Cutbacks are a new fiscal necessity. Regrettably, If the question is where to focus the cuts, the obvious answer is ‘non-patient care’. That’s basically the message to hundreds of consultation and engagement professionals in the NHS who face uncertainty after the recent government announcement on April 1st. The message is clear, ‘comms and engagement which similarly exists in local authorities, providers and regions’ can be put on the chopping block.
It doesn’t help that return on investment is hard to articulate in terms of pounds and pence when it comes to consultation or engagement. Sure, thousands of people may have been engaged about services changes…. but was it worth it?Â
Comms and engagement managers are brimming with anecdotes and stories about small and large wins. But this is a fact-finding exercise, and our work can be abstract. There are many positive narratives around patient engagement but it’s hard to pin down impact. Yet underneath the surface are important soft benefits to our work such as brand, trust, education and positive community relations. And if you think of what’s been achieved with stretched resources today then it’s already somewhat of a miracle.
It’s the same everywhere you go – we’re defending democracy with tariffs and missiles whilst forgetting what happens in a vacuum. There is no sound without air!
That’s why we think it’s time to put a value on silence. For every stakeholder not heard, there is a cost. For example, every patient appointment lost because of inconvenient service design might cost £165. Every time there is wasteful overspending on an unsuccessful IVF cycle might cost £4k. Fine-tuning is best tackled by involving patients and the truth is that unheard voices are costing us a fortune.
We haven’t even touched on risk avoidance and resilience. Increased corruption or interference due to a lack of scrutiny might be very expense indeed. The big question in our mind is if this initiative will save money – or will engagement just become a costly outsourcing opportunity? If you’re still unconvinced about the value of patient experience as a priority, then read this.