”

The communications team will advise services on the production of quality marketing
brochures for the purpose of promoting our services.

9.0       REFERENCES

      1. NHS Identity Guidelines www.nhsidentity.nhs.uk
      2. Code of Practice for Promotion of NHS services
         www.dh.gov.uk/policyandguidance
      3. Five principles for producing better information for disabled people
         www.officefordisability.gov.uk


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   4. Our Choices in mental Health: A framework for improving choice for
      people who use mental health services and their carers (CSIP, February
      2007)

10.0    RELATED TRUST DOCUMENTS

   1.   Organisation Development Strategy
   2.   Freedom of Information requests policy (COR22)
   3.   Emergency Plan (RM11)
   4.   Staff Supervision and Support Policy (PER23)
   5.   Policy relating to the provision of information to patients/service
        users/carers (OPR23)

11.0    APPENDICES (in development)

   1. Internal Communications Plan 2007/2008 – to be approved following
      consultation with staff
   2. Media Handling Policy and Guidelines – to be approved
   3. Cross Culture Communications guide – to be developed




September 2007
Review date: September 2010




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