Buckinghamshire Shared Services Communications Team
‘Delivering an equitable Shared Communications Service’

Over the last four years the established reputation of the Buckinghamshire Shared Service (BSS) Communications team has attracted several new NHS Customers and is currently one of the largest, if not the largest, shared Communications teams in the NHS.

Head of the Communications and Public Involvement service, Gillian Hodgetts said ‘Delivering an equitable communications service across multiple NHS organisations has been one of our greatest achievements.’ As a result of the White paper ‘Shifting the Balance of Power’, prompting the dissolution of the Health Authorities and the subsequent creation of Primary Care Trusts, Buckinghamshire Shared Services was established in April 2002. Together with Communications and Public Involvement it offers six other services to the local NHS: Financial services, Information Technology, Purchasing and Supplies, Information, Human Resources and IM and T modernisation. In total the Shared Service organisation has 184 staff, some of whom are working for services that support customers across four counties i.e. Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire. This collaborative arrangement allows us to work on projects for our customers that may involve a number of our shared services. The wide range of services offered by BSS to its customers bring together the two key fundamental benefits behind Shared services. Economies of scale in regard to transactional processes such as payment of invoices as well as the economies of skill in regard to professional advice such as Communications and Procurement. As well as providing a communications service to the Customer Trusts, Gillian sits on the Executive team for Buckinghamshire Shared Services, providing strategic Communications support to the organisation as a whole and to the other service leads. ‘This ensures that Communications is represented at the highest level in our own organisation, influencing and shaping decisions as they happen. If this did not happen in our own organisation how could I advocate this in our Customer Trusts?’ says Gillian.

‘What makes our team different is the complexity of providing a service across multiple customers with significant geographical challenges’. In effect our service operates for some customers across four counties. Our team has successfully provided a comprehensive Media, Communications and Public Involvement service to two acute Hospital Trusts, three Primary Care Trusts, a Mental Health Trust, an Ambulance Trust, NHS Direct Thames Valley and the NHS ‘Connecting for Health’ Programme. The Thames Valley Procurement Confederation has also bought our support.’

‘Adopting our Shared service principles of being ‘customer focussed, financially robust and openly accountable for what we do through performance measures’ are critical if we are to deliver the quality of service our customers require. Being an ‘arms length’ organisation, hosted by the Vale of Aylesbury Primary Care Trust, has definitely allowed us to develop the trust of all of our customers in providing a ‘fair’ and equitable service’. However there are a number of widely held beliefs and misconceptions about Shared Services organisations in general that have been a huge challenge for us to dispel. ‘Remote, not integrated, difficulty in gaining trust’ are just some of the perceptions that permeate within some of the wider health community. ‘These misconceptions couldn’t be further from the truth for us’ says Gillian quoting Bart Johnson, CEO Chiltern and South Bucks PCT, ‘‘The Communications Team have very effectively integrated themselves into our organisation. They have not attempted in any way to create an empire”.
Indeed this statement is a reality. ‘Each customer Trust has a dedicated Communications professional from our team with a named second and third contact also. Each professional is fully integrated into their customer organisation and is based on their premises with a networked pc. The Communications professional reports directly to their Chief Executive and liaises closely with all the Directors. Monthly communications activity reports are produced and close liaison between the Head of Communications and Chief Executives ensures appropriate identification of priorities and targeting of communications resource.’

‘Customer satisfaction is a strong driver to ‘get it right’ says Gillian. We have very high levels of satisfaction with our service but we are not complacent. Feedback we receive from our Customer Chief Executives supports our claim:

“Initial understandable concerns about the equity of provision between different NHS bodies were quickly laid to rest - the leverage of a body with a concentration of communications capacity and expertise served our interests very well, particularly given the very focussed attention to our specific communications needs. The service provides access to multiple specialist skill-sets through staff of differing backgrounds, so there is always someone with specific expertise matching our needs. This supplemented the ongoing continuity of provision through the named lead, based next door to me. The key advantages to us were the opportunity for mutual reinforcement of NHS communications across a wide geography. This was combined with continuity of on-call provision out-of-hours (and annual leave cover) plus access to expert, locally knowledgeable back-up for special events such as Ministerial visits”. Mike Daly, Director, NHS Direct South.

‘Economies of scale and skill are really being achieved and realised for our Customers. A number of cross organisational communications projects are underway with one communications professional leading for each project. Organisations have also benefited from having ‘team support’ in terms of serious incident communications support and urgent cover for Annual leave and sickness. We provide a 24/7 out of hours Communications service which is staffed on a rota by professional Communicators’. ‘My investment has not only given me a communications member of staff on site but access to a team of very professional, well regarded communications experts. We have had the occasion to use this team for a number of serious incidents as well as high profile VIP visits over the past four years. I have been very impressed by the level of service I have received and would be very happy to recommend a shared services approach’ Jill Rodney, CEO Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Trust.

Undoubtedly the complexity of ensuring that we provide a highly effective and integrated service to each and every customer has been an enormous challenge. Consistency of service provision through a Service Level Agreement with each of our Customer Trusts has been essential. Whilst detailing the specifics of the service it also allows us to be responsive and flexible to changing circumstances and to the individual needs of the different trusts. Each customer Chief Executive is invited to join the Partnership Board of Shared Services. As the name implies the ‘partnership’ arrangements engender at the very highest level a sense of mutual benefit to all. We see this as being vital to our day to day operation in communications.

This shared approach not only offers benefits to our customers but it allows us to offer a very supportive environment in which our Communications staff work. Personal and Professional development has been well developed and nurtured through Individual Performance and Development Reviews, weekly team meetings, regular team training opportunities and ‘buddying’. It also promotes the sharing and challenging of ideas in an ‘expert’ environment. As the team provides an out of hours Communications service to the trusts, team collaboration is vital for information sharing.

A shared approach to Communications has delivered considerable benefits to our customers and to our staff. On reflection, ‘knowing the business’ has helped us to achieve this but undoubtedly the enormous enthusiasm, commitment and professionalism of our staff have made this a reality.

In the words of the author Frances Hodgson Burnett
‘At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done. Then they begin to hope that it can be done. Then they see it can be done. Then it is done and the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago’.

Gillian Hodgetts is head of communications and public involvement at Buckinghamshire Shared Services
Gill.Hodgetts@bssmail.nhs.uk

Buckinghamshire Shared Services was established in April 2002 and offers seven services to its NHS Customer organisations:

• Communications and Public Involvement
• Financial Services
• IM and T
• IT
• Purchasing and Supplies
• Information
• Human Resources