This presentation was given by Joe McCrea to the East Midlands NHS Leadership Academy Social Media Conference - at Imago, Holywell Park, Loughborough on 30th March 2015

1. Social Media
in the NHS
Opportunities and Pitfalls
Joe McCrea
Managing Director J B McCrea Ltd
@jbmccrea

2. National context and future challenges

3. National context and future challenges
• Becoming clear that implementation of 5YFV will impact on every NHS and social care
provider.
• Simon Stevens has emphasised that radical change is both required and expected, a
view reinforced by the new 2015-16 NHS England Business Plan
• History is littered with examples of “local reconfiguration’ going awry when it comes to
getting on board local patients, carers, service users, stakeholders and decision-
makers.
• Often, plans have had to be significantly altered or abandoned altogether in the face
of local political or sectional opposition.
• These “little local difficulties” may have been difficult enough. But they are a walk in the
park compared with the wholesale radical change required over the next five years.
• This implementation challenge requires radical change and transformation in the way
health and care economies listen, engage and communicate.
• If integrated properly with listening and engagement, social media can play a huge
role in rising to this challenge.

4. When to engage?
• As early as possible when
strategies are being formulated
• When service change is
envisaged - (e.g. new care
model, new patterns of provision)
• When change in attitudes or
behaviours is required from users
- (using local services more
intelligently, not turning up to
A&E, getting a flu vaccination at
the pharmacists)

5. Opportunities

6. The change challenge
What would persuade you to support changes in your local NHS
services?
Source: NHS Confederation survey - Autumn 2014

7. The change challenge
Which, if any of the following roles, do you think MPs should play in
future changes to the NHS?
Source: NHS Confederation survey - Autumn 2014

8. The change challenge
If your local NHS needs to change how it provides care, how do you
want to be involved in this process? ?
Source: NHS Confederation survey - Autumn 2014

9. The change challenge
If your local NHS needs to change how it provides care, how do you
want to be involved in this process? ?
Source: NHS Confederation survey - Autumn 2014

10. The change challenge
You said there were changes to your local NHS service within the last 5
years you strongly supported/opposed. Did you undertake any of the
following forms of action to express your views?
Source: NHS Confederation survey - Autumn 2014

11. The change challengeYou said there were changes to your local NHS service within the last 5 years you strongly supported/opposed.
Did you undertake any of the following forms of action to express your views?
Source: NHS Confederation survey - Autumn 2014

12. Keep it local and social…
Your
traditional
comms and
engagement
channels
Your own
Social Media
Interaction
with others’
Social Media
Local patient
groups
Local
candidates
Local and
NHS Trade
Media
National
News and
Political
Media
Benefit from and
tend to prefer
smooth, positive
engagement
Have a vested
interest in
maintaining a
positive local
relationship
You have editorial
control of what is
said in your name
Can be deployed by
you instantly and
cheaply
You have instant
public or private
response or right of
reply

13. So what does that tell
us of the opportunity?
• Local people want to be involved in informed debate about their NHS
and are open to argument and persuasion about the case for change
• They trust information from their local NHS and its staff more than
they trust the views of their local MPs and candidates
• They want their local politicians to be seen to play a positive part in
change if the arguments from the NHS stack up

14. So what does that tell
us of the opportunity?
• Local people value engagement from the NHS via consultations,
surveys, staff views and social media more than one-to-one
conversations on health matters with their local MPs and
candidates
• By combining social media with surveys, consultations and open
dialogue with local patient groups - the NHS can better meet the
preferences of the majority of local people than with traditional
public meetings
• Social Media is - compared with other communication channels -
cost-effective, instant, flexible and in your control

15. Pitfalls

16. The visibility trap…
• Just because YOU see your
tweets, it doesn’t mean that the
world does
• The ONLY people who see your
tweets are those who follow you
OR their followers - and only if
they choose to mention,
favourite or retweet you
• Finding and securing the right
followers and engaging their
interest is crucial

17. The isolation trap…
• If you’re not careful Social Media
can become simply an end in itself
- isolated from the real needs and
pressures of your organisation
• This runs the danger that it fails to
deliver for the Board and loses
support
• It is crucial that you integrate your
social media with Improvement,
Listening and Engagement
strategies
Social Media Improvement
Listening Engagement
• TO SUPPORT AND DEVELOP OUR STAFF
• TO PROMOTE COMPASSION AND CARE
• TO LISTEN AND RESPOND TO YOUR FEEDBACK
• TO ENSURE SAFETY FOR PATIENCES
WHYWEARE
LISTENING
• TO PURSUE EXCELLENCE
• TO PERFORM BRILLIANTLY
• TO DELIVER QUALITY
• TO WORK IN PARTNERSHIP

18. The isolation trap…
• If you’re not careful Social Media
can become simply an end in itself
- isolated from the real needs and
pressures of your organisation
• This runs the danger that it fails to
deliver for the Board and loses
support
• It is crucial that you integrate your
social media with Improvement,
Listening and Engagement
strategies
• That will make you AND your
bosses SMILE!
SMILE

19. How is the NHS doing with the
visibility trap?

20. © jbmccrea
We now know for the first time…

21. It’s caught the imagination…

22. © jbmccrea
Source: J B McCrea Ltd “Find SoMeone in Health” Data store

23. • There are estimated 15 million
UK Twitter followers
• We identified the 238,927
accounts with the strongest
interest in the NHS
• We ranked the 4,528 of these
who follow @theKingsFund and
@hsjnews and @NHSEngland
and @CareQuality Comm and
@nhsconfed
• That’s less than 5,000 out of 15
million -the crucial 0.003%
The strongest National Followers
Source: J B McCrea Ltd “Find SoMeone in Health” Data store

24. In the top spot was the comms team
for @MINDCharity .
There were some amongst the top 50 of
this group that could readily have been
predicted, for example:
• @NHSLeadership
• @MidwivesRCM
• @ProfSteveField
• @profchrisham
• @rcgp
But there were also some surprises and
some less well known stealth
revolutionaries in the top 50, for example:
• @claireOT - occupational therapist
• @sagefemmeSB - midwife
• @CombatStress - veterans mental
health charity
• @pauljebb1 - asst director of nursing
• @BobHudson - public policy academic
The strongest National Followers
Source: J B McCrea Ltd “Find SoMeone in Health” Data store

25. In the top spot was @nurse_w_glasses
Second was…@claireOT and number 9
was @DrUmeshPrabhu!
There were some amongst the top 50 of
this group that could readily have been
predicted, for example:
• @WeMidwives
• @drphilhammond
• @curetheNHS
• @JaneCummings
But there were also some surprises and
some less well known stealth
revolutionaries in the top 50, for example:
• @nursemaiden - Recovery Nurse
whose wonderful dad died of
Alzheimer's in 2012
• @Trisha_the_Doc
• @JennytheM - midwife
The ‘Boat Rockers’
Source: J B McCrea Ltd “Find SoMeone in Health” Data store

26. We analysed all of the Twitter
accounts used by NHS
Organisations and ranked them
using a combination of their
numbers of followers and
numbers of tweets.
In the top spot is Great Ormond
Street Hospital for Children NHS
Foundation Trust - @GreatOrmondSt
4 of the top 10 are Ambulance Trusts
There is a wide mix of types of NHS
organisation, including NHS
Foundation Trusts, NHS Trusts,
Community Healthcare Trusts,
Ambulance Trusts, CCGs and
national organisations.
The NHS Top 50 Twitteratti
Source: J B McCrea Ltd “Find SoMeone in Health” Data store

27. NHS England, but not NHS Citizen or Healthwatch England
NHS England and Healthwatch but not NHS Citizen
NHS Citizen, NHS England and Healthwatch England
NHS Citizen and Healthwatch England, but not NHS England
NHS Citizen and NHS England but not Healthwatch England
NHS Citizen, but not NHS England or Healthwatch England
31,211 82.02%
2,285 6.00%
362 0.95%
215 0.56%
474 1.25%
892 2.34%
There are 38,054 Twitter accounts who follow NHS
England, Healthwatch England or NHS Citizen
8 out of 10 NHS England Twitter followers follow neither Healthwatch England nor NHS
Citizen
There are 892 Twitter accounts who follow NHS Citizen, but not Healthwatch England or NHS
England
There are 1,366 Twitter accounts who follow NHS Citizen but not Healthwatch England
Less than 1% follow NHS England, NHS Citizen AND Healthwatch England
NHS Citizen
Source: J B McCrea Ltd “Find SoMeone in Health” Data store

28. Never the twain? -
Local Healthwatch and national NHS accounts
60,000 people follow a local Healthwatch Twitter account
75% of people who follow a local Healthwatch Twitter account DO NOT follow ANY of:
@NHS England, @dhgovuk, @CareQualityCommission, @HealthwatchE OR @NHSCitizen
Follows local Healthwatch but no national NHS account
Follows local Healthwatch and at least one national NHS account
=
Source: J B McCrea Ltd “Find SoMeone in Health” Data store

29. Never the twain? -
Local Healthwatch and their local NHS Trust
On average, less than 5% of people follow BOTH their local Trust AND their local
Healthwatch
On average, 81% of local Healthwatch followers do not follow their local Trust
On average, 94% of local Trust followers do not follow their local Healthwatch
Follows the organisation but not its Healthwatch
Follows both the organisation and its Healthwatch
Follows the organisation's Healthwatch but not the organisation itself
Source: J B McCrea Ltd “Find SoMeone in Health” Data store

30. How is the NHS doing with the
isolation trap?

31. Social Media Capability Assessment
• assesses how well social media is
embedded and integrated with wider
organisation, strategies and processes
• assesses current social media capability
across four Dimensions:
✴ Channels and Communities
✴ Content
✴ Leadership and Policy
✴ Organisation and Culture
• Five indicators for each dimension
built upon an objective description of an
organisation at increasing levels of
capability
• overall Organisational Maturity
Assessment based on 100 possible
scores

32. NHS SoMe is still at a state of low maturity
We have carried out and analysed Social Media Capability
Assessments completed by over 400 individuals working at all
levels over more than 30 NHS organisations

33. NHS SoMe is still at a state of low maturity
It is at a reasonable state in:
• the degree to which it is beginning
to use social media beyond mere
‘Broadcasting’ activities;
• the degree to which it reviews its
content;
• the degree to which Boards and
the wider organisation are beginning
to get engaged.

34. NHS SoMe is still at a state of low maturity
But it is no more than adequate in:
• its involvement in others’ channels
and communities;
• its understanding of the views of its
stakeholders;
• the degree to which social media is
integrated with Improvement,
Listening and Engagement;
• the degree to which social media is
consciously and actively planned.

35. But the opportunity is achievable and
rapid improvement is possible…

36. Investment of time in SoMe works!
Twitter impressionsYouTube views
18,000 Twitter
August
344,400 Twitter
Impressions
September to
mid November
Over 4,000 YouTube
views in 3 months
Aug - Nov 2014
Compared with total
of 1,789 views over
2 year period Aug
2012-2014

37. So Me
Where it
was in
April 2013

38. So Me
A year later…

39. Joe McCrea
Managing Director J B McCrea Ltd
@jbmccrea
www.jbmccrea.com
Good luck and don’t forget to
enjoy the challenge!