Last night’s lecture by Ipsos Mori Chief Executive Ben Page, on Public Services in Wales: How to Exceed People’s Expectations was a whirlwind of fascinating insights into what people think about their healthcare and life satisfaction, and what influences these opinions.
A key argument that Ben presented was on the importance of aligning your message around the criteria that are valued by your intended audience. He stressed that public opinion does not necessarily reflect the indicators of good performance identified by health professionals. Factors that show a strong correlation with high patient ratings include good communication, being treated with dignity and respect, and being involved in decisions.
As the Chief executive of a company that owes its success in part to the effective use of new technologies in capturing opinions, I was interested to hear Ben say that despite the growth of social network sites, Twitter, email etc., the human voice remains the most potent form of communication. Thinking of the success and power of Telling Stories, I can understand how this could be.
The lecture was part of the ‘New Thinking in Health and Social Care: Director’s Seminar Series’ being run by the Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care within the Faculty of Health, Sport and Science.