Few would argue that nowhere is it more important to invest public money than in improving health services and reducing waiting lists for specialist care. The East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust is a progressive acute trust committed to delivering quality health care and service excellence to the patients it serves. Established in April 2000, the Trust is responsible for patient provision at three Hertfordshire hospitals – Hertford County in Hertford, the Lister in Stevenage and the Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) in Welwyn Garden City. The latter two provide acute in-patient services, such as accident and emergency and maternity units. In addition the Trust manages one of the top five cancer treatment centres in the country, Mount Vernon in Northwood, Middlesex.
Employing over 5,000 staff to look after the health requirements of some 500,000 local people every year, the Trust is committed to improving consistently the breadth and availability of its services to both in-patients and out-patients.
The Trust first experienced working with DOR-2-DOR in 2005, when Chris Storey, franchisee of DOR-2-DOR Welwyn Garden City, raised awareness for a public exhibition in the Galleria Shopping Centre, publicising plans to create the proposed new Hatfield hospital (although eventually this development could not go ahead following a PCT decision that it was no longer affordable).
The Trust enlisted DOR-2-DOR again in December 2008 to promote an informative exhibition inside the Lister hospital in Stevenage. The purpose was to show indicative plans for the hospital redevelopment, to achieve feedback and encourage the airing of local opinion from residents.
What were you looking to achieve with your leaflet campaign?
“We wanted to raise awareness and maximise footfall.”
What format is the leaflet and who designed and printed it?
“The leaflets were designed and printed by our in-house team.”
What areas did your campaign cover?
“The material was distributed within one-and-a half-miles of the hospital.”
What results did you see?
“Considering the notice we gave Chris, that we literally called up in the morning and leaflets went out in the afternoon, the response was excellent – the exhibition achieved much footfall. The response to what we were planning was very positive indeed, from those residents who attended. We were more than happy with the outcome.”
Would you recommend DOR-2-DOR?
“I would recommend DOR-2-DOR without hesitation. It went swimmingly; we had called up various agencies including Royal Mail but the service they offered did not compare. The DOR-2-DOR service was competitively priced and very flexible. I found my local franchisee, Chris Storey, willing and quick to help. He made things very clear and simple and was highly amenable to work with. He did a great job and met our specification.”
