What is in this toolkit? 

• About the campaign
• Campaign timeline
• Key messages
• Campaign assets
  • Design
  • Social media messages and cards
  • PR resources
  • Email resources
  • Survey resources
  • Advice resources
  • Other promotional materials

About the campaign

Campaign background

Clear, understandable information is important to help you make decisions about your health and care and get the most out of services.

Since 2016, the Accessible Information Standard has given disabled people and people with a sensory loss the legal right to get health and social care information they can understand and communications support if they need it. But, is the standard being delivered by services and does it go far enough?

We want to help NHS and social care services understand the answer and make sure health information is clear for everyone, no matter what their needs.

Our campaign ‘Your Care, Your Way’ aims to:

• Find out how well health and care services are delivering the Accessible Information Standard.
• Make sure that, if the standard covers you, you know your rights.
• Find out who else has problems understanding information about their healthcare and needs to be covered by the standard.
• Make sure more health and care services support people to get healthcare information in the way they need it. 

Key audiences

Public audiences

Our two key public audiences for the campaign are: 

• Those covered by the existing Accessible Information Standard (people with hearing-loss, sight-loss, vision impairment, learning difficulties and carers).
• Those not covered by the existing Accessible Information Standard (e.g. people with dyslexia or who speak English as a second language).

Health and care decision makers

Our two key professional audiences for the campaign are:

• Health and care commissioners and managers who are responsible for implementing the existing Accessible Information Standard.
• Health and care leaders who are responsible for making and implementing changes to the Accessible Information Standard and holding services to account. 

Campaign timeline

The campaign will launch on 23 February 2022

Phase one - raising awareness of existing issues and people's rights

Phase one will run for the first month, from launch until 20 March 2022. 

This phase is aimed at raising awareness of:

• The launch of our campaign and how people can get involved.
• The issues we have already found with public feedback and our recommendations to improve the ability of services to support accessible health and care information.
• The rights that those covered by standard have. 
• Asking people already covered by the Accessible Information Standard about their experiences. 

Phase two - calling for action

Phase two will run from 21 March 2022 until the beginning of May. 

This phase will focus on collecting feedback from people not currently covered by the Accessible Information Standard about their experience of being able to get clear, understandable information. 

Key messages

Public audiences

Our key messages are broken down for the two specific audiences. 

Audiences covered by the Accessible Information Standard:

• You should be given healthcare information in the way you need it.
• You have the right to be told about your healthcare in a way you understand.

Audiences not covered by the Accessible Information Standard:

• Everyone should be given healthcare information in the way they need it.
• Health information should be clear for everyone, no matter their needs. 
• You should be told about your healthcare your way. 

Health and care decision makers

Health and care commissioners and managers

• People who are blind, deaf or have a learning disability have the right to be given health information in a way they can understand.
• Many people have told us that they are not getting the support they need to access care and make decisions about their health.
• Make sure you are meeting the Accessible Information Standard so more people are given healthcare information in the way they need it. 

National health and care policy makers

• Research shows that only a third of NHS trusts are fully complying with the legally-binding Accessible Information Standard. 

• NHS England and the Care Quality Commission need to hold health and care services to account in the implementation of the Accessible Information Standard to protect people's rights. 

• Health and social care leaders, especially within Integrated Care Systems, must act to ensure people are given healthcare information in the way they need it. 

Calls to action

You can use these key call to actions during the campaign

• Find out about the campaign
  • Find out more about the campaign (Standard format)
  • Find out more about the campaign (BSL and Easy Read)
• Find out more about your rights to accessible information
• Share your experiences with us
  • Standard survey format
  • Alternative survey formats
• Five steps to help services meet the Accessible Information Standard

Campaign assets

Design

Colours

If you want to create your own resources or graphics for the campaign, the colours are taken from our updated colour palette. 

• Pink - HTML E73E97
• Green - HTML 84BA00
• Light blue - HTML 7fcbeb

For more information on how to use our new visual brand, check out our visual guidelines. 

Download from Communications Centre

Photography

You can download photos to use in your assets from our Flickr library for free. This includes our recently added album of photos taken at the climbing centre with our main case study for the campaign. 

Browse Flickr

Social media

Social media 

Use our #YourCareYourWay social media messages to support the campaign and to encourage feedback. The messages below for each channel are broken down for the awareness phase and the call to action phase. 

You can download the assets to use with your social media posts from The Communications Centre. In addition to this we have also produced editable templates for the campaign that you can put your own logo and messages onto. 

Each local Healthwatch has one log in to access these resources, if you need help accessing The Communications Centre please email hub@healthwatch.co.uk 

Download social media assets

Use the editable templates

PR resources

Press release

We have issued a draft press notice that you can use on Workplace. Please note that the information in this is under embargo until launch.

Visit workplace

Email resources

Email headers

To help you design your email communications you can download our branded header from The Communications Centre

Download email headers

Template emails

• Support our campaign email template for MPs and charity partners.
• Make your service more accessible email template for professionals 

Survey resources

We have produced our online survey for the public to complete in several different formats.

View our standard survey

Survey in alternative formats and languages.

Advice resource

We have produced an advice and information article around what people can expect from the standard, that you can use to put on your own site. 

View article

Other promotional materials

We have produced a range of other promotional materials you can use to support the campaign. These include: 

• PowerPoint template
• Posters

You can download these from The Communications Centre to adapt to your own Healthwatch. 

Visit Communications Centre

Video

We have also produced a video of our case study, Connor. You can use this video for your own communications too. 

View on YouTube

We know that Healthwatch are keen to explore different approaches to engaging with diverse communities. As well as providing case study examples of different ways you can do this, we’re always looking at how we can support you to learn from one another.

About the pilot

We offered a small grant to two local Healthwatch to run a series of facilitated sessions over 12 weeks with small groups of Healthwatch committed to working with a specific community.

We chose two communities that we hear little from for the pilot:

• Black African people
• Gypsy Roma and Travellers

The intention was to support the groups in learning from one another and identify approaches that work for their individual areas. During this time, they created action plans to speak to people in their chosen community and report on what worked well and what could be improved. 

Healthwatch Lincolnshire and Healthwatch Central West London shared their reflections on the process:

What made you want to apply for the grant and be part of this pilot? 

We thought this would be an excellent opportunity to network with colleagues from other local Healthwatch, share what worked well for us and help develop their knowledge and understanding. 

Tell us more about your approach: 

Working with small groups of local Healthwatch, we ran four sessions across twelve weeks. In these sessions, we used an approach called ‘facilitated peer learning’. Working together, we helped to identify challenges, opportunities and develop plans for each local Healthwatch on how they can speak to people in the specific communities. 

This method allowed everyone in the group to contribute and support each other while also being supported themselves and coming away with a clear set of actions. 

We met every three weeks to hold each other to account, monitor progress, share any issues we were having and provide suggestions on how to overcome them. 

What did you learn about this way of working? 

Some people were initially a little apprehensive about working differently and using the Theory of Change to approach a project. On the flip side, some had high expectations of what they could achieve in such a short time, so we had to find a bit of balance. 

What worked well, and what challenges did you face through using this way of tackling a project? 

This was a great way to work with people in the network who you wouldn’t normally get to meet. Both groups were a bit apprehensive at the start, but together we worked to create a supportive environment where everyone could share their assumptions, anxieties, experiences and build trust amongst the group.

People told us that they liked working together to discuss their challenges and have the chance to solve problems and give suggestions to others. 

The pilot was a great starting point. It helped people allocate time outside of their usual day-to-day to go back to basics and create a plan. 

This pilot only lasted three months, but for it to be meaningful, the work would need to continue in the long term, and it takes time to build trust and relationships with a community. 

We all agreed that diverse communities should form part of your long-term engagement plan rather than a distinct ‘project’ and remember management buy in is key.  

As always, technology can be an issue, so it’s really important to always have a plan B. Sometimes technology can fail you, so make sure you’ve got a backup just in case – simple things like having people’s phone numbers to contact them made a difference.

Top tips on engaging with specific communities

Go back to basics

What techniques do you already use well for your engagement work and how could they be applied? What and who do you already know? Use this information as the building blocks to your engagement work. 

 Do your research 

Find out what’s already happening in your local area and what services have developed relationships with the community. Take time to build relationships with those who already have a good standing in the community and learn from them. 

Show the value of Healthwatch by providing useful information

Accessing a GP is a big issue for many people whose experiences aren’t often heard, so starting a conversation with immediately helpful information such as the GP access cards often helps to get things going.  You can order GP access cards directly online for free.

Work backwards from where you want to be 

The Theory of Change is a great way to help you work out what steps to take to succeed in what you want to do. 

Take time to build trust

Focus on asking people what they want and what they need rather than pushing a Healthwatch agenda. Remember that for this to work best, the relationship needs to be long lasting. 

From April 2022, new health and care legislation will come into force, changing the way the NHS and other organisations plan and fund the delivery of care. The development of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) through the Health and Care Bill will make significant changes, shaking up the system as we know it. 

It's essential that you understand how ICSs will affect the way you work locally, as well as the steps you’ll need to take to be ready for this change. If we aren't prepared as a network, it will be harder for us to get NHS decision-makers to hear people’s views and hold services to account moving forward.

How will the new structure work?

Systems, places and neighbourhoods

As the legislation is debated over the next few months, we will get a clearer view of how the new structure will work. We currently know that NHS England and NHS Improvement have proposed a three-tiered model of systems, places, and neighbourhoods to better integrate care.

At ‘System’ level, the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) will set out the plans and strategy for the area. At ‘Place’ level, local organisations will collaborate on local planning and delivery. ICSs will be based on the principle of ‘subsidiarity’, with planning and delivery being based as close to local communities as possible.

For more information, read the King’s Fund’s explainer guide.

What does ICS guidance say about Healthwatch?

Although the legislation is based on implementation starting from April 2022, guidance has already been published, setting out various aspects of how ICSs will work. Although these may be revised in the light of Parliamentary decisions, they are useful indications of what will be expected of ICSs.

We’ve outlined a quick summary of each guidance document and how they might affect Healthwatch:

1. The Design Framework (June 2021): Sets out the high-level ambitions for ICSs. It also includes the principles that ICSs should use to develop their engagement strategy, building on the existing relationships, good practice and networks across system partners.
2. Thriving Places (September 2021): Looks at what is needed to support work more locally than at System level. It considers how ‘Place’ may be defined, who should be involved and different types of governance. Healthwatch is listed as being expected to be involved at this level. As decision-making will be delegated to the most appropriate level, Healthwatch needs to be clear about when and where decisions will be made. It’s important to note that this is the Place-based partnership which is different from the ICP that works at System level.
3. ICS implementation guidance on working with people and communities (September 2021) Includes System-level guidance setting out how ICSs should work with people and communities. It includes a section on working with Healthwatch, building on current good work, and draws a distinction between Healthwatch and the wider Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector. This guidance can provide a helpful basis for you to discuss engagement plans with ICS engagement leads as well as other Healthwatch in your ICS area.
4. The Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) engagement document (September 2021): Is designed to engage partners in the development of ICPs. It sets out how ICPs should build on existing good practice and structures, such as Health and Wellbeing Boards, and includes "mandatory requirements" and "guiding expectations". It also emphasises the role of Healthwatch “to bring senior-level expertise in how to do engagement and to provide scrutiny”, with the expectation that Healthwatch will be members of the ICP. This guidance has been developed with local government, VCSE organisations and other stakeholders, including Healthwatch England. It will be updated following this piece of engagement.
5. ICS implementation guidance on partnerships with the voluntary community and social enterprise sector (September 2021):  Recognises both the challenges and the benefits of partnership working. It includes different models of engagement, including working at System and Place level, supported by short case studies. Healthwatch across the country have strong relationships with VCSE partners, so it is worth thinking about what you can offer to help build relationships between the VCSE sector and the ICS, particularly to tackle health inequalities.

To support the development of governance arrangements, NHS England has set out the functions of clinical commissioning groups that will be transferred to ICSs and has produced a model constitution. Other guidance covers issues such as the HR Framework, clinical leadership and ICB readiness to operate.

Additional guidance being developed

A working group, which includes Healthwatch England, is currently developing statutory guidance about working with people and communities. This guidance is expected to be completed early in 2022.

What will this mean for you?

Local systems will be working their way through the guidance and deciding what this means, so this is the best time to influence their thinking and remind them of the contribution that Healthwatch can make. When your ICS includes several Healthwatch, you will need to ensure a coordinated and consistent approach so that the ICS has a clear picture. Some of the key questions you might want to consider asking include:

• How will local voices be heard by the ICS?
• What is the ICS strategy for involving local people?
• How will the engagement strategy ensure that marginalised communities are properly represented?
• How can the ICS best use Healthwatch insight?
• How will issues raised at Place level get heard at System level?
• How will the ICS ensure it is transparent and accountable to local people?
• How can Healthwatch best support the development of the ICS?

What is Healthwatch England doing?

We are working at both the national and ICS level to get our message across. Our contribution includes participating in groups that have developed or are currently developing guidance. As the Health and Care Bill works its way through parliament, we are meeting with politicians from all parties to make sure that they understand our case. For example, Sir Robert’s recent appearance at the legislative scrutiny committee was an excellent opportunity to raise the issue of public voice in ICSs, and Healthwatch’s role in supporting that.

Sir Robert has had a programme of meetings with ICS lead and chairs. These help us get a sense of where ICSs are and how they are developing - yet another opportunity for us to talk about what Healthwatch has to offer. Your local insight has been instrumental in the briefings we produce for these meetings.

We are also working with the System Transformation Team at NHS England to identify and promote good practice across the country. The Transformation Team surveyed ICSs and the network to test out relationships. We have also commissioned case studies to show good practice where ICSs and Healthwatch collaborate well, which can also help other areas with ideas to consider and adapt. This work is supported by an ICS Readiness reference group drawn from volunteers across the network.

To help local areas, we are working with Traverse to provide bespoke support for a small number of ICS areas that face particular challenges in developing their partnerships.

As legislation progresses and ICS arrangements become clearer, we will keep you updated on changes that you may need to respond to.

The COVID-19 pandemic created a lot of change for homeless people, with the Government offering financial support and guidance to local authorities to help get everyone into accommodation and off the streets. 

Healthwatch Dorset spoke to many people who were still rough sleepers, despite the Governments initiative, who said they felt safer sleeping on the streets.  We spoke to Lucy from Healthwatch Dorset to find out more about their approach.

Why work with people who are experiencing homelessness? 

Homeless people often face many difficulties and inequalities when trying to access health and social care services. 

They face daily struggles when trying to access basic things that most of us take for granted. 

People experiencing homelessness don’t have the loudest voice, and we must reach out to these people and help them have their say. 

What we did

We ran two projects working with homeless people throughout the year.

Mental Health in Community Care report

This was a joint venture with Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to capture the views of local people who use mental health services. 

Dorset CCG ran an online survey in August 2020 for eight weeks, collecting people’s views to help shape the future of mental health services across Dorset. 

We visited local homeless support groups and drug and alcohol services and spoke to 27 people to gather more feedback from these groups. 

Promoting the voices of homeless communities in Dorset

This was a joint project with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) aiming to provide independent assurance to the public of the quality of care in the area. 

We visited a homeless support group in Bournemouth and Dorset and spoke to 19 people, finding out their views and attitudes towards health and social care services. 

Step by step guide 

Below is a step by step guide of the process we used to set up both projects with people who are homeless.  

1. Think about partners you can work with (local homeless support organisations, groups, food banks, hostels etc.).
2. Decide what resources you will need (Travel expenses, staff time, cost of donations, volunteers etc.).
3. Tell your partners about the project and what you want to ask people. Offer practical support (such as making drinks or handing out food) or assist with running the service. 
4. Attend the event and carry out practical help whilst you talk to people and gather their views. 
5. Collate all your feedback and prepare it for a report. 
6. Produce a report based on the stories you received. Include key issues, recommendations, next steps and acknowledgements. 
7. Promote and share your report. Highlight the difference your work has made. Look for external opportunities (such as awareness days) as additional opportunities to promote your work. 

Working with partners

It is crucial to involve partners from the beginning. Think about the community support groups and homeless support organisations in your area – for example, is there a lead GP for homeless people or any local food banks that may support the community? 

Involving partners allows them to comment on and contribute to the project. They will also be able to offer you advice. 

Offering to carry out some practical help with the running of the service means having you is beneficial to them. For example, offer to make the drinks, put out chairs or hand out hand sanitiser. 

When you talk to your potential partner, be sure to explain to them the benefits of working together with their local Healthwatch, including how you will raise awareness of their service in your report and potentially support them with future grant bids.

Developing creative ways to speak to people

It is essential to develop trust with the people you are talking with and connect with them. 

Offering practical support, such as making the drinks, allows you to introduce yourself and get conversations started.

We offered to help set up a Gazebo and put out the chairs, this meant that we could spend the morning chatting to people whilst they waited. 

It can take a couple of visits before you have built enough trust for people to share their experiences. We found that opening up and telling people about their own lives was an excellent way to make that connection, and people opened up in response. 

Challenges to collecting people’s views

 It can take a few visits before people are comfortable enough to share their experience with you. 

People often want to know details about the organisation you work for and your own life before sharing their story. 

We found that once they had built that connection, people would look forward to their visits and ask if they would be back the following week. 

Costs and resources needed

Mental health in community care project

• Initial meeting with service providers – staff hours 3.5
• Visit carried out to organisations – staff hours 30 / cost on travel expenses £250
• Donations – staff hours two / cost £200 (plus £150 for teas and coffees)
• Report writing – staff hours 10

Total staff hours – 45.5 / Total cost £600

Promoting the voices of homeless communities in Dorset

• Initial meeting with service providers – staff hours 3.5
• Visits carried out to organisations – staff hours 20 / grant received from CQC £600 / cost on travel expenses £232
• Donations – Staff hours two / £400 (plus £50 for teas and coffees)
• Report writing – staff hours seven

Total staff hours 32.5 / Total income £600 / Total cost £682

Main issues people faced

The biggest lesson we learnt was just how quickly someone can become homeless. You can have a job, home and stable life one minute and lose it all the next. It can happen to anyone.

Another issue people faced as difficulties trying to get food. We were able to secure a weekly 40kg food delivery from Fare Share for only £15 per week. Fare Share redistributes surplus food to charities and community groups to help people in need. 

Another issue many of the people we spoke faced was treatment as though they had less value and often felt completely excluded from society. Instead, they should be treated like human beings with the ability to contribute to the community.  

Tackling health inequalities

Both projects we worked on highlighted the challenges and inequalities that people who are experiencing homelessness face when trying to access services. 

The feedback you collect from people will help shape the future of these services, and by giving these people a voice to have their say remove some of the challenges they face. 

Want to find out more?

If you want to find out more about the question’s we asked during either of our projects, please get in touch.

Contact us

Telling someone’s story in the best way possible

What’s the goal?

Good case studies use impactful, emotive language to tell someone’s story. They resonate with people and bring to light the issues we’re trying to raise.

We're trying to show what life’s really like when you can’t access the healthcare you need. We're also trying to show the other side of the story: what's life like when you can access the care you need?

Before you conduct your interview, don’t forget to:

• Have your questions pre-planned and ready to go.
• Make sure the interviewee understands how you use and promote their story. Find out more about consent.
• Get confirmation on whether they want to be anonymous or identified.

Once you’ve developed the case study, send it to them to check they're happy with it and the facts are correct.

Make sure to gather the facts

When interviewing someone, think about the information you'll need to build their story:

Who?
Who is involved? Who is affected? Start with a few lines of background about the participant, including their condition/disability, age, gender, etc. Build a profile of them and set the scene.

What?
What is the issue? What impact might it have on the person's life?

When?
When will or did the story take place?

Where?
Where did this take place? Where do people live who are affected?

Why?
Why is the story important? Why does it matter?

How?
How did the issue come to be? How are those involved affected? How would someone’s experience be improved?

Start with a strong introduction

Your introduction is the most important part of your story. Evidence suggests people spend less than 15 seconds deciding if the content they are viewing is relevant to them.

You should:

• Use an enticing headline that tells the reader what the story is about.
• Open with a short, sharp summary, focusing on the most interesting elements. 
• Use simple, everyday language people will understand immediately.
• You want to avoid having somebody read the introduction and think, ‘So what?’

It's their story, but you’re the storyteller

We want to hear the voice of the person whose story it is. But this doesn’t mean the case study should be just a record of what they said. Your task is to use their words to build a story. You’ll need to include some explanation to link quotes together and create a clear narrative. 

Remember, quotes don’t need to go in the exact order the person said them in. You can edit quotes to improve clarity. Just make it clear you have done so by including ellipses when you remove words or phrases.

Pack a punch with your case study

Less is sometimes more. You don’t need to include everything the person said. If part of their story stands out and has real impact, focus on that and keep it clear and effective. 

When you’re reading back your case study, consider whether a reader would clearly understand the person’s situation and the issues they're going through.

Top tips to keep your audience’s attention:

• Get to the point
• Avoid jargon and acronyms
• Keep it punchy – use short words, sentences and paragraphs
• Break up text with subheadings and bullet points
• Use strong video, photos or graphics to break up the text
• Focus on what your audience cares about
• Include any action the reader can take 

What should the case study look like?

It doesn’t need to be War and Peace! Aim for around 850 words – around two pages of A4. Then, once it’s ready to go, please submit them as Word documents, not PDFs. 

To get an idea of some good practice case studies why not check out:

• Emma's story
• Shaun's story

About this resource

Our brand tone of voice helps make sure Healthwatch appeals to a wide variety of people. 

The guidance includes descriptors to help you write and talk about Healthwatch, to help you consistently and easily explain who we are and what we do. You can adapt these for your website, social media channels, email marketing, reports and general day-to-day communications.

There’s also a handy checklist at the end of the guide.

About this resource

Being able to demonstrate your impact is important in helping you to secure future funding and so that Healthwatch is seen as a credible organisation locally and nationally.

To help you identify how you can further develop your work to focus on outcomes and impact we have created a self-assessment tool.

This resource helps you spend about an hour looking at different areas of your work and actions you can take to improve your ability to plan, identify and communicate impact.

You can complete this as an optional add on part of your Quality Framework process or use it on its own at any other point in time.

About this resource

It’s important that we understand how different groups of people experience health and social care services. To make this a reality we need to collect demographic data from people as well as their experience. 

We know that some Healthwatch find it difficult to collect demographic data, so Healthwatch Tower Hamlets has produced this guidance to help. 

It includes: 

• Why collecting demographic data matters 
• Different factors that can influence someone's health, wellbeing and access to services
• When to ask demographic questions
• Tips to support you in asking these questions in conversations 

About this resource

Local Healthwatch routinely collects large amounts of quantifiable data. Therefore, it is essential to understand how best to analyse such data to arrive at clear evidence-based conclusions.

This guidance explains how to use quantitative data analysis in your research, including:

• What quantitative is and why it's important
• What you should consider before and after collecting quantitative data 
• How to analyse quantitative data
• Top tips for analysis and data visualisation

Worked examples support each type of quantitative analysis method to help you understand how you can apply this to your projects.

About this resource

This resource will help you understand the largest social media platforms.

The guide also covers key areas, including:

• Building engagement - why it is important and how to boost engagement with your content
• Branding - how your social media looks and feels and why this is important
• Management of accounts - who should have access and posting from the corporate account
• Social media policies - the importance of having one and what it should cover
• Accessibility considerations - use of hashtags, emojis, images and videos

We have also included a standard response sheet you can use to respond to the most frequent comments on social media.