Engagement - News and Updates
Vaccinations
Vaccinations engagment
NHS Somerset Communications & Engagement colleagues are working closely together, with VCFSE partners, on a series of engagement projects seeking to improve vaccination communications.
Update - You Said, We Did
We would like to thank everyone who took the time to share their experiences and views. Your feedback has helped us to understand what is working well and where we need to improve. By speaking up, you have helped shape services so they better meet the needs of patients and families. Please read below how your feedback has had an impact on our work improving our vaccinations programme.
Listening to people and communities is an important part of how we improve vaccination services. Feedback gathered through engagement activity has been used in several ways to shape how vaccination information is shared, how services communicate with people, and how the programme continues to develop.
The feedback we heard from people and communities was shared with colleagues within the Vaccinations Team to help ensure staff understood the experiences, concerns and communication barriers people described. Insight was also shared more widely with Communications colleagues, Primary Care teams and system partners so that messaging and outreach activity could be coordinated and consistent across organisations.
Engagement findings were discussed at programme and operational meetings to explore what the feedback meant for how services are delivered and how information is communicated. The insight has helped teams reconsider aspects of planning, particularly how and when vaccination information is shared with different communities, including people who may face barriers to accessing services.
The feedback gathered through engagement has contributed to the ongoing development of the vaccination improvement approach, with a continued focus on reducing inequalities and supporting higher vaccination uptake. Engagement insight has also been referenced in updates and reports to senior leadership and boards to demonstrate how the views of patients and the public inform programme delivery.
Feedback highlighted the importance of clear, accessible information about vaccinations. In response, the team worked with Pigeon Productions to co-produce a series of short films about vaccinations for adults with learning disabilities. These films explain what vaccinations are, what they are for, and how they help protect people’s health. The content and format were shaped directly by engagement feedback to ensure they are accessible and meaningful.
Learning from engagement has informed how vaccination information is provided in clinics and community settings. This includes clearer explanations of what vaccinations are for and the use of more accessible formats. Feedback has also been shared with frontline teams to help raise awareness of different communication needs and support more inclusive conversations with patients.
The feedback also identified the need to continue engaging with specific communities to test materials and improve accessibility. Engagement insight forms part of the programme’s wider evidence base and supports an ongoing commitment to learning, involvement and continuous improvement.
NHS Somerset Communications & Engagement colleagues are working closely together, with VCFSE partners, on a series of engagement projects seeking to improve vaccination communications. It is hoped that in working closely with trusted community leaders and listening to a wide range of diverse people & communities, we will gain a better understanding around:
- The effectiveness of current communications messaging and whether this reaches particular people & communities
- Accessibility challenges such as language and culture, which need addressing and adapting in NHS communications
- Reasons for lack of engagement with NHS services around vaccinations and how we signpost opportunities
Some of our engagement currently underway:
- Pigeon Productions are currently helping us to develop co-produced short films for adults with learning disabilities, to better communicate what vaccinations are, what they are for and how they can help
- Diversity Voice are supporting our work by engaging with people from a wide range of people from different countries & cultures about their views, experience and challenges related to vaccinations, so that we can better communicate and signpost vaccination opportunities
It is hoped that the findings of this engagement will feed into colleagues' work around a vaccination strategy for Somerset.
