8/13/2019 Mike Ramsden writes for January's Healthcare
Business
1/1Healthcare Business 3
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John LucasMike RamsdenDavid Waters
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Healthcare BusinessPublished 10 times a year
Editorial Board:
Hamilton Anstead Consultant
Tony Billingham
MD Carlton Care GroupKevin Craig MD PLMR
Mark Ellis Chairman, Pinders
Professor Martin Green OBEChief Executive, ECCA
Professor Malcolm JohnsonBristol University
Des Kelly Chief Executive, NCF
Keith LewinSenior Partner Brunswicks LLP
Elizabeth Mills OBE,Chief Executive eminence-grise
Barry SweetbaumChief Executive, SweetTree Care
Services
David Waters MD CHIS
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HEALTHCARE
BUSINESST
he way we communicate haschanged. Traditional channels
ofcommunication, like print, radio
and television remain, but theyreamplified or disrupted by an
ever-changing suite of online channels witha social dimension at
their heart.
Social media is still something newto lots of people. It can be
confusing. Ithas its own rules and etiquette. But atits heart, its
about a conversation. With
one crucial difference; anyone can listenin. As a former BBC
journalist andbroadcaster, it never ceased to amazeme the
information people made pub-licly available about themselves
throughsocial media. I used to get intimateinsights into
motivations, moans andmishaps. Great story material.
Now, as a public relations consult -ant specialising in
broadcast and socialmedia for the healthcare sector, I
seefirst-hand the threats social media canpose to the reputation of
a business.Unsubstantiated rumours can spread
quickly. Smartphones mean everyresident, employee or visitor has
a videocamera in their pocket, linked to anetwork of friends and
contacts, and
just a few clicks away from thetraditional media.
So social media brings the potentialfor further reputational
threats, to asector already facing pressure overtrust. Surely,
managers in the healthand social care sector should besteering well
clear?
Not necessarily, for a variety ofreasons1. Social Media is not
going away.
My mum is 67, and has just got aniPad. She uses FaceTime to
speak to mykids a videophone made real, forthose of us who remember
it as adistant vision of the future on the BBCsTomorrow World. Shes
only one stepaway from using Facebook, Twitter and
YouTube. If she chooses residential carelater in life, she wont
be giving up hertechnology shell be embracing iteven more, to keep
in touch with herfamily, just like she does now. In otherwords,
your digitally-enabled residents
arent a couple of generationsaway. Theyre here now. Surelyits
better to engage with them,than ignore them?
2. Social Media is great forpositive public relations. Saytheres
been a lovely event at yourhome, which would make forwonderful
publicity. Social media
means you have the power ofbroadcast. A tweet or a Facebook post
-even an email - with a photo attached,is a fantastic and
positivedemonstration of life at your home,and can be sent directly
to the familyand friends of service users. Its anotherpoint of
contact, another way to showyour business cares about thecommunity
their loved one is part of.
3. Social Media is good for yourbusiness. Imagine youre a
relative of apotential service user, looking for care.
Youre more likely than ever to searchfor a care home online, and
when youdo, your search engine brings upcomments on social media in
yoursearch results. Youve whittled thechoices down to two homes.
Whichhome are you more likely to choose?The one which, through
social media,shows a happy community of people,regularly enjoying
fun events togetherover the last few years? Or the one
where its impossible to get a picture ofthe daily lives of
residents?
Of course, healthcare businessleaders shouldnt make the mistake
ofthinking social media is a broadcast-only platform. Social media
is two-way.Its all about the conversation betweenyour business and
your stakeholders and your side of the conversation needsto be
managed by someone who hasthe empathy and experience to dealwith
some difficult questions from timeto time. This job can be
difficult. But
the results can be beneficial for yourbusiness, enhancing your
reputationand building a relationship betweenyour home and the
local communitythat goes well beyond the four walls ofa home.
Again and again, through contactwith clients and care sector
experts,weve heard that feeling that somehowcare homes are
separated from thecommunities that surround them. Used
correctly, social media can be a way tohelp engagement, to break
down anybarriers of misunderstanding, and toenhance the reputation
of your carehome and business.
Mike Ramsden is a SeniorConsultant, and Head of Broadcast,
atPLMR, the leading public affairs andpublic relations consultancy
for thehealth and social care sector.
www.plmr.co.ukTo see Mike in action go
tohttp://vimeo.com/65544815
Social media for carehomes an opportunity ora threat?
Anew initiative to help createstronger links between Healthand
Wellbeing Boards (HWBs)
and independent health and careproviders is being set up to
ensure thatservices focus on the individual needsof users.
NHS Partners Network (NHSPN) andthe English Community
CareAssociation (ECCA) have joined forcesto support their members
in
approaching HWBs but also to helpboards develop a clear
understandingof what local independent health andcare services have
to offer the sector.
The initiative was developed follow -ing a joint survey by NHSPN
and ECCAwhich was sent to members last July to
explore the current relationshipbetween HWBs and
independentproviders. Although HWBs are stillrelatively new the
feedback wasdisappointing and showed a lack ofengagement with
HWBs.
A spokesperson from NHSPNexplained: "HWBs are going to becentral
to health and care reform and itis vital to ensure they have strong
linkswith all local providers in their area.
Our main aim is to support ourmembers in approaching HWBs but
wealso hope to see a willingness on thepart of HWBs to work closely
withindependent health and careproviders."
Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief
Executive of ECCA, added: "While theresults of the survey were
very negativeand did not show any real engagementbetween providers
and HWBs, werecognise these are still early days forthe boards and
there have been manydemands on them in terms ofdetermining
priorities.
"However, this sector has a lot tooffer and can support the
local healthand social care economies to meet the
integration agenda and ensure servicesare built around
individuals in thecommunity and not in hospital. So itwill be
important for the Boards tohave a clear understanding of
thecapability and capacity of localindependent health and care
services."
New initiative builds links between HWBsand independent care
providers
