Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) were created following the Health and Social Care Act in 2012 and replaced Primary Care Trusts on in 2013.

They are clinically-led statutory NHS bodies responsible for the planning and commissioning of health care services for their local area. There are currently 209 CCGs in England, which includes West Midlands NHS CCG.

The requirement

I was approached by a Communications and Engagement Manager who works for one of the CCGs within the West Midlands region. They were looking for some additional proactive PR support on a temporary basis.

The service

This particular project took me right back to the days when I worked as a Press Officer at Worcestershire County Council, as I was required to write and issue a series of media releases. The work involved:

• Identifying the news hooks for each press release
• Interviewing and liaising with key CCG spokespeople, including Directors and the Chairman
• Arranging photo opportunities
• Selling the releases into the target media
• Dealing with any media enquiries generated by the releases

The results

During the three months I worked for this particular CCG, I produced eight media releases, which focused on a whole host of stories, ranging from the CCG’s involvement in national NHS initiatives and fund-raising activities, to encouraging local residents to have their say as part of a consultation exercise, and generated local, regional and trade print and online coverage.