Community Involvement Is Big Society’s Little Sister – But Who Cares?

David Cameron’s Big Society has reverberated throughout the UK since before the coalition government was formed. Its wide-reaching ideology means that it can be applied to every walk of life and the healthcare sector is no exception.

Community involvement is a subset of the Big Society and an essential factor in developing, monitoring and evaluating successful community engagement techniques. But it’s not a brand new idea. The previous Labour government made it a requirement for NHS Trusts wishing to become Foundation Trusts. So, how does the vision for the Big Society translate into the healthcare sector? More importantly, does anyone care enough about Cameron’s vision to make it work?

Initially, the idea of involving members of the local community in the decision making process around local service delivery and spending priorities is compelling. Who wouldn’t want to be asked their opinion on where their own taxed income ought to be spent? But when was the last time you were asked what local services you feel should be improved, changed or even closed down? When was the last time you had a chat with your local NHS Trust about its outpatient service or the provision of specialist diabetes nurses across the region? Few of us would claim to have been consulted. Even less would claim to be pleased with the outcomes - or at the very least be aware of the outcomes and the decision making processes that had led to them. The odds are that, unless you are directly affected by any of these areas, you have never had such a conversation.

In the private sector, organisations make decisions regarding where to spend their money based on who their customers are and what those customers require. If businesses aren’t busy creating a need they are trying to meet people’s needs. Product managers will run huge focus groups, sampling many potential customers to make certain that their company offers the right product for the right audience and every part of that product like the features, benefits and price is explored.

Ultimately, profitable businesses produce products and services that people want and present them at a price that people are prepared to pay. They will also continually check sales figures, customer satisfaction rankings, brand perception and the altering demographics of their customer base to make sure that they are in touch with what is necessary to sustain their competitive advantage.

So why isn’t this the case with healthcare delivery? Why should the wants of the local community be regarded any differently? After all, we are all customers of UK plc.

In order for the public sector to completely engage with its ‘customer base’ and provide the efficiencies essential right through the healthcare sector, it needs to follow the lead of product managers in commercial businesses. Local authorities must establish: who their service users (customers) are and what services they need (the products the customers want); the size of the community that needs to be serviced (potential market size); how much money needs to be spent to provide this service (what should be charged for the product); ways to make people aware of the service (the level of marketing required) and the best ways for users to engage with the service (how best to take the product to market).

These are all questions that health service providers must constantly ask themselves if their services are to remain relevant, useful and valuable to their local users. The health service’s challenge is to engage with the local community on a broader level than just with those who are currently taking advantage of the services provided. Patient groups and the voluntary sector do, of course, supply essential feedback however we also need to get to those who are historically tough to make contact with. Only by fully understanding what the local community needs will service providers be able to allocate or eliminate resource appropriately and effectively.

Silverbear Health supplies a comprehensive approach to community engagement. Built around Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and utilising Internet Information Server (IIS) and Microsoft Office applications (most notably Outlook, Word, and Excel), Silverbear Health’s Community Involvement Solution (CIS) delivers membership management, membership analysis and can establish and sustain ongoing community relations programmes. Ultimately, CIS empowers healthcare providers to make decisions determined by clear and representative information. Whilst companies such as Silverbear Health exist, more needs to be done to promote greater collaboration between them and the public sector so that knowledge relating to community and customer interactions and engagements can be utilised to improve service delivery.

Such collaboration is already happening as government efficiency targets mean that local service providers now need to pool their resources. Local authorities are already working closer with NHS Trusts to provide local services so the platforms on which to have an open and meaningful dialogue are being built. But is it enough to help Cameron achieve his vision of the Big Society?

The Big Society may be the antidote to a Broken Britain yet from a healthcare point of view it depends on two things: that people care enough to want their voice to be heard and that they have access to the tools that allow them to share that voice. I feel that the people who make up their community do want their voice to be heard. They just need to know the way to go about doing it. The private sector has the resources in place to help government achieve its targets through effective community engagement and Silverbear Health is testament to this. But before the public sector can effectively listen to the voices of the communities it serves it first must listen to the private sector, for it is us who will ultimately help government achieve its efficiency goals and play a significant part in making the Big Society work.

By: Sally Bakhuizen

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Dave Langran is Director for Silverbear Health. With over 10 years experience with the health sector, Silverbear recognises the issues faced by the health sector and the need to attain, retain and maintain their membership engagement strategy if they are to meet the requirements set out by the regulators (CQC and Monitor) and the Health and Social Care Bill. For more information, please visit our website at www.silverbearhealth.co.uk, email health@silverbear.com or call 0800 342 3060.