Coverage Care (Gloucestershire) Limited was the largest provider of care for the older person in Gloucestershire. The company ran 23 residential and nursing homes, day centres and provided care to older people in their own homes. The company was formed in 1991 through a ground-breaking initiative by Gloucestershire County Council to place its provision of residential care services into the control of a newly formed not-for-profit organisation with full chartable status.
The process of giving Coverage Care full independence from the County Council is a complex process, and currently ongoing, but the subject was thrust into the public domain last December when some county councillors questioned the process and alleged that Coverage Care owed the authority thousands of pounds in rent and, to force them to pay back the outstanding sum, would threaten the future of the company. This story hit the local media immediately after Christmas 2003. This was a severe blow to the new management team at Coverage Care who were working very hard behind the scenes to restructure the business and meet the increasing demands being placed on services for older people in the county.
Montpellier was asked to develop a strategy of ‘damage limitation’ to ensure that the ‘financial crisis’ issue did not gain a ‘life of its own’ and detract from the real story of the County Council and Coverage Care working closely together to assure the future of care for older people in Gloucestershire. This was vital because of the very vulnerable clientele cared for by Coverage Care; there was an urgency to assure them (and their families and friends) that their homes weren’t at risk.
It was also vital to assure staff that the stories were without foundation as recruitment and retention in the care sector is an ongoing issue and Coverage Care was keen not to fracture its loyal and hard-working team.
• To minimise the negative ‘financial crisis’ headlines in the local media
• To assure residents (their families and friends) and staff that where were no financial problems at Coverage Care and the future of the business (and homes) were not threatened
• To promote the excellent care delivered by Coverage Care’s in the company’s and other services and the dedication of the staff
• To demonstrate that Coverage Care is an innovative and forward-thinking company
The planning involved understanding the complex financial negotiations and agreements between Gloucestershire County Council and Coverage Care and meant liaising with County Council officers to ensure that the messages emanating from both organisations were consistent.
The initial focus was to stem the negative stories and Montpellier recommended that this was best achieved by engaging directly with the editors of the two main daily papers and taking them into the company’s confidence. Meetings organised by Montpellier, involving Len Bamber, Managing Director of Coverage Care and Anita Syvret, Editor of the Gloucestershire Echo and Ian Mean, Editor of The Citizen, went very well and both editors said they appreciated Len Bamber’s candour and his taking time with them to explain the situation without moreover expecting special treatment by them. As a direct result, we were also invited to submit a 1,500 word article – byelined to Len Bamber himself together photo - about the future of care in Gloucestershire which was subsequently published in both the Echo and the Citizen, in both cases a full page. Furthermore, Len Bamber is now regarded as the first point of contact in the county about issues affecting older people. Subsequently, Len was also interviewed on BBC Radio Gloucestershire during the debate about Coverage Care’s plans for the future which was aired during the station’s popular ‘drive time’ programme.
Besides the politically related media relations activity, it was vitally important to maintain the ‘business as usual’ process of PR, to retain confidence and continuity in Coverage Care’s work and reputation for excellence in the county For the good news stories we liaised directly with individual homes to elicit news stories and photo ideas to issue to the press. To engage the Nurse Managers of the homes in the process, and to help them identify ideas, we presented our plans at their monthly meeting. We also drafted dedicated press notes for nurse managers to keep as a constant prompt. As a result we have a pipeline of stories written on behalf of the company from the homes which has enabled us to keep the profile of Coverage Care high in a very positive way.
At many times, Montpellier’s senior consultants were entrusted the highest levels of confidential information, even before certain Board members; the risks to the business of critical information finding its way into the wrong hands –internally as well as externally – were colossal. Since our editor meetings there have been no further damaging headlines and no repeats of the financial crisis story. The issue has been covered since but it has been very sensitively handled and the company is always contacted for information and comment.
The ‘good news’ stories have ensured that Coverage Care’s profile has remained high locally – but for all the right reasons. Coverage Care has measured the success of the campaign by both the media coverage and the response from staff and residents, their families and friends.
To date they have received no phone calls or letters from anyone concerned about the future of Coverage Care since the PR campaign started and recruitment and retention rates are, in fact, improving. The programme has been a huge success and the consultancy rewarded with a retained contract of PR and marketing services which commenced in June of this year.