Case Study - Cheshire and Merseyside SHA
Drawing on their previous work with a number of other SHA’s, Mediatrack took on
the challenge of finding a cost effective way to provide the large amount of varied
data required, in a clear and concise format.
- Coverage had to be broken down by volume and favourability for the SHA as a whole,
plus each of the 33 individual organisations
- 13 "Priority Areas" were identified, covering ongoing key issues for the NHS such
as patient experience and waiting, booking and choice.
- Event coding was set up to highlight and track any one-off incidents which may affect
the nature of coverage.
Taking into account C&MSHA’s limited public sector budget, we suggested that the
most effective way to distribute the report and supporting data was through Mediatrack’s
website, and a secure client area.
Achieving the objective
Working closely with the client, a bespoke coding protocol was developed, outlining
the organisations and issues to track, and a team of specialist analysts, already
experienced in evaluating coverage for other SHA’s, were assigned to the project.
Again, drawing on previous experience, Mediatrack was able to set up charts which
could be reproduced each month, quickly and economically, showing a breakdown of
coverage by volume and favourability over time. The on-going analysis proved particularly
beneficial in terms of identifying trends and patterns, while the event coding could
be used to explain unforeseen changes to the overall trend. For example, a sudden
dip in favourability in November 2005 was due to an increase in reporting of rumoured
closures at one of the hospitals in the area. Similarly, the analysis also allows
C&MSHA to track long-running media issues and implement a strategy to channel the
focus of the coverage, thus containing or counteracting any areas of concern.
The electronic delivery of the reports and data proved invaluable to C&MSHA. Each
individual organisation was given their own username and password, enabling them
to log on to the SHA’s secure client area within the Mediatrack website. From there,
they could view the overall results for C&MSHA, but more importantly they could
opt to see just the data for their own organisation. Mediatrack’s innovative Storyfinder
search tool allowed each Trust to view just their own coverage, and to filter and
sort it as they wished. In addition, the online charting facility allowed each organisation
to create their own charts, reflecting the data they wanted to see. These could
then be downloaded for use in departmental reports and other internal communications.
This flexible, web-based solution allowed widespread, low-cost distribution of custom
data to a comparatively large client base.
Conclusions
Mediatrack’s evaluation has successfully met C&MSHA’s need for a cost effective,
straightforward analysis which is widely used, for a variety of purposes, by staff
across the whole organisation.
"Mediatrack’s evaluation is invaluable in helping us draw up future strategies"
Dave Rowson, Head of Communications
The central communications team have successfully used the analysis to aid them
with strategic planning and decision making. In 2006, under the nationwide restructuring
of the NHS, C&MSHA will be merging with two other SHAs to form one large organisation,
covering the whole of the North West. It is testament to the value placed on media
evaluation by C&M that they are actively promoting it within the new structure,
and plan to extend the analysis into other areas.
"The evaluation is widely supported throughout the SHA and I’m keen to extend it
further across the North West SHA" Dave Rowson, Head of Communications
The whole SHA has embraced Mediatrack’s evaluation, with the individual organisations
taking pride in their results, and even becoming competitive, benchmarking themselves
against the performance of other Trusts.