Successful engagement programme using social media to communicate site improvement works at Wexham Park Hospital's maternity unit and achieving 700 Facebook followers.
The challenge
Improvements and building work to the facilities at the children and women’s department of Wexham Park Hospital would have an impact on women and their partners using the service.
The communications team at Frimley Health Foundation Trust (FHFT) did not have the capacity to work full-time on communicating this work so commissioned SCW to deliver a communications strategy to support, working alongside the Head of Communications.
The approach
Our communications team provided communications advice on the project to directors and managers of the project board, summarising clear objectives and deadlines.
The team’s work also focused on providing communications to patients and hospital visitors about hospital improvement works:
Key areas were identified where patients who were affected by the work could receive information materials developed by the team to advise them of the improvement programme before, during and after. Information was displayed at midwife appointments, scan appointments, mailed directly to mums-to-be who were due to give birth during the improvement work, as well as posters displayed across the hospital.
A Facebook page was created for the department to ensure patients could keep up to date with the latest information. Our support included initial page setup, training midwives on how to use the page, and promotion of the page on all publicity materials.
Organisation and management of public events in shopping centres to further engage with the public about the hospital site work.
The result
- The Facebook page has more than 654 people likes and more than 700 followers. The midwives use it daily to post information about the unit and health messages. It has opened up a two-way communication tool between the hospital and its patients.
- Mums-to-be were provided with information about the improvements which prepared them before any appointments, such as changes to locations/times of appointments.
- Our support enabled the in-house communications team to carry on with their daily workload.
- This type of support is offered to trusts which require communications support for bespoke projects that their in-house teams do not have the capacity to manage.
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