pandemic flu communications

The emergence of pandemic influenza (swine flu) poses a significant issue for healthcare planners and risk communications strategists. With close involvement in the strategic planning for a pandemic flu outbreak, through to the tactical delivery of stakeholder communications during the swine flu outbreak, Stuart Notholt has developed a unique perspective of the issues surrounding healthcare-related crisis communications.

Helping out at a public swine flu information event in West London

In May 2008 he was recruited by the Department of Health to provide strategic communications support to NHS regional organizations in developing their pandemic flu plans. With the advent of the actual swine flu pandemic in May 2009, he worked with Department of Health and NHS colleagues on the operationalizing of strategic communications and other countermeasures planning, including work on nationwide public facing communications.

In August 2009 he joined NHS Hillingdon as interim Communications Manager, with a specific remit of developing the Primary Care Trust’s stakeholder communications against the probability of a second wave of swine flu. As a member of the PCT’s Silver Command for dealing with swine flu, he upgraded the PCT’s swine flu communications plan, ensuring commonality with plans in other agencies and sectors of the NHS. He also engaged in hands-on work across the communications mix, including media handling, acting as the lead contact for the voluntary sector, developing the relevant sections of the internet/intranet, and introducing new communications tools, such as a Twitter news feed, to widen the reach of NHS Hillingdon’s stakeholder communications.

The NHS Hillingdon 'FluZone' intranet

On the strength of this experience, Stuart was asked to contribute to a number of healthcare and risk management publications, and to be a keynote speaker at a Royal United Services Institute conference, Communicating in a Crisis. He also published a green paper on the possible impact of pandemic flu on the interim management market.

• Mental Health Practice, September 2009
• RUSI Monitor, September 2009
• RUSI Communicating in a Crisis conference
• Pandemic Flu - The implications for the interim management market