Blue Lozenge branded graphic with the heading 'Supporting a national body through organisational closure' in bold white text on a blue background, decorated with a light blue wavy line and the Blue Lozenge logo.

Supporting a national body through closure

Providing communications support

The challenge

The National Guardian’s Office (NGO) was a non-statutory body in England that led culture change across the NHS. It supported a network of over 1,500 Freedom to Speak Up Guardian’s employed within NHS organisations, independent sector providers, hospices and national bodies. Following the recommendations of the Dash review (July 2025), the NGO was preparing to close, therefore recruiting into their communication team was not viable. Blue Lozenge was appointed to provide a communication service until the closure – removing the need to recruit into posts that would be subject to redundancy or change.

Our approach

We became an extension of the NGO team, acting as their comms function until they closed. We were responsible for:

  • Internal communication and engagement
  • Media relations and reputation management
  • Events and campaigns
  • Digital and social media management
  • Bulletins and newsletters
  • Stakeholder relations and public affairs

Due to our knowledge and expertise across government and NHS communication, we were able to hit the ground running and provide strategic and tactical communication expertise. We maintained the communication programme that engaged the network of over 1,500 Guardian’s nationally, including the National Conference, supporting the publication of thought leadership and data releases and all other external communication channels.

We were an active member of the leadership team, providing strategic counsel and advice. Additionally, we handled media enquiries, and prepared quotes and briefings for spokespeople ahead of media activity and public speaking.

The impact

Throughout the period we provided positive, professional, objective and constructive communication support, which is sometimes difficult to achieve when organisations are closing and going through significant change. We maintained and improved the engagement across our channels throughout this time and carefully transitioned the work into its new home. Stakeholders, partner organisations and the guardian network received consistent updates throughout the closure, helping maintain confidence in the organisation in this period of change. Internal and external communications continued up until the closure of the NGO.

Testimonial

“Working with Blue Lozenge has been overwhelmingly positive. The team is proactive, organised, and easy to work with, and their strategic approach added real value throughout. They understood the complexities of our situation and navigated them with real skill, flagging issues early and pushing back when needed. It felt like a genuine partnership from start to finish.”

Tom Grimes, NHS England