Whitehouse Communications researched and wrote two political reports for the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), the representative body for independent providers to the NHS, commissioned to mark the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan and the NHS’s 70th birthday. The first report was based on freedom of information (FOI) requests to all 208 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in England and presented comprehensive data on NHS tendering; it was published the day IHPN Chief Executive David Hare appeared before the Health and Social Care Select Committee, and secured coverage in the Financial Times. The second report drew on case studies from IHPN’s members across healthtech, preventative healthcare and moving care into the community, structured to complement the NHS Long Term Plan itself, and was published on the NHS’s 70th birthday to align with the wider celebrations.
The challenge
The Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) is the representative body for independent providers to the NHS. In 2019, the NHS published its Long Term Plan and celebrated its 70th birthday, presenting IHPN with an opportunity to make the case for the independent sector’s contribution to the NHS through evidence-based, well-timed political research.
IHPN commissioned Whitehouse Communications to research and write two reports. The first would address NHS tendering, the reduction of which was outlined as a priority in the Long Term Plan, having previously been stipulated in the 2012 Health and Social Care Act. The second would set out the ways in which the independent sector has and continues to support the NHS to reach the aims laid out in the Long Term Plan. Both reports needed high standards in content and visual design, and required careful publication timing to maximise their political and media impact.
Our approach
Whitehouse Communications delivered two distinct pieces of political research and reporting, each with its own methodology, structural design and publication timing calibrated to maximise political impact and media reach.
The work focused on:
- For the NHS tendering report, issuing freedom of information (FOI) requests to all 208 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in England, collating and analysing the qualitative and quantitative data returned, and producing a comprehensive report on the prevalence of tendering processes in NHS procurement.
- For the Long Term Plan support report, engaging with the full IHPN membership to gather case studies of independent sector contribution across healthtech, preventative healthcare, moving care into the community and other Long Term Plan priorities, and structuring the report to complement the NHS Long Term Plan itself.
- Producing both reports to high standards in content and visual design, and calibrating publication timing so that each landed at the moment of maximum political and public attention.
- Publishing the first report to coincide with IHPN Chief Executive David Hare’s appearance before the Health and Social Care Select Committee, enabling him to discuss the recommendations of the report in evidence, and securing coverage in the Financial Times.
- Publishing the second report on the NHS’s 70th birthday, aligning with the wider celebrations and using the salience of the moment to drive up the reach of the report.
The outcome
Both reports were published on schedule and to high content and visual standards. The first, based on FOI data from all 208 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in England, was published to coincide with IHPN Chief Executive David Hare’s appearance before the Health and Social Care Select Committee, and secured coverage in the Financial Times.
The second, drawing on case studies from across IHPN’s membership, was published on the NHS’s 70th birthday and structured to complement the NHS Long Term Plan.
Together, the two reports gave IHPN a rigorous evidence base on NHS tendering and a curated showcase of independent sector contribution to the aims of the Long Term Plan, both landed at moments of maximum political and public attention on the NHS.
