Push promoting private care wins campaigning award
Members of the IHPN team (L-R) David Furness, Duncan Jenner, David Hare, Joshua Ramsay
A crusade to promote the advantages of independent doctors and hospitals has won the Media Campaign of the Year award.
‘Going Private’, run by the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), received the prestigious accolade at the Trade Association Forum Awards.
IHPN’s groundbreaking ‘Going Private’ extensive consumer research highlighted people’s views, opinions and usage of private healthcare.
Its report uncovered valuable insights into what people want from the private healthcare sector, why they are using it and how they feel about the services it provides.
Generational shift
It also illustrated fascinating usage patterns, which showed a generational shift, with young people more positive about private healthcare and more likely to have used it.
An IHPN spokesperson said: ‘The campaign achieved cut-through in a very competitive national media landscape, with coverage in national newspapers, including The Times and The Telegraph, with further pick-up from various outlets and on the radio, as well as significant pick-up on digital and social media channels.
‘The judges were particularly impressed by the impact of our evidence-led approach and the human stories we shared, featuring people’s personal experiences of private healthcare with support from IHPN members.’
Really impressive
Emily Wallace, chief executive of the Trade Association Forum and one of the head judges on the panel, said: ‘The impact of the IHPN’s ‘Going Private’ campaign was really impressive.
‘The judges praised the impact of an evidence-led approach combined with human stories featuring people’s personal experiences of private healthcare which delivered strong results with a minimal financial outlay.’
David Furness, IHPN director of policy and delivery, said: ‘When we first started with our work on ‘Going Private’, we were unsure how much public interest there would be.
‘But when we started talking about the findings publicly and exploring how people feel about private healthcare, their views on the service if they’ve used it and what they want to see from the sector, we were delighted by the level of interest that it generated.
‘To receive this award is a real endorsement for the sector. Against stiff competition from other organisations and entries, which came from across the UK economy – including from many which are larger and better resourced – we were able to demonstrate real impact and how important this story is. So it’s something we are very proud of and think the wider sector can be too.’