Comprehensive NHS communications audit to transform trust engagement

Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust (HCT) supports over 1.2 million people by providing a range of health and social care services. They needed to review their current communication function to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. The Trust wanted to increase engagement and develop an operational model that would outline the future vision of communication at HCT, ensuring their communications team could effectively serve their large patient population.

Approach

Our first step involved engaging directly with the communications team to understand their current setup and ways of working. We reviewed various documents to gain insight into the current capabilities, capacity, channels, and organisational culture of the HCT communication team. We also reviewed best practice from other organisations.

Utilising both workshops and interviews, we engaged with internal and external stakeholders to design our audit and review process. This helped us identify the main priority areas and streamline our approach to target the areas stakeholders felt most passionate about. We worked alongside colleagues in both the communications and executive teams to define and develop practical recommendations for their communication strategy and capabilities moving forward.

Impact

Blue Lozenge delivered a comprehensive internal audit of HCT’s communication and engagement function. Our report outlined detailed findings and provided targeted recommendations for the next 12 months spanning various areas including team roles and priorities, digital communication and marketing, and governance and team structure.

We facilitated a session with the executive team where we presented the report, operating model, and recommendations, offering practical support on how these could be embedded across the Trust.