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LOCAL OUTBREAK CONTROL COMMUNICATIONS PLAN UPDATE

Meeting: 21/04/2022 - Surrey Local Outbreak Engagement Board (Item 16)

16 COVID-19 COMMUNICATIONS PLAN UPDATE pdf icon PDF 248 KB

A communications and engagement strategy has been developed to support the Surrey Local Outbreak Management Plan. The Communications Plan has evolved as more has been learnt about our public health response to the virus and this report provides the latest update on communications activity.

 

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Witnesses:

 

Abi Pope - Senior Communications Manager - COVID-19 Communications Lead, Surrey County Council

 

Key points raised in the discussion:

 

1.    The Senior Communications Manager - COVID-19 Communications Lead (SCC) noted that:

·         Since the last Board meeting, there had been a number of changes to adapt to such as the publication of the Government’s Living with COVID-19 plan and the end of free universal testing.

·         The Communications team (SCC) continued to work closely with the Public Health team (SCC), the regular joint data meetings had highlighted the continued high prevalence in Surrey of Covid-19 so the Communications team (SCC) via local and national assets had been continuing to ask people to do the right thing such as continuing with infection prevention measures through ‘Back to basics’ messaging such as ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it’.

·         Changes to the testing programme had been communicated, throughout March the Communications team (SCC) was continuing to remind people to keep testing until 31 March and the messaging from 1 April 2022 was focused on reminding the public that free testing was only available to certain groups - such as those at risk of serious illness and NHS staff or social care staff - and information was provided about how to buy tests as a precaution when visiting an elderly or vulnerable relative for example.

·         The public health messaging had changed as people cannot be certain if they are not testing in the same way whether or not they have Covid-19, or if they might have symptoms of another respiratory illness and therefore emphasised the importance of staying at home if feeling unwell, particularly as the NHS had published a broader list of Covid-19 symptoms with nine new symptoms added to the three existing symptoms. 

·         There had been messaging around the changes in travel guidance, particularly in the run up to the Easter holidays, including the changes to testing and other requirements, as well as reminding people to ensure that they are vaccinated when they are visiting other countries.

·         The Communications team (SCC) had continued to support its colleagues in Surrey Heartlands as they worked closely together on vaccination communications. Whilst Surrey Heartlands had taken over the use of geo-targeting, the team continued to support them on specific areas.

·         There was a large list of all the different cohorts and the different requirements that the team had been communicating to, including the recent announcement in early April 2022 that 5 - 11 year olds could now have their Covid-19 vaccination.

2.    The Chairman thanked the Senior Communications Manager - COVID-19 Communications Lead (SCC) for her work and highlighted the tremendous contribution by the Communications team (SCC) over the course of the pandemic and joined up working with the Public Health team (SCC). She noted that the messaging around Covid-19 had been powerful and there was a lot of learning to take away and successful tools including the RingGo parking app.

3.    A Board member thanked the Senior Communications Manager - COVID-19 Communications Lead (SCC)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16


Meeting: 17/02/2022 - Surrey Local Outbreak Engagement Board (Item 7)

7 COVID-19 COMMUNICATIONS PLAN UPDATE pdf icon PDF 377 KB

A communications and engagement strategy has been developed to support the Surrey Local Outbreak Management Plan. The Communications Plan has evolved as more has been learnt about our public health response to the virus and this report provides the latest update on communications activity.

 

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Witnesses:

Abi Pope - Senior Communications Manager - COVID-19 Communications Lead, Surrey County Council

Ruth Hutchinson - Director of Public Health, Surrey County Council

 

Key points raised in the discussion:

 

1.    The Senior Communications Manager - COVID-19 Communications Lead (SCC) noted:

 

·         that since the last Board meeting and the emergence of Omicron, Surrey had some of the highest rates in the country and the highest rates seen throughout the past two years and so the Communications team (SCC) reverted back to the brightly coloured chevron alerts and continued to do geo-targeting.

·         an example of an online warning advert to the residents of Elmbridge, and Reigate and Banstead, who at one point had the highest rates in the country.

·         that significant communications actions at that point were supported by a multi-channel approach as not all residents were on social media:

-       a highway sign was put out to the whole area around Reigate and Banstead reminding drivers on the road about the high rates in that area.

-       the RingGo parking app was successful and alerted users to a message from Surrey County Council about the high rates in the area.

-       GP video messages were especially effective in Reigate and Banstead when they had exceptionally high rates.

·           the continued dissemination of Covid-19 data to residents through the publicly available infographic ‘Surrey Covid-19 Summary: Cases and Rates’ published twice weekly - once the living with Covid-19 plan was published Surrey County Council would revisit that approach.

·           that the Communications team (SCC) sought to help residents navigate the change in tone from the Government due to the move between Plan A and Plan B; explained simply through assets such as ‘What do I need to know about…’ such as Omicron and travel guidance, and with the move away from the tougher restrictions residents were reminded that ‘Covid 19 hasn’t gone away’ through ‘back to basics’ graphics of public health prevention messages.

·           the Communications team (SCC) continued to support the vaccinations programme through geo-targeted communications to communities or areas with significantly lower vaccination rates, such as through a TikTok style video put out on Snapchat and Instagram.

·           the large amount of activity on vaccinations over the last couple of months, with a focus on winter immunity, flu before the festive period, getting a booster before Christmas, information for pregnant women and all the different cohorts as they become eligible for the boosters, new communications on the Evergreen offer and gifs on the importance of getting vaccinated such as before the summer holidays.

·           the Communications team (SCC) commissioned research into parents’ feelings on vaccinations announced for 5-11 year olds, how they could be supported and communications would be carried out in the same way as done for 12-15 year olds.

·           that there had been many testing changes and so the Communications team (SCC) undertook a lot of work to:

-       clarify to residents what the testing situation was, to explain the new self-isolation rules (day six and seven ‘test to release’).

-       reiterate the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7


Meeting: 19/11/2021 - Surrey Local Outbreak Engagement Board (Item 38)

38 COVID-19 COMMUNICATIONS PLAN UPDATE pdf icon PDF 251 KB

A communications and engagement strategy has been developed to support the Surrey Local Outbreak Management Plan. The Communications Plan has evolved as more has been learnt about our public health response to the virus and this report provides the latest update on communications activity.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Witnesses:

Abi Pope - Senior Communications Manager - COVID-19 Communications Lead, Surrey County Council

Ruth Hutchinson - Director of Public Health, Surrey County Council

 

Key points raised in the discussion:

1.    The Senior Communications Manager - COVID-19 Communications Lead (SCC) noted:

·         that she would be providing a deeper dive into youth engagement in Surrey which was more important than ever due to the high rates in school-age children.

·         that back in 2020 early on in the pandemic there were high rates of Covid-19 in young people but there were no existing channels within the Council to reach young people, who were not following local government channels on any platform so the Council needed to find a way to reach them.

·         the Council therefore held focus groups with young people from Surrey and undertook in-depth insight work, findings included 73% of those young people surveyed had broken Covid guidelines and the messaging was not reaching their digital spaces and they felt scapegoated.

·         however, peer-to-peer conversations and relatable stories were helpful and so the Council partnered with Livity a youth specialist agency to create the Soon.Surrey Instagram channel with posts from influencers each month highlighting the Council’s strategic priorities around Covid-19 in a relatable and creative way.

·         since April 2021 Soon.Surrey had reached 398,000 Instagram users and had 633 followers.

·         the number one performing post on Soon.Surrey around mental health and videos across Soon.Surrey had 3 million views.

·         Soon.Surrey reels were effective with one receiving 4,252 views.

·         the Soon.Surrey channel also looks beyond Covid-19 to content on mental health and resilience, Black History Month, White Ribbon Day and the Surrey Countryside Code.

·         in addition to peer-to-peer organic content, Soon.Surrey was used as a paid platform, commissioning content such as Fiaa’s vaccination story, and content for 12 to 15 year olds on getting the Covid-19 vaccine; in total paid Instagram posts had been see over 2 million times.

·         another new channel used by the Council was Snapchat which like Instagram and Facebook could be targeted by age and geography - 64% of 16-24 year olds used Snapchat.

·         Snapchat was used as a paid advertising channel and the advertisements created were based on up to date data provided by the Public Health team (SCC).

·         an area addressed on Snapchat was festival season providing key messaging in line with public health guidance, another area was on promoting vaccination uptake in areas where young people may not be getting the vaccination as much as others, another area included Covid-19 testing for young men ‘you wouldn't forget your kit’ and another area was on fear of missing out ‘FOMO’.

·         in total the Council’s Snapchat advertisements received over 8 million views over 29,000 swipe ups and 273,000 video views; the top performing advertisement was on FOMO receiving over 2 million views followed by the advertisement on festival season.

·         another new channel used by the Council was radio advertisements on digital devices, 50% of UK homes had smart speakers and 63% of homes have a DAB device; the Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38


Meeting: 02/09/2021 - Surrey Local Outbreak Engagement Board (Item 28)

28 COVID-19 COMMUNICATIONS PLAN UPDATE pdf icon PDF 249 KB

A communications and engagement strategy has been developed to support the Surrey Local Outbreak Management Plan. The Communications Plan has evolved as more has been learnt about our public health response to the virus and this report provides the latest update on communications activity.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Witnesses:

Andrea Newman - Strategic Director for Communication, Public Affairs and Engagement (SCC)

 

Key points raised in the discussion:

1.    The Strategic Director for Communication, Public Affairs and Engagement (SCC) noted:

·         the dynamic situation, since the last Board the country had moved into Step 4 of the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown and in line with national guidance and insights from the Public Health Team (SCC) communications campaigns continued been tailored locally for Surrey.

·         the change in the guidance concerning self-isolation and international travel - noting the extensive messaging around testing and complying with public health campaigns.

·         the success of the RingGo parking app trialled over the summer in Surrey through a six-week campaign targeting the eight Boroughs and Districts where the case rates were higher, the campaign message was viewed over 323,857 times and the service used was free for the public sector.

·         the beneficial addition of RingGo similarly to NextDoor within the communications toolbox.

·         the data-led targeted communications campaigns focusing on less compliant groups in terms of vaccination uptake such as young men and young people, the SoonSurrey Instagram channel remained a useful tool as well as new summer festival assets - using as many channels as possible targeting in a granular way.

·         the targeted communications around the vaccination rollout in conjunction with Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System (ICS) colleagues, colleagues within health and policing and university colleagues.

·         the next steps around winter pressures, a group had been set up between Surrey County Council and partner colleagues which had agreed a set of themes which might arise in the future autumn and winter period.

·         that she was happy to liaise with colleagues further on the specifics concerning the wide-ranging winter pressures and preparedness not solely limited to Covid-19 and the possible booster vaccines, but also concerning the flu vaccines - further information to follow from the NHS around the model of delivery which will be communicated across Surrey - respiratory illnesses and wider system pressures.

·         the winter leaflet would be sent to all households in Surrey following last year’s success, it contained useful phone numbers and information as well as signposting to services; it would be a joint approach with health colleagues.

·         the focus on mental health, particularly in October for the World Mental Health Day which would be a system-wide collaborative campaign.

·         the Back to School campaign focusing on testing, noting incoming guidance on extending vaccinations to clinically extremely vulnerable children in a particular age group.

·         the new legislation coming into force in November for the mandatory vaccinations of people working in care homes, the cut off point for double vaccinations was 16 September 2021 - noting the work to increase awareness of that within organisations across Surrey.

2.    The Chairman welcomed the informative update and asked whether the Strategic Director for Communication, Public Affairs and Engagement (SCC) was happy to link into the informal private Board around autumn and winter modelling assumptions.

-       In response, the Strategic Director for Communication, Public Affairs and Engagement (SCC) was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28


Meeting: 17/06/2021 - Surrey Local Outbreak Engagement Board (Item 20)

20 COVID-19 COMMUNICATIONS PLAN UPDATE pdf icon PDF 309 KB

A communications and engagement strategy has been developed to support the Surrey Local Outbreak Control Plan. The Communications Plan has evolved as more has been learnt about our public health response to the virus and this report provides the latest update on communications activity.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Witnesses:

 

Abi Pope - Senior Communications Manager, COVID-19 Communications Lead (SCC)

 

Key points raised in the discussion:

1.    The Senior Communications Manager, COVID-19 Communications Lead (SCC) noted:

·         the surge testing operation in Reigate and Banstead, the press release was scheduled for 3pm:

-       due to begin on Friday due to the high rates in two areas:

-       Area one - Banstead, Walton-on-the-hill and Tattenham corner

-       Area two - Reigate town centre

-       the communications cascade with the Board informed first.

-       the experience gained from previous surge testing operations in Surrey.

-       it was important for residents that they had a good understanding of whether or not they lived, worked or went to school within the boundaries of the surge testing area - an interactive map had been produced.

-       the web content and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document had been prepared and was sent to GPs, before being published online across the Surrey County Council and Reigate and Banstead Borough Council websites.

-       the Communications team (SCC) was well experienced in doing highly targeted social media, alongside the press release geo-targeted communications would go out via Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Nextdoor - the Snapchat posts could be targeted to the younger age groups.

-       the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) would be issuing their press release, as well as offering support for business and community stakeholder engagement in the area.

-       two digital ad vans would be diverted to the Reigate and Banstead surge testing areas from Friday.

-       the assets and infographics being used reverted to alert messaging through chevrons and the bright colours.

·         the continued close working between the Public Health team (SCC) and Communications team (SCC), noting the data meetings which occurred three times a week and the awareness of rising rates in Surrey and Variants of Concern (VOC):

-     digital ad vans from Monday would drive around the areas with the highest rates in Surrey, focusing the assets on the testing and vaccinations.

-     an extraordinary Multi-Agency Information Group (MIG) was held last Thursday so that partners in Surrey could be alerted to the rising rates, with a toolkit with new graphics provided.

-     vinyl banners were being developed to go into popular spots particularly congregated by young people.

-     a leaflet on testing and vaccinations had been developed.

-     information was included in the GP bulletins last week to inform them of rising cases.

-     the RingGo parkingapp was being investigated to include push notifications and a text to anyone who was registered with the app in Surrey.

-     the focus on younger age groups as the rates were higher, ensuring targeted messaging.

 

 

 

·         Youth engagement:

-     through a company called Livity who ran focus groups to gain insights into how young people in Surrey were feeling about the lockdowns and what would motivate them to follow the rules.

-     findings from the focus groups included the feeling of being scapegoated by the media and underrepresented in the Covid-19 communications; and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20


Meeting: 15/04/2021 - Surrey Local Outbreak Engagement Board (Item 14)

14 COVID-19 COMMUNICATIONS PLAN UPDATE pdf icon PDF 314 KB

A communications and engagement strategy has been developed to support the Surrey Local Outbreak Control Plan. The Communications Plan has evolved as more has been learnt about our public health response to the virus and this report provides the latest update on communications activity including Operation Eagle.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Witnesses:

 

Michael Stringer - External & Stakeholder Communications Manager (SCC)

Dr Naheed Rana - Public Health Consultant (SCC)

Dr Rachel Gill - Public Health Consultant (SCC)

 

Key points raised in the discussion:

 

1.      The External & Stakeholder Communications Manager (SCC) noted:

·      that since the last Board the focus had been upon the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown through Surrey’s ‘Working together to get there’ overarching campaign which focussed on shared responsibility, encouragement and motivation.

·      key areas included: explaining the roadmap using behavioural insights from the Cabinet Office ensuring residents followed the guidelines, ensuring consistent public health messaging around ‘Hands. Face. Space. Fresh Air’ and providing information regarding testing and vaccinations.

·      that to promote the campaign a variety of channels were being used such as messaging via outdoor assets primarily over the Easter weekend as more residents were out and about and through an online presence including tailored faith messaging on Ramadan and Passover.

·      that the Covid-19 public data dashboard had moved from daily to weekly and vaccination numbers were included; and positive responses to those dashboards shared on social media had been received.

·      that targeted community engagement was an area of focus through tailored messaging for specific audiences including: younger cohorts through the ‘#IDidItFor’ vaccination campaign, a Peer-to-peer youth engagement platform ‘Soon Surrey’ and a TikTok style video on asymptomatic testing for schools; hard to reach groups in line with the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion agenda and high prevalence areas through face-to-face engagement via ‘Street Teams’ in Staines and Woking.

·      that the Multi-Agency Information Group (MIG) would remain in place to coordinate the messaging throughout lockdown easing with the view to carry on that joint working through the Surrey Communications Group; and key areas of focus would be mental health through the ‘Face of Support’ campaign and long term recovery understanding the impact of Covid-19 on the local economy and Covid-19 as business as usual.

2.    A Board Member noted the possibility raised by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom that Covid-19 cases would increase over the next few weeks and months due to the easing of lockdown and new variants, asking whether there were contingency plans ready for promoting a fourth lockdown to residents.

-     In response, the External & Stakeholder Communications Manager (SCC) noted that the Communications team (SCC) would continue with partnership working with the ability to step back up lockdown campaigns if needed.

-     The Public Health Consultant (SCC) added that the Public Health team (SCC) through surveillance and intelligence had created situational models in respect of future scenarios. 

3.      A Board member noted that until the start of the year Surrey Chambers of Commerce had received communications toolkits which they shared with businesses and asked whether there would be new toolkits available particularly as more people started to return to work.

-       In response, the External & Stakeholder Communications Manager (SCC) noted that the matter had been a recent focus of the MIG, which found that many of the District and Borough Councils had been working  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14


Meeting: 18/02/2021 - Surrey Local Outbreak Engagement Board (Item 6)

6 COVID-19 LOCAL OUTBREAK CONTROL PLAN - COMMUNICATIONS PLAN UPDATE pdf icon PDF 246 KB

A communications and engagement strategy has been developed to support the Surrey Local Outbreak Control Plan. The Communications Plan has evolved as more has been learnt about our public health response to the virus and this report provides the latest update on communications activity including Operation Eagle.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Witnesses:

Andrea Newman - Director of Communications and Engagement (SCC)

Ruth Hutchinson - Director of Public Health (SCC)

 

Key points raised in the discussion:

1.    The Director of Communications and Engagement (SCC) highlighted that:

·         The key areas of focus since the last Board included the national lockdown measures, Surrey surge testing, asymptomatic testing and the vaccination rollout.

·         The Council led on the communications response to the pandemic as the Public health authority, however that was done in partnership through the Surrey Local Resilience Form (LRF) and through communications teams across Surrey co-ordinating the Surrey-wide communications response via the Multi-Agency Information Group (MIG).

·         The primary objective had been to ensure that residents maintained a good level of understanding of national lockdown procedures and guidelines and noted the continued high levels of resident engagement through both digital and non-digital tactics.

·         The level of national and local media opportunities had increased which resulted in positive coverage of Surrey putting it in the spotlight regarding its response to the pandemic.

·         The most recent activity supported had been surge testing or Operation Eagle initially carried out in Woking - Egham followed on - and had moved at pace, being delivered within a few days. Residents were informed in advance about the operation and the decision was made to release a public news story on surge testing which resulted in an increased media interest in Surrey. The feedback on doorsteps was positive as residents understood what was happening and were impressed with the rapid responses of the LRF, the Council and Woking Borough Council.

·         Communications tactics and channels used around the surge testing included digital targeting such as through Google Display advertising, ad vans which provided high visibility, a video message of the Director of Public Health (SCC) which was shared across WhatsApp channels which was a useful learning tool from Leicester, through social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in which over 14,000 users were reached in Woking and over 12,000 in Egham; the use of Woking Borough Council’s electoral roll email to contact those in the affected area and again learning from Leicester, having a map quickly available for residents to be able to understand whether they were affected and there were 182,000 visits to the surge area map on the Council’s website.

·         Although there was a large amount of people involved in the surge testing logistically on the ground, communications and engagement had played a large role in influencing residents to take part in the voluntary exercise noting the 90% plus return rate in both Woking and Egham.

·         Regarding vaccination communications, Surrey Heartlands was leading on the communications through their colleagues with the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care.

·         Diverse communications channels included the Vaccination Communications Sub-group within the MIG to support health colleagues to ensure that there was consistency in messaging focussing around the three C’s, which was reducing complacency, boosting confidence in the vaccination rollout and promoting convenience.

·         Support was provided to the Equalities, Inclusion and Engagement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6


Meeting: 20/11/2020 - Surrey Local Outbreak Engagement Board (Item 25)

25 LOCAL OUTBREAK CONTROL COMMUNICATIONS PLAN UPDATE pdf icon PDF 330 KB

A communications and engagement strategy has been developed to support the Local Outbreak Control Plan from the 1 July 2020. The primary objective of the NHS Test and Trace Communications Plan for Surrey is to communicate Test and Trace advice and guidance to maximise awareness and compliance and so help contain and reduce the spread of COVID-19. The Communications Plan has evolved as more has been learnt about our public health response to the virus and this report provides the latest update on communications activity.

 

Minutes:

Witnesses:

 

Abi Pope - Senior Communications Manager, COVID-19 Communications Lead (SCC)

 

Key points raised in the discussion:

 

1.    The COVID-19 Communications Lead (SCC) noted that during the new period of national restrictions since 5 November 2020, the Communications team had developed a number of new campaigns to help support Surrey residents.

2.    She highlighted the first campaign of Surrey tailored ‘National Restrictions’ communications asking people to stay at home reaffirming PHE preventative and testing messaging. The assets were tailored to Surrey’s districts and boroughs, the targeted adverts were displayed in busy train stations in digital screen format, as well as via social media with over 1 million impressions on Facebook and Instagram.

3.    She outlined another campaign ‘2021 is in our hands’ which was on behaviour change in response to weekly behavioural insight reports from Cabinet Office colleagues noting that people were fatigued and were missing out on key milestones in life. A series of GIFs were created to motivate people to keep going and view 2021 positively; covering festivals, sporting events, Diwali, and a future one for Christmas. The campaign reached 842,000 users on Facebook and Twitter, with a good engagement rate of 2.3%.

4.    She noted another campaign which was a series of simple infographics informing residents which services were open or closed; as well as the ‘be ready and think ahead’ assets which were about supporting communities to be self-sufficient.

5.    She explained that the Nextdoor social networking app was becoming a very successful channel with high community engagement. Over 154,000 of Surrey’s residents were on it and many expressions of thanks had been received.

 

Dr Charlotte Canniff and Karen Brimacombe left the meeting at 3pm

 

6.    She highlighted the success of the daily data dashboards launched during the latest period of national restrictions. Data was presented in a bitesize and accessible way in which a bar chart showed the daily Covid-19 cases in Surrey and districts and boroughs over the last 7 days and month, as well as the rates, compared to the South East and England with trend arrows the change.

7.    She added that the daily data dashboards were distributed widely through the Multi-Agency Information Group (MIG), and the first dashboard had received positive feedback, it was an accessible way to explain the infection rates in schools, the engagement rate was over 20% on Facebook. Posts on Nextdoor were successful with nearly 66,000 impressions on Wednesday and it was encouraging to see residents responding to other residents’ queries.

8.    She summarised further activity such as the Director of Public Health’s (SCC) weekly slot on BBC Surrey, the joint Mole Valley Incident Management Team (IMT) - numbers were falling in Mole Valley so work needed to be done to understand the reasons - the weekly Top Lines Brief to Members was reinstated providing information to be shared with residents. That since the last Board there had been discussions on the lessons learnt in Elmbridge, and Surrey Together which was a hard copy magazine was to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25


Meeting: 25/09/2020 - Surrey Local Outbreak Engagement Board (Item 17)

17 LOCAL OUTBREAK CONTROL COMMUNICATIONS PLAN UPDATE pdf icon PDF 112 KB

A communications and engagement strategy has been developed to support the Local Outbreak Control Plan from the 1 July. The primary objective of the Communications Plan is to communicate Test and Trace advice and guidance to maximise awareness and compliance and so help contain and reduce the spread of COVID-19. In the past couple of months the Communications Plan has evolved as more has been learnt about our public health response to the virus. 

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Witnesses:

 

Andrea Newman - Director of Communications and Engagement (SCC)

 

Key points raised in the discussion:

 

  1. The Director of Communications and Engagement introduced the report and commented that it a lot of time went by in between the Board’s meetings, as communications were changing on a frequent basis she would liaise with the Chairman on how Board members could be more frequently updated outside of the formal meetings.
  2. In response to the earlier query by a Board member on the social media posts noting that Waverley was at a raised level, she explained that she was not aware of those posts and had messaged colleagues on the matter. She noted that if there were future posts like that, for the Board member to notify the Communications and Engagement Manager at Waverley Borough Council; who sat on the MIG.
  3. In response to the Vice-Chairman’s earlier query on public confidence in relation to numbers and conflicting media reports, the Director of Communications and Engagement noted that communications campaigns provided briefs to the media as based on the figures in the COVID-19 weekly intelligence summary report. She reassured the Board that she had positive feedback from the BBC that the Director of Public Health was visible and noted that the Communications team gave regular media briefings to the BBC and Surrey Live as they enquired into the context of the data. She added that the COVID-19 Communications Lead (SCC) sat on the COVID-19 Daily Data Monitoring meeting in order for the team to understand the data.
  4. The Director of Communications and Engagement commented that the Communications team were writing the NHS Test and Trace Communications Plan for Surrey (Communications Plan) whilst delivering it at same time as it was adaptive, it built on lessons learnt and harnessed effective approaches. In line with national guidance and working closely with the Public Health team, the Communications Plan was preventative focusing on maximising awareness and compliance to help contain and reduce the spread. 

·      It was a sophisticated Communications Plan taking into account traditional methods of communications, social media, a GP text messaging service was put in place - she thanked the Clinical Chair, Surrey Heartlands CCG - and dynamic geo-targeting methods were used to target individuals moving across border and within Surrey allowing the team to follow digital footprints and make comms interventions when needed.

·      The team found that where there were small numbers of cases in a school for instance or in a locality, local residents felt there was an outbreak despite such situations not qualifying under the public health definition of an outbreak. The work of communications was to provide reassurance and work proactively.

·      The Communications Plan was split into a three phased approach from green coloured media infographics for phase one to amplify national guidance and preventative messages, to orange coloured media infographics for phase two which was the current phase for Woking, Elmbridge and Spelthorne where cases were increasing and it focused on warning and informing residents and the need for greater  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17