NPSA needed to create something to bring the campaign to life and promote the clean hands message to both staff and patients, so Teague approached design consultant Colin Goodhew, with whom she’d worked on the NPSA annual report, to create a marque and associated marketing materials.
Rather than work as client and agency Goodhew, who now runs design consultancy Lucid Design, worked with Teague as part of the NPSA team. ‘We each felt free to contribute to all aspects of the design as it evolved,’ says Goodhew.
Working with one other designer, Goodhew developed five creative ideas. ‘We wanted to be creative but to keep it simple, honest and unpretentious,’ he says.
‘The chosen marque - a hand in the shape of a water droplet - had to be distinctive, flexible across a range of applications, and unambiguous. Initially the idea was ‘clean hands’, but we incorporated the word ‘your’ to make the point that each individual is the agent for change.’
Accountability, not blame, is key to the campaign, adds Goodhew. ‘The messages are aspirational, positive, and constructive. We never say don’t do something or suggest people are in the wrong. We set out to make healthcare workers think, rather than feel defensive.’
A major challenge was finding the right tone of voice for both the issue and the cultural diversity of the national audience. ‘Humour can effectively communicate difficult issues, however a delicate balance had to be struck to ensure HCAIs were not trivialised,’ Goodhew says. ‘It took a lot of testing with staff and patients to get the right tone.’
Having established a tone of voice that didn’t trivialise the issue, NPSA had to ensure that NHS staff bought into the campaign – the biggest ever launched by the health service. NHS staff were worried about the amount of additional work the initiative would entail, and many were dubious about yet another central edict.
‘It was essential that staff and patients were involved in the development of the campaign, and that the eventual roll-out was preceded by a detailed briefing period undertaken within each NHS Trust,’ Teague says.
To ensure all key opinion leaders and stakeholders interests were taken into account, staff and patient consultation underpinned every decision. Patient feedback, for example, suggested the ‘It’s OK to ask’ line eventually used in the patient-focused information and engagement materials.’
