Having attended two major NHS conferences in recent weeks, Media Friendly is impressed with stakeholders’ determination to make current changes in the NHS truly workable, for the benefit of all patients.
At the NHS Confederation in Liverpool and the NHS Commissioning Show in London, many Commissioning Support Units (CSUs) spoke eagerly of their commitment to provide efficient, locally-sensitive and customer-focused support to Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). However, the challenges facing GPs are vast, with a need for roles and responsibilities to be re-defined – and not all CCGs and GPs have yet embarked on this level of interaction with the CSUs.
Dissatisfied patients already turn to the media for a second opinion. In times of change, journalists can be ruthless and in talking to the media GPs are treading a fine line like never before, as they take on a wider role.
Going forward, some CCGs will commission media training from NHS specialists such as Media Friendly’s Andrew Carapiet, to help develop key spokespeople who can avoid media pitfalls. It’s about knowing what to say, how much to say and when to say it, to communicate effectively with the public and appropriately safeguard reputations.
Summer is nearly here, which means it’s time now to plan for the autumn and the hive of activity that kicks off after the break. Handling the media is a professional skill with a set of tools and techniques that can be learnt and practiced. Are you ready for change?
