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Consultations must be credible to be effective

Another Public Consultation Exercise - is it just another rubber stamp"?

The rising number of Public Consultation exercises in the public sector has seen a new phenomenon emerge known as "Consultation Fatigue".

Increasingly MPs, local politicians on Overview & Scrutiny Committees and some members of the general public, are seeing these "consultations" as simply "rubber stamping exercises" in all but name.

The NHS has been consulting the public's views on the "Reconfiguration of Services" locally since 2005 and the public are viewing these consultation exercises with increasing scepticism - since they usually involve either the closure of a hospital, closure of A&E Departments or the loss of beds or wards from local hospitals.

Often the real messages behind these reconfigurations simply do not get communicated.

There are realities that drive reconfigurations such as:

• The need to reduce the health inequality gap.
• The huge advances in medical technology.
• The impact these advances have on healthcare delivery.
• Healthcare is not just about hospitals.
• Hospitals are not just about beds.

But these messages are being clouded over during Public Consultation Exercises by damaging headlines around hospital closures, A&E closures and bed losses.

This is often a consequence of poor communication during these Public Consultations because key spokespeople are under-prepared or simply unconvinced themselves.

Supporting Teams Through Change

Persuading your own staff to sing from the same hymn sheet during these Public Consultations is almost as difficult as persuading a sceptical public.

Effective communication can make the difference between creating ambassadors and supporters rather than detractors and saboteurs - and thereby, the success of the consultation itself.

So the challenge is, how to communicate internally and externally, to achieve change - of action and of mindset.

Practical preparation is the key.

As the old adage goes – fail to prepare, prepare to fail.