Ealing and Harrow primary care trusts.
Ealing Hospital and Harrow PCT are busy district general hospitals providing acute services for patients in the west London area. The Boards of NHS Ealing, NHS Harrow and Ealing Hospital NHS Trust have made a commitment that people living in Ealing and Harrow will spend less time in hospital, and receive more care closer to home.
Making a pioneering decision to become an integrated care organisation.
Creating a new identity for a merging organisation requires sensitivity and inclusion.
Audience.
Getting healthcare can seem really confusing. Postcode boundaries don’t make sense, and you can end up traveling a long way from home. In late 2009, NHS Ealing, NHS Harrow and Ealing Hospital NHS Trust announced they were planning to merge to create an integrated care organisation, an ICO, pooling all their resources to make healthcare simpler and more efficient.
Challenge.
On the upside, the move will mean people spending less time in hospital, and getting care closer to home. But the creation of the ICO will have a huge impact the staff of the three predecessor organisations, as well as the local community. There are very few ICOs in existence. On top of which, staff fear the acute trust taking over?
Insight.
In creating a new name and brand, we’ve consulted all staff, and local residents. The insight is proving invaluable. It will inform the organisational development plan – and that will go a long way to making sure the heritage and equity of the three organisations are retained.
Result.
The result will be a name and identity that all staff feel represented by, and can get wholeheartedly behind. It will be one that they and the local community will feel great pride in.