The LionsDen Award for Writing Excellence – Patients

Summary of work

There is a good deal of rhetoric about the importance of transparent, accessible action on the quality of healthcare, but much less action. Priory bravely decided to be the exception to this rule, opening its books to enable an informed discussion with patients, professionals and payers about the quality of its care. Going far beyond its legal responsibility to publish a quality account, Priory benchmarked its performance compared to competitors and brought quality to life, using focused language, infographics, analysis and case studies to present patient information in a clear and compelling way, helping to build advocates for the business and deliver positive policy outcomes. Given the sensitive nature of mental health, the quality and accuracy of the writing was critical to this process. The result is an exemplar of how the information revolution can be made real for patients.

Judges comments

This was a useful report for many different stakeholders that employed a clear and direct writing style, making good use of case studies, and was a brave attempt at transparency. A great deal of thought went into the structure of this work.