West Yorkshire & Harrogate Partnership
Access to digital GP services and diabetes campaign
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, West Yorkshire and Harrogate Partnership asked us to help it promote online consultations as a safe and convenient way for the area’s 2.7 million patients to get help from their general practitioner (GP) doctor.
The objective was to empower patients and make it easier for clinicians to deliver high-quality care through a seamless and easy-to-use service. Online consultations remove the need for people to phone, travel or wait at their local surgery. With just a few clicks on a smartphone, tablet or computer, patients can contact their GP about a new problem or an ongoing issue. They can ask questions, tell their GP about their symptoms or make administrative requests at any time, day or night. The practice then decides how best to help patients as quickly as possible.
The campaign we devised was particularly aimed at those most at risk from coronavirus who were worried about entering a health care environments or reluctant to be ‘a burden’ on busy services. We created a toolkit of materials for communication staff to use across six locations chosen to reach the area’s diverse population.
The toolkit included a digital animation, which we got translated into four community languages as well as a British Sign Language version with an in-vision signer.
Following the success of this campaign, the team commissioned us for a second campaign focusing on reducing behaviours that can lead to Type 2 diabetes (for example, poor diet, lack of physical exercise and excessive stress). Diabetes prevention is one of the Partnership’s top priorities, with an estimated 220,000 people in West Yorkshire and Harrogate at high risk of developing the condition.
This project also stressed the advantages of 24/7 easy-access, online services. We created a digital version of a senior diabetes specialist Dr Waqas Tahir plus social media assets to promote the campaign.