Our team are experienced health and social care communications specialists, having spent many years working in-house within NHS Trusts, and on behalf of Trusts and CCGs across the UK, with NHS England, NHS Education for Scotland and with the Department of Health.
We understand the challenges faced by the health service, and how to achieve high impact from even modest budgets.
From internal communications reviews to patient and public engagement campaigns and organisational change, we will help you share important health messages and enhance and protect your organisation’s reputation - with your people, your patients and your stakeholders.
“BakerBaird’s work for NHS Education for Scotland came during a critical period which also included Board and senior leadership transition. Their work strengthened the organisation’s brand, and our reputation with the media, stakeholders and Ministers. They also reorganised how comms was delivered internally. Their work has left a legacy that can still be seen today.”
Caroline Lamb
Chief Executive
NHS Scotland
“The team were a joy to work with. Their knowledge, experience and commitment exceeded all our expectations. Their ability to meet the objectives of a complex group of stakeholders and organisations whilst also delivering international media coverage was nothing short of fantastic.”
Professor Andrew Weeks
Consultant Obstetrician
University of Liverpool
The NHS: Specialist communications support for a specialist service
What we do
We work hand-in-glove with your existing communication leaders to provide services to NHS organisations across the UK. These range from strategy development, communications reviews, stakeholder and community engagement, planning and delivering campaigns, Board executive counsel, crisis media relations and training.
Lived experience, public sector champions - from Board to ward
Our specialist team have all worked in senior roles within the NHS, public sector communications and journalism, and have first-hand experience of the competing demands placed on communications managers within the NHS. This lived experience ensures we understand the challenges – both internal and external – that NHS communicators must manage.
We can hit the ground running, getting straight to work on delivering the results you need.
We know how to manage people and relationships, from Board to ward, have great contacts in the media, and are experts in producing compelling content that gets your message heard.
Who we are, what we offer
Our team will work with you to supply a package of communications that meets your needs. Our specialist services include:
Our NHS Specialists
Stuart Baird
BakerBaird founder Stuart Baird is an award-winning PR director who has worked at Board level in the NHS. He also spent 14 years in communications in Whitehall.
Gaby Taylor
Gaby is former Director of Communications for Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. She has over 20 years’ experience in public sector communications.
Our NHS Projects
Our Future Health
In partnership with Claremont Communications, we provided hands-on stakeholder engagement for this ambitious national research programme launched in the West Midlands, Birmingham and the Black Country in late 2022.
We ensured widespread awareness and engagement from the outset across a range of stakeholders and diverse communities, continuing throughout 2023, supporting the roll out across Yorkshire, the East Midlands and the wider West Midlands.
Using our networks in the health, social care and local government sphere, we created timely connections between the right people and groups, established opportunities for collaboration and developed a bank of many hundreds of stakeholders, groups and endorsees to support this ongoing landmark programme.
Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust Stakeholder Audit 2023
The design and delivery of an independent stakeholder audit for this forward-thinking large NHS Trust.
Through anonymised qualitative and quantitative research we engaged with 136 stakeholders from across 45 partner organisations to gather an honest appraisal of its performance, reputation and partnership working, which has since informed improvement and enhancements to relationships, and service delivery on the ground.
NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland e-zines and podcasts
For this ambitious Integrated Care Board we were enlisted to create a new campaign to share best practice in partnership working across their patch.
We created a series of e-zines and podcasts to promote the exceptional joined up working that was taking place across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Hosted by BBC broadcaster Geeta Pendse, we brought this work to life using the voices of the people delivering these life-changing initiatives on the ground.
NHS Education for Scotland: Full Communications Review
This root-and-branch communications and marketing review of the organisation’s structure, involved workshops and internal and external online stakeholder surveys to increase visibility of the organisation, increase engagement with educational resources across Scotland’s 168,000 NHS workforce and complete a digital transformation.
The recommendations led to the merger of its digital function with communications (the first in the public sector in the UK), a public affairs campaign with Holyrood, increase media coverage and engagement with educational resources, and increased medical recruitment into Scotland.
