Communications Department

Producing accessible communications that are responsive to patient and staff needs contributes towards the delivery of high quality patient care at the NRH. This is in line with the hospital’s aim to maintain best practice and quality standards, leading to continuous improvement in services and best outcomes for patients.

The NRH is aiming to become ‘the most accessible hospital in Ireland’. As well as our endeavours to deliver the most accessible built environment and facilities in the New Hospital; our aim includes producing accessible information, both in printed and digital format, according to ‘Universal Design’ principles.

The Centre for Excellence in Universal Design (CEUD) was established by the National Disability Authority (NDA) under the Disability Act 2005. The CEUD states:-

Universal Design is the design and composition of content so that it can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, ability or disability… designed to meet the needs of all people who wish to use it.

This is not a special requirement for the benefit of only a minority of the population. By considering the diverse needs and abilities of all throughout the design process, universal design creates products, services and environments that are accessible, convenient and a pleasure to use… and everyone benefits. (Centre for Excellence in Universal Design).

The NRH Brand Guidelines have been developed to ensure that all materials produced for publication by the hospital (both print and digital format) meet accessibility standards as outlined above.

The Communications Department strives to continually improve the communications channels within the NRH with a view to:

• informing individual audiences (internal and external), in a clear, timely, and accessible way through accurate,
  consistent and relevant messaging.
• capturing the views of patients, staff and all stakeholders, and using the feedback to inform and influence how
  services are planned, organised and delivered, and how the process of change is managed.

The vision underpinning the NRH Communications Strategy is based on best practice guidelines, research and work undertaken by the Communications Department, and is in line with the hospital’s organisational strategic direction.

The overall aim of the NRH Communications Strategy is:

• To develop an environment within which we promote effective two-way communication in an integrated, meaningful and measurable way as a core part of our day to day activity.
• To contribute, through effective two-way communication, to the successful implementation of change and continuous improvement, for the benefit of patients and staff.
• To increase the public profile of the hospital and increase awareness of the work we do at the NRH,

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We strive to produce patient information that is accessible and responsive to the needs of family and carers, to supports the delivery of high quality patient care at the NRH.

Telling us about your experince at the NRH, leads to continuous improvement in services and best outcomes for our patients.

We aim to provide the most accessible building and facilities through the design of our new hospital – and we also aim to produce accessible information, both in printed and digital format, according to standards set by the Centre of Excellence for Universal Design.

The NRH values your feedback – it helps us to continually improve our services. There are a number of ways to provide feedback, these include:-

• Comments and Suggestions Boxes are located in key areas of the hospital.
• The Patient Forum is normally held on the first Wednesday of every month (currently suspended due to COVID-19 restrictions)
• The uSPEQ Questionnaire is posted to each patient three months after discharge
• Verbal feedback can be given to any member of your rehabilitation team
• NRH Website – use this link to ‘Have Your Say’

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