As a principle, keeping your partners and those who work alongside you informed and engaged is essential to the work you’re doing. You serve the same communities that the councils, Members of Parliament and other community organisations represent, meaning if they feel connected and valued, we will all be able to work more effectively as a partnership across Hampshire and Isle of Wight. Therefore it’s important to remember that you want your stakeholders to feel part of the work you’re doing and that you’re working together towards the same goal!
The political landscape in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
Across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, there are 19 Members of Parliament (MPs), four upper tier local authorities and 11 district and borough councils. MPs hold the Integrated Care System to account and meet with us regularly to be kept in constant communication on what the operational performance is like across the area and any issues that their constituents might be experiencing. Politicians want to deliver for their constituents, just as you want to deliver for those you are trying to provide a service for!
Our upper tier local authorities, which are Hampshire County Council, Southampton City Council, Portsmouth City Council and Isle of Wight Council, have responsibilities on public health, meaning we as an Integrated Care Board (ICB) are called to their scrutiny committees every few weeks to provide updates on how we are providing the best healthcare possible for our communities. Provider Trusts, such as Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, also attend these meetings and are accountable to these local authorities on the actions and performance of the services that they are being provided, often in partnership with the ICB. Having key messages and being on the same page is vital to building trust not only with your partners, but those who you are accountable to.
There are also 11 district and borough-level councils that operate under Hampshire County Council but do not hold public health or school responsibilities. However, they do have a duty to look after and engage with their communities and provide green spaces. Together, we all work as an Integrated Care System, partnering with our local authorities and community organisations of all levels as an NHS. It’s integral to our work knowing how we can best communicate with these different levels of stakeholders and what works best for them.Get to know those that you want to be invested with and find out what their priorities are and how you can work together to achieve them.
How we work
There are many ways in which we work alongside our stakeholders. We hold monthly meetings with our MPs updating them on topical issues and have individual meetings with them on specific work in their constituencies. Good public affairs means being as open and transparent as possible, which means it goes alongside existing communications while making that communication as regular and frequent as it can be.
Communicating with stakeholders doesn’t always have to be direct, either. Your messages that you want stakeholders to engage with can be publicised via your social media, which stakeholders can share themselves. Building this dual engagement means those who see other organisations sharing your message are more likely to build trust with you. Similarly, we engage with MPs around press and news releases that we issue, where they form a part of that news. This furthers that trust and builds a relationship by working together.
Another way we seek to be as consistent with our communication as possible is through our regular newsletter to stakeholders. Through ‘Community Connect’ we have top-line messages from our Chief Executive and Chair, seeking to further establish trust while putting forward that we all work together as a partnership. Ensuring this is published regularly means stakeholders know what to expect and when, enhancing our reputation.