Nuffield Health, the UK’s largest healthcare charity, has handed its Hospitals and Group PR accounts to Van Communications and Glasshouse Partnership, respectively.
Van has been appointed on a brief to provide proactive media management to support Hospitals marketing and act as its front-line press-office function for incoming media enquiries. Additionally it will create campaigns specifically aimed at targeting potential patients.
Van will also support Nuffield Health’s 30 hospitals with individual PR campaigns on an ad-hoc basis.
Glasshouse will work with the Group’s External Affairs team on corporate brand and reputation management. Key to their task will be boosting understanding of the benefits of Nuffield Health’s charitable status to its stakeholders.
Van and Glasshouse partnered to win the retained account following a competitive pitch against four agencies (including Lexis PR, Shine and The SPA Way). The new appointment ends Citigate Dewe Rogerson’s three-year hold on the account.
The appointment strengthens Van’s position within Nuffield Health. The agency has worked with Cannons Health & Fitness, now part of Nuffield Health’s Wellbeing division, for the past 12 months.
Van will report to Anoushka Pletts, Consumer Marketing Manager. Glasshouse Partnership will report to Philippa Cox in the External Affairs team. Separate arrangements (with Blue Planet Communications) will continue for the mainly B2B areas of Mobile Services and Diagnostics.
Matthew James, Group External Affairs Director, Nuffield Health, says: “These appointments will see greater co-ordination between our divisions and give us scope for better output.
“The campaigns that we will put in place will help demonstrate that with over 50 years’ experience of providing high-quality healthcare, Nuffield Health is in a unique position to offer people what they need to genuinely improve and maintain their health”.
Previously operating as Nuffield Hospitals, the group took the name Nuffield Health in June this year as part of a comprehensive re-branding which includes new values, a new visual identity, and a new approach to marketing. The change of name to Nuffield Health reflects the increasing breadth of the business which now reaches beyond hospital services.
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Notes to editors
Nuffield Health is the UK’s largest healthcare charity, with a turnover of £506million in 2007
In 2007 Nuffield Health helped to improve the health of over 750,000 people
Nuffield Health employs 11,000 staff, including over 4,000 clinical staff. Nuffield Health supports the practice of over 6,000 consultants covering a broad range of clinical specialties
Nuffield Health delivers services from over 200 facilities including Nuffield Health Hospitals, Nuffield Health Fitness & Wellbeing Centres (formerly Cannons Health Clubs), Courtneys Sports & Leisure Centres, specialist health assessment centres and fitness and wellbeing facilities embedded in over 100 client company sites
Nuffield Health is independent of government and has no shareholders, meaning it can plan for the long-term, reinvesting all financial surpluses for the benefit of customers.
