1. Lowd&Klea
Strategic Communications Agency www.lowdandklea.com
Expectations for 2011
As UK public sector borrowing stood at £156 billion for the year 2010 with
a record shortfall of £10 billion in April alone, the coalition government
has implemented austerity measures to reduce spending, reduce the
!"#$%&'()!'(&&"*+&'&,'-".%."'&/"'0123'"$,),*%$'/"(4&/5 With £20 billion of
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to be more than just a bitter pill for the public sector to swallow?
The impact on the public
It is inevitable that the way the public available. However…existing plans… and promotes bespoke decisions.
sector adapts to these changes will do not adequately recognise the extent The patient feels valued, listened
have an affect on every area of our of cultural change required if patients to and the centre of attention
lives. What we need to know now is are to become active “information
how that impact will manifest itself +/$'45#.'67%+/$*8#$,9:%"&$89($)%,"#(.% Bandwidth for the people
A BITTER
in both the services we have access to own medical records and choosing Broadband access for all is another key
and the way these are communicated between providers and services.” area for a goverment looking to replace
to us by cash­strapped authorities. head count with public self­responsibility.
At least one clinician’s view is that However, the original plans for this
Patient power ‘Information Revolution’ will have brave new world have had to be revised.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley’s plans 8(.#+,%;#$#*,'%0/.%123%!/.<#.'%&$8%
centre around shifting the balance of subsequently us all. In a piece for Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s
power towards the patient, with other publicservice.co.uk, Dr. Paul Shannon admission that ambitions to achieve
measures intended to ‘liberate’ the NHS. cites at least three areas that he believes a universal 2Mbps (megabytes per
Given that technology has very much electronic systems can do away with second), originally planned for 2012,
PILL?
changed the way we interact with ‘paper [putting] patients’ lives at risk.’ will take until 2015 at least. Having
institutions over the last decade or so abandoned plans for a tax on phone
this would seem a positive move, but =%Constraining Human error: Electronic lines and taking as much as it could
how ambitious will it be to implement systems can replace tedious, repetitive, from the BBC licence fee, the money
!"#$%&%'()$(*+&$,%-./-/.,(/$%/0%,"#%123% high­sped and complex tasks. Steps to make this a reality is still lacking.
still relies on paper­based processes? can be made compulsory – no cutting Despite this the current government
Jon Lindberg from Intellect – the corners or skipping items by mistake. is sticking to its promise of having the
trade association for IT, telecoms and best super­fast broadband network in
electronics industry in the UK – sums =%Hardwiring quality: Health IT can Europe. We currently sit at number 27.
it up best: help direct care; ensuring patients
receive the appropriate care in a The most recent step in achieving
“The Information Revolution vision timely manner and integrated care. this goal has been Chancellor George
is…[a] necessary reform agenda that Osborne’s invite to local authorities to
This is an original article compiled from desk­based research seeks to empower patients and users =%Improved decision making for clinicians bid for £50m of funding as part of the
undertaken by Lowd&Klea relating to the Public sector. by giving them the potential to be and patients: Having information total £530m allocated to the scheme.
more involved in their care by making &,%:/4.%*$)#.,(-'7%#&'(9:%&++#''(;9#7%
accurate and timely information readily when you need it, helps avoid pitfalls

2. The impact on the public sector The way forward QUICK STATS
£20billion
D%;.()",%&$8%5/.#%#0*+(#$,%E4;9(+%3#+,/.%9#&8% So how can we work together to make We also held out­reach events across
sure everyone gets what they want, Northamptonshire, so residents could
by advanced use of technology; a future where without putting too much strain on share their opinions face­to­face, or by
(supposedly) we have a greater degree of control those tasked with delivery? *99($)%($%+/55#$,%+&.8'>%?!.(,($)%!&99'@%
/.%*95($)%+/55#$,'%($%A(8#/%+4;#'B
about the decisions made about us and for us. These You Choose !"#$"%&'$(&)#*+,'(-*#.$'(-#
plans are all well and good, but how are those tasked One good example of how a smoother The engagement elements of
sought in the NHS by 2015
!(,"%5&<($)%,"#5%&%.#&9(,:%*$8($)%,"#%+"&99#$)#F%%% change could be effected when it You Choose has been extremely
comes to ring­fencing the services that successful…3,000 unique users…
£530million
really matter is the public engagement more than 1,000 comment cards and
C#%'-/<#%,/%&%'#$(/.%*)4.#%($%,"#%1237%!"/%!('"#'% campaign – You Choose. The experience 61 interviews via the video cubes.
of You Choose for Jim Harker – leader
to remain anonymous, about how they are coping of Northamptonshire County Council I believe it has implications for the
“
under the cuts: – as detailed in the ‘Public Servant’ wider public sector…we now have a solid
allocated to rolling out superfast
publication offers an interesting insight: statistical basis from which we can gauge
areas where people think savings can be broadband during the current
“We asked the public: This is your made and areas where cuts should be spending review
county, what is most important to avoided.”
you? via a You Choose website, where
“The frustration is wanting to do all
we can to promote all the great work
we do (usually delivered through the
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9"&C"")'&-:3&35'K6'$,:-3"'+(&%")&3'!,)2&'
-"(447'3""'3%4,3'C%&/%)'&/"';<=B'&/"7'
people could upload comments and
feedback. The site was linked to popular
C"&,#A#.%;#$#*,'%,#+"$/9/):%+&$%-./A(8#%
for the Public Sector, You Choose proves SEVENTEEN PERCENT
blood, sweat and tears of the frontline just perceive it as one big organisation,
social networking channels such as that the most important factor will always of the UK population have no
YouTube and Facebook. be the opinions of the people it serves.
nursing staff) yet only having the so it appears to them as an un­holistic, experience of the internet
resource to scratch the surface. This disorganised provision. Internal
£FIVE HUNDRED
%3)2&'(4C(73'(9,:&'$,**:)%$(&%)8' communication between healthcare
&,'+(&%")&35'D)'6($&B'%&23'*,-"',6&")' partners can help smooth this over, but
about communicating with partners communications resource is lacking and
in healthcare, or colleagues in other internal comms are low on the agenda.
;<='&-:3&3'E'()!'%&23'&/(&'F%)!',6' In the brave new free market of Since January 2011 all local
communication that greases the wheels healthcare, more and more “any willing authorities must publish
£1.1bn
,6'&/"';<=B')(--,C%)8'&/"'8(+'9"&C"")' provider” will be able to bid to provide spending over £500
different areas of service. different aspects of healthcare. GPs will
make decisions about who to appoint to
For example a patient might get great !,'&/"'L,9MN,)3"O:")&47';<='9,!%"3'
$(-"'6-,*'G%3&-%$&';:-3"3B'C/%$/'%3' are going to have to start thinking a bit P,'#)!',:&'*,-"'
!"4%."-"!'97',)"'+(-&',6'&/"';<='()!' more like private sector organisations in
8-"(&'$(-"'6-,*'H")&(4'<"(4&/';:-3"3B' the way they market themselves, say to Contact us at
which is delivered by a different part of GPs for example, in order to grow and Lowdandklea.Com
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the two kinds of nursing problems begin (-")2&'-"(447':3"!'&,'&/%3'(3'&/"7'/(.")2&' of council tax went
to arise with the total care package, lived in a competitive market [before].”
uncollected in 2009/10