Key Messages

Clear, simple and honest messaging works best.

Part of your campaign objectives might be to change or challenge perceptions of your organisation and the opportunities you provide. What sets your organisation apart? Get creative, be original and think about the ways in which your messages can stand out. Refer to the Artwork and templates section for ideas on how to use these materials.

Key messages for Patients and Carers

Primary messages you might want to consider for patients and carers:

Your health in your hands. Get access to your health records.

  • Access your new online health record for the peace of mind that wherever you go, wherever you might need care, you and your healthcare team will have the full picture from the very start.

  • The results of common tests (e.g. blood tests) will be available to everyone involved in your care, regardless of where the test took place, so there’s less chance you’ll need to repeat them.

  • Professionals will be able to look at your health record and work together to plan and improve your care, with you.

  • All your important medical information including appointments, discharge letters, care plans, allergies, diagnoses, and medications, will be available online to you and your healthcare team, so that clinical decisions can be made together based on your personal needs.

  • You’ll have access to lots of tools to help you understand and manage your health, including a journal, symptom tracker and resource library, along with the ability to upload data (e.g. from monitoring devices) and share this securely with your healthcare team using secure messaging.

  • We are offering our patients this new service to help improve your care and experience - and to give you more choice and control.

  • This service is offered in partnership with our trusted partner, Patients Know Best.

  • As a patient of our trust, we will continue to retain responsibility for your data. You can opt-out at any time and contact us if you have any questions about using the service.

  • It’s free to all our patients and is easy-to-use. Simply log in from your smartphone, tablet or computer. You can also log in using the NHS App.

  • To access your new health record, speak to a member of staff/ follow the instructions in this welcome pack/ email [insert email]/ sign up at [insert your registration page].


Top tip!

Test your messaging with your target audience. Do you have a patient committee, a board or a group of people you can get feedback from? Ask them what they think about these messages and whether or not they resonate with them. Don't forget to include your contact information and a web link with clear information about how they can complete the process.

Key messages for health and care teams

Primary messages you might want to consider for health and care professionals:

One person, one record - health and care fit for the future of [region]

  • We're pleased to introduce a NEW system designed to share a more complete record of care between healthcare teams and their patients.

  • Access to a more holistic and accurate medical record in real-time – Patients Know Best offers our clinical teams the confidence to make decisions based on more accurate information from all the different healthcare providers involved in the patient’s care.

  • It will give patients access to their health information with the ability to share this securely with any health and care professionals involved in their care, alongside their carers and family members.

  • Patients will see their appointments, medical letters, test results, care plans, and discharge summaries. They can also book appointments, record observations and access resources created by you. The system offers secure messaging, shared care planning and symptom tracking with information available in real-time.

  • This is an opportunity to change ways of working to further improve patient outcomes and experience. Evidence from other trusts shows this is not only transformative for patients, it can also reduce demand and create capacity for our services.

  • Patients Know Best is a Certified B Corporation, ethically and environmentally driven by a social purpose - to empower patients and those looking after them to ‘know best’, so together we can sustain health and care services for future generations. This will also support the ambition to reduce our carbon footprint by moving to digital services where available.

  • We will provide training and support to help you learn about the new system and further information to help you talk about this service confidently with patients.

  • Patients will be invited to register from [month] by [letter/ email/ SMS/ using the check-in system in outpatient waiting rooms].

  • We need your support to encourage our patients to register to use the system.

  • The system is delivered in partnership with digital health records provider, Patients Know Best.

  • Patients will be able to log in to their Patients Know Best account using the NHS App.

Top tips!

  1. Use a picture of your CEO to reinforce key messages for staff.

  2. Make information visual so it stands out. This could be as simple as using a picture of people or the application.

  3. Ensure information is displayed in areas where there is a good flow of people i.e. staff rooms and canteens.