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When a power outage left me dealing with a frustrating, outdated chatbot, it highlighted exactly what’s wrong with digital service today — and how modern AI could transform it. If AI can diagnose a local power fault, it can certainly handle GP triage, manage demand, and end the daily 8am appointment scramble. Here’s why the NHS is on the edge of a breakthrough in patient access and primary care efficiency.

Advanced Foundation Trusts and Integrated Healthcare Organisations will define the next phase of NHS transformation — but operational readiness is only half the story. Success depends on strong leadership, clear communication and a confident public reputation. This article explores how communications and PR can help leaders prepare their Trusts for AFT status and build the credibility needed to lead system-wide change.

Patient stories are the beating heart of healthcare PR. They humanise data, inspire trust, and show the real impact of care. But they must be told ethically — with informed consent, empathy, and respect. In this blog, I explore why patient storytelling builds stronger brands and how healthcare communicators can balance emotion, ethics, and evidence to create lasting impact.

In today’s healthcare communications landscape the question isn’t just ‘What will the press say?’ but ‘What are patients already saying online?’ In this blog I’ll walk you through how digital listening gives healthcare organisations the edge: capturing sentiment before it becomes a story, spotting emerging patient-issues and reputation risks, and turning insight into action.

Winning healthcare media coverage isn’t about spin - it’s about fluency. PR professionals who understand how journalists think can turn complex clinical or policy stories into human, credible narratives that earn trust. Here’s how to speak their language and build lasting reputation for your organisation.

Leadership changes are inevitable in healthcare. But if your communications strategy unravels every time a new CEO arrives, it was never truly strategic. In this blog, I explore how to design communications that outlive leadership, grounded in purpose, culture, and collective ownership so your message stays strong, consistent, and credible no matter who’s in charge.

In today’s NHS environment, reputational resilience is just as critical as clinical excellence. Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and Trusts...

Your GP practice’s reputation can be built or broken by how you communicate, respond, and lead. In this article, I explore seven of the most common risks to practice reputation—and how to turn them into opportunities to strengthen trust, improve communication, and demonstrate leadership in your community.

The new mandatory online booking system may seem like just another task, but for GPs it’s a golden opportunity. Used well, it can build trust, reduce complaints, and reassure patients. Discover how to make online booking a positive reputation tool for your practice.

A Trust’s reputation is its strongest defence when challenges strike. Built through transparency, consistent communication, and positive patient and staff experiences, reputation provides the credibility and goodwill needed to withstand public and media scrutiny. In this blog, I explore why NHS Trusts must invest in building their reputation now — to protect against crises, maintain staff morale, and safeguard public confidence in the future.

Centralising communications can give GP Federations stronger governance, better tools and faster crisis response but it can also mute local voice. This article weighs the pros and cons and offers a hub-and-spoke model that centralises standards while decentralising stories, ensuring compliance, consistency and genuine community engagement.

Neighbourhood Health Centres succeed when patients and partners understand how to use them—and why they matter. This guide explains why a PR strategy from day one is essential to build trust, manage change, and accelerate adoption. Explore a pillar-based framework—clarity, access, proof, dialogue, resilience - that you can apply immediately.

Authority in healthcare is built through content that informs, inspires, and connects. From blogs to white papers, case studies, video, and social media, discover the five formats that every healthcare leader can use to strengthen reputation and become a trusted voice in their field.

Neighbourhood Health Centres succeed when patients believe they add value - not take it away. In this playbook, I show how to position new centres as a community benefit with a Message House, a five-story framework, and a 90-day rollout that proves improvements fast. Rooted in GP reputation management and ICB comms strategy, the approach converts abstract change into everyday wins: convenience, continuity, and proactive care.

Private GPs won’t “catch up” with the NHS in scale—and that’s not the point. The future is a mixed model where private services provide fast access, prevention and employer-funded routes that plug cleanly into NHS pathways. The communications challenge is to explain who does what, when, and why - openly and consistently - so patients get the right care first time. That’s the strategy I build with clients at Grey Sergeant PR.

GP practices across the UK are struggling to hire new doctors, but reputation holds the key. By managing their brand, showcasing culture, and telling their story, practices can attract the next generation of talent. In this blog, I share a practical PR toolkit that helps GPs position themselves as employers of choice, strengthen community trust, and stand out in a competitive healthcare environment.

Cost-cutting is unavoidable in today’s NHS, but reputation doesn’t have to be the price. For GPs, PCNs, and ICBs, the way financial challenges are communicated will decide whether patients see sustainability or neglect. This blog explores proactive comms strategies to protect public trust, from reputation management frameworks to digital storytelling and staff engagement.

Aligning communications across PCNs and ICBs is vital to build trust, reduce confusion, and strengthen healthcare reputation. From creating a shared vision to preparing joint crisis protocols, I outline seven practical steps every healthcare leader should adopt. Aligned communications aren’t just about consistency - they’re about clarity, patient confidence, and lasting impact.

The GP website has become the new waiting room. Patients no longer sit with leaflets—they search online. A powerful, SEO-optimised website is now central to reputation management, patient engagement, and community trust. From blogs that build authority to design that reflects your values, your website is your most important PR tool. It’s where your practice proves it is professional, approachable, and future-ready.

GPs and Primary Care Networks face uncertainty with ICB mergers, digital transformation, and new Neighbourhood Health Centres, but they also have a rare opportunity to lead as trusted community anchors. By using the right tools, from patient feedback and clear messaging to digital services and PR, GPs and PCNs can build trust, strengthen reputation, and position themselves at the heart of local healthcare.