North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust needed a comprehensive communications and engagement strategy to keep a wide range of stakeholders informed, involved and supportive throughout their EPR journey.
This was achieved by strategically partnering with the collaborative communications and engagement team from NHS Arden & GEM and NHS Midlands and Lancashire CSUs. The team’s multi-channel approach successfully increased staff awareness of the EPR programme while the soft system launch helped foster early buy-in among staff and address potential resistance to change.
The challenge
North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust was faced with the challenge of an NHS England mandate for all hospitals across England to roll out an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) programme by March 2026.
In August 2023, the Trust’s EPR programme was in the early discovery phase, requiring the development of a robust outline business case and navigating a complex procurement process. There had been limited internal and external communication about the project. Despite board-level support, the programme anticipated pockets of resistance among staff and scrutiny from external sources, as there was and still is, public interest in EPR rollouts.
The Trust recognised the need for a comprehensive communications and engagement strategy to make sure all stakeholders were informed, involved and supportive throughout the EPR journey, from early engagement to go-live and beyond.
Our approach
Our dedicated team developed and implemented a phased communications and engagement strategy.
The strategy aligned with the EPR programme timeline and followed change management principles and best practice.
A core element of the approach was a ‘soft launch’ to raise awareness among staff of the new system and what it would mean for them. This intended to foster early buy-in prior to the procurement of the system and help prepare staff for the upcoming change. This phase involved:
- Developing a comprehensive stakeholder database
- Developing key messaging to emphasise the benefits of the system for staff and patients
- Creating a dedicated section of the staff intranet including FAQs
- Revitalising the digital champion network
- Launching a campaign for the staff Facebook group
- Developing core communication materials
- Establishing ‘EPR walls’ – information boards with benefits, key contacts and programme timeline to engage digitally-excluded staff
- Actively engaging stakeholders through various channels including virtual events.
The CSU team was able to adapt the plan in line with changes to the programme timeline. In addition, we provided agile and reactive communications to support key stages, such as procurement and evaluation.
Outcomes
The CSU created a structured and proactive communications programme to support the Trust’s EPR journey. The development and implementation of a cohesive strategy ensured consistent and credible messaging across internal stakeholder groups.
Our multi-channel approach successfully increased staff awareness of the EPR programme – evidenced by the results of staff baseline surveys. The soft launch helped foster early buy-in among staff and address potential resistance to change.
The staff-only Facebook page was one of the primary channels for communicating Trust information and members were highly engaged. By analysing campaign performance, we were able to hone and improve content to resonate with staff and improve engagement. Some of our posts received over 100 likes from staff and 10-15 comments all with positive sentiment.
Furthermore, the CSU’s agile support aligned with the programme helped establish two-way communication channels, helping keep staff informed and engaged, even through quieter periods in the programme.
Our support has provided an excellent basis for the EPR programme enhancing user adoption and successful implementation. The strategy we developed encompasses future stages such as implementation, go-live and beyond, so the Trust has all the tools it needs for a successful rollout.
"Our comms lead was absolutely brilliant throughout the programme. She was highly professional, always patient and consistently delivered everything on time. She managed expectations very effectively and brought great ideas to the table. It was genuinely a pleasure to work with her, and I’d be very happy to have her back on the programme when we’re in a position to bring in extra support."
Eva Adolphus, Readiness Lead – EPR Programme at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
Read more about the full range of Communications and Engagement support provided by the collaborative team.