Client:Save the Royal Surrey Hospital Campaign
Campaign:Save the Royal Surrey Hospital from closure

The challenge

NHS deficits were a hot political issue throughout 2006. The Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford was one of a number of hospitals threatened with total closure or severe cuts in services. A cross-party independent campaign to save the hospital was launched in September 2006; Mandate was engaged by the campaign to lead all its communications activity underpinning the fight against closure.

The Save the Royal Surrey campaign objectives were to:

• Demonstrate the success of the hospital as a successful and well run institution that should be protected from closure
• Rally political support for the hospital, building a cross-party consensus behind the campaign at a local level and develop high profile advocates at a national level
• Ensure that the campaign was the most high profile anti-hospital closure campaign
• Make local health authorities reconsider and scrap plans to close the Royal Surrey.

Solution

Political support: Mandate worked closely with national and local politicians, including the leaders of the two main opposition parties. They:

• Kept the issues high on the agenda by tabling Parliamentary Questions and Motions in Westminster, and by speaking in high profile debates in Parliament
• Visited the hospital to bolster the campaign, and
• eatured heavily in the media and involved themselves with a series of mass participation events.

Media coverage: Mandate drafted weekly press releases, organized stunts and events, and ‘sold in’ stories that took an innovative line, ensuring that media attention remained high. As a result:

• The Save the Royal Surrey Campaign was established as a ‘must talk to’ movement.
• The campaign featured in a plethora of national publications.
• At a local level, the campaign developed a close relationship with the region’s biggest selling newspaper, ensuring that local stakeholders remained informed and engaged.

Public support: The campaign attracted high and sustained levels of public support:

• Mandate lent crucial logistical support to a rally backed by more than 7,000 protestors in Guildford High Street in October 2006.
• We managed the campaign’s website, through which in excess of 80,000 people signed an online petition
• Approximately 20,000 people signed a Downing Street e-petition, making it the fifth most supported petition nationally, and by far the largest petition on a hospital issue.
• The business community and trade unions rallied to the campaign’s cause, making significant donations to the fighting fund.

Result

• Health authorities in Surrey were forced repeatedly to postpone and review the threatened consultation on the future of health services.
• Following adverse media coverage and political comment, the local Primary Care Trust dispensed with the services of the management consultants who had been developing options for cuts in services
• In the end, the Royal Surrey has retained its existing services and is now in line for possible expanded investment in specialist services.
• The hospital continues to enjoy widespread support and popularity amongst local people following the successful campaign to halt its closure or cuts to services.