How building trust through community engagement can improve health outcomes

The landscape of the UK’s healthcare sector is rapidly evolving, and effective community engagement is no longer a luxury but a fundamental necessity for NHS organisations in the wake of misinformation, addressing cyber security risks and patient waiting times. Here at Orlo, we’re dedicated to empowering healthcare providers, particularly within the NHS, to use their social media and community platforms to build trust and significantly improve the health outcomes of the communities which they serve through strategic digital communication. 

Community engagement is emerging as a key factor as healthcare providers look to take a more preventative approach when tackling the A&E waiting times, which are 16% higher than 10 years ago. Even on a more localised level, there is an emerging focus on neighbourhood health where those in the sector are seeking to improve health and wellbeing at a local, community level, taking advantage of the trust already gathered by GPs, community pharmacies, voluntary and community groups, and local authority initiatives.

Ease pressure on frontline services:

One of the most significant challenges for healthcare organisations is the sheer volume of routine enquiries that can often overwhelm frontline staff. Making the most of digital conversations that are all managed in one, centralised place means that NHS organisations can deflect these common questions. This allows highly skilled healthcare professionals to dedicate their valuable time and resources to more critical patient care and complex cases, and optimise operational efficiency. This approach can take advantage of neighbourhood health initiatives and allow NHS Trusts to divert demand to GPs, pharmacies and other community-based initiatives.

Enhance patient experience and cut complaints:

A well-informed patient is a more satisfied patient. With effective community engagement tools, NHS comms teams can facilitate the delivery of timely, personalised updates that keep patients consistently informed and reassured throughout their entire healthcare journey. From preventative awareness campaigns to sign-posting to practical hospital visit ‘need to knows’, this proactive messaging not only improves patient satisfaction, but also plays a significant role in enhancing the neighbourhood health outcomes, rooted in the community.

Build trust and communicate in real time:

Trust is the cornerstone of any effective relationship between a healthcare organisation and the patients it serves. A tool which enables comms teams to provide quick and consistent communications across every digital channel, like social media, is essential when ensuring that vital information reaches communities in a timely and reliable manner. This real time engagement creates transparency and builds confidence, crucial for public health initiatives and crisis communications during an emerging crisis.

Improve access and tackle health inequalities:

Digital inclusion is key to addressing health inequalities. Tools like Orlo can help healthcare organisations to engage under-served groups by reaching them on the digital channels of their choice. This approach breaks down traditional barriers to access, ensuring that important health information and services are accessible to a wider, more diverse population.

Engage and connect with NHS staff:

Effective communication isn’t just about patients; it’s vital for internal teams too. Employees are often an organisation’s biggest advocates, so strengthening internal communications to create a more connected and informed workforce using social media is key. This internal engagement can significantly boost staff morale, improve team cohesion, and ultimately contribute to higher staff retention rates, a critical factor in a demanding healthcare environment.

Digital Analytics 

Understanding the impact of your digital efforts is crucial. Orlo provides clear metrics on reach, impact, and engagement, allowing healthcare organisations to prove the value of their digital strategies and continuously refine their approach for maximum effectiveness.

Social Listening and Media Monitoring 

In today’s interconnected world, reputation management is paramount. Orlo’s social listening and media monitoring tools  capabilities allow organisations to spot potential issues early and manage their public reputation with real-time insights, enabling swift response to public sentiment and emerging concerns.

Live Chat and Chatbot

To handle the volume of routine enquiries efficiently, Orlo’s Live Chat and AI-powered Chatbot allow organisations to deflect and solve queries quickly, and at scale. These tools can instantly help answer common queries, providing immediate assistance to patients and significantly easing the pressure on frontline teams, freeing them up to focus on more complex interactions.

AI Powered Insights 

By using AI, Orlo can help healthcare organisations track sentiment and emotions, identify emerging trends, and provide data-driven insights. These powerful insights enable healthcare organisations to make informed decisions that build trust, enhance their overall digital engagement strategy and can ultimately lead to better health outcomes for citizens.

By effectively reducing demand on frontline services and building stronger, more resilient communities through enhanced communication, Orlo empowers healthcare providers to deliver better, more accessible care and build lasting trust with the populations they serve. Taking advantage of neighbourhood health initiatives to triage and deflect demand away from hospital services, where time and resources are precious.

For more information and to discover how Orlo can help you transform your organisation’s digital engagement for better health outcomes, visit our dedicated Orlo for Healthcare page.