Best Healthcare Policy Programme

Summary of work

During 2010-11 hanover Communications successfully delivered a programme to establish policies that would increase uptake of Deltex Medical’s CardioQ-ODM. The campaign culminated in December 2011 with the Government’s Innovation, Health and Wealth report, and the commitment to make rapid roll-out of ODM a priority for the NHS.

Roll-out was incentivised by making access to the £2bn CQUIN scheme dependent on all Trusts delivering ODM within 12 months. This represented an unprecedented endorsement and commitment by the Government to this technology.

Judges comments

A first class campaign with very clear objectives and an effective use of stakeholder groups. The work did an impressive job of bringing together the policy themes of innovation and outcomes.

Stakeholder comments

Chief executive: The agency nurtured exactly the right media contacts and policy-makers that helped us to develop and communicate the right policy asks. We came to the agency seeking a policy framework that would ensure more NHS patients could benefit from use of ODM. We now have that policy framework in place.

Medical professional of anaesthesia and critical care: I have been working with ODM technology for more than 20 years and know the benefits it brings patients. The challenge was to communicate this message to a policy audience that could help increase usage. We can really see those policy recommendations starting to bear fruit.