The concept behind Healthwatch Harriet is very simple – if you can explain it to a 10-year-old, you can explain it to anyone. Given the amount of jargon used within the NHS we literally put this to the test by having 10-year-old Harriet Blythe interview health bosses.
Her first foray into interviewing saw her ask questions of the health chiefs charged with making the North East Essex and Suffolk Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) a success. The resulting film caused a sensation with over 4,000 people having watched it over the six months it has been live on our YouTube channel.
We were then asked to make a similar film by NHS England, all about their Vanguards programme. Harriet again was confronted by real heavy-hitters in the world of health and had them explain to her what Vanguards were and how New Care Models were making a difference.
That film has only been live six weeks and has already been viewed by over 2,000 people. Not only does the need to simplify language help everyone understand what might otherwise be tricky issues to communicate, but it makes those charged with making these big change programmes happen really drill down to the essence of what they are trying to achieve, why that’s important and how that might be possible.