The urgent and emergency care programme is keen to identify opportunities for improving health and for reducing health inequalities. As a Partnership, we continue to encourage people to ‘choose well’ especially as health and care services continue to be under enormous pressure. If people do become unwell and have an urgent medical problem, it is important they get the care that is most appropriate for their needs.
Equipping people to ‘choose well’ is very important as it reduces the need for those with low acuity cases, such as a minor complaint that is non-urgent, and instances where people could see their community pharmacist to then undertake appropriate self-care at home rather than attending primary or acute care settings. Emergency departments are there to treat those with life-threatening and critical illnesses and injuries.
Some people and groups within our more deprived communities across West Yorkshire may have lower levels of health literacy and may not have access IT. We are keen to highlight areas of good practice to help close the gap on widening health inequalities.
With a drive to social media and online platforms there are far fewer printed materials than in recent years and many groups will not be seeking out or accessing online information at all meaning we are disconnected from some groups of people within our communities. Local engagement is important to make connections and gaining the trust of the seldom reached.
Recently and during the COVID-19 pandemic there has been some great work across our places in conjunction with third and voluntary sector colleagues to share and reach the seldom reached.
Case studies like this one show how we have worked differently across West Yorkshire to:
- Reach and engage people with low levels of health literacy
- Equip people with the knowledge to choose the right service for their needs
- Reach people with little or no internet access.
Background
Winter 2021/22 was a timely opportunity to work together across West Yorkshire and roll out the first collective winter communications campaign. ‘Together We Can’ originated in Calderdale and Kirklees. The signposting campaign was reviewed, and creatives updated to reflect the winter season before it launched across the region.
The ambition
‘Together We Can’ launched in mid-December 2021 and aimed to raise awareness of the pressure on NHS services over the winter months by managing public expectations and equipping people with the knowledge they needed to choose the most suitable health service for their needs.
Its purpose was to encourage people to use health services responsibly as the NHS was preparing to deal with the busiest winter in its history. Through a combination of outdoor advertising, real stories, social media, press and partner engagement, partners were able to spread the campaign message throughout the region in various ways.
Artwork and creatives promoted a wide range of health services and emphasised self-care during the winter months, promotion of local pharmacies alongside flu vaccines and COVID-19 awareness. The main call to action was to visit the signposting website at: https:/
What they did
Leeds, Calderdale and Kirklees took the ‘Together We Can’ creatives and hoped to make them as visible as possible using traditional outdoor advertising targeting local areas over the winter months. Other mediums such as paid for newspaper and radio adverts, and direct mail were also used.
The popularity of outdoor advertising had risen dramatically following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, so locations were also determined by availability in some cases due to timescales.
Examples of activity
Here’s how the ‘Together We Can’ campaign was used in different ways to reach people and offline audiences during winter 2021/22:
Large on street advertising posters at over 150 locations in Leeds, such as public transport hubs, phone kiosks and dedicated advertising sites- Over 260,000 printed flyers available at 295 locations in Leeds including vaccination centres, GP surgeries and community pharmacies
- Leeds ran over 170 thirty-second radio advertising slots on Heart FM with a total reach of more than 60,000 people
- Large on-street advertising posters at 27 sites across Calderdale and Kirklees where there is high footfall of families with young children
- Direct mail to around 216,000 households across Calderdale and Greater Huddersfield providing residents with information about staying well over winter and which services can help
- Press advertising in the Halifax Courier and Huddersfield Examiner with a total estimated reach of 11,580 people
- Advertising on 1,000 pharmacy bags at each of 67 selected pharmacies across Calderdale and Kirklees
- Bus side advertising on 123 buses across Wakefield, Calderdale, Kirklees and Bradford - plus large posters on bus shelters with total estimated views of 5.35 million people.
What’s next?
In addition to measuring the campaign’s reach, primary field research was undertaken in the form of surveys and interviews to evaluate the campaign’s impact on behaviour and whether the communications objectives were achieved.
Unsurprisingly, recall about the campaign amongst the target groups correlated with the level of investment in media in the area but also with the level of community outreach and partnership working in the community.
Those people who saw the campaign reported that it raised awareness that the NHS is under pressure. Post campaign awareness shows people were more motivated to use ‘NHS 111 online’, GP surgeries and urgent treatment centres than they were before they had seen the campaign. Prior to the campaign, there was already quite high usage of the NHS 111 phone service and the NHS app, the post campaign results showed a drop off in motivation to use these services. The full winter campaign evaluation is available to view online.
There is an appetite to take the learning from the first collective winter campaign across West Yorkshire and the report recommendations and apply as we work together for a 2022/23 winter campaign.