Communicating change
It is important to communicate the change your improvement project will bring about by engaging relevant stakeholders and creating awareness through engagement activities.
A Stakeholder Engagement Plan is a way to communicate with project stakeholders (patients, carers, families and clinicians/non-clinical staff on the ward/unit, hospital executives etc) to achieve their support for the project. It specifies the frequency and type of communications and activities that will help promote, build and maintain stakeholder engagement with your improvement project at all levels.
See the Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Guide and Template for further information on developing a Stakeholder Engagement Plan for your sepsis improvement project.
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The Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Guide and Template can be found via the  tab. |
Each of your stakeholder groups will have unique characteristics, needs and motivations and will require different engagement activities to communicate with them effectively.
Some ideas include:
- Using hospital wide communication channels, such as a newsletter, intranet etc.
- Using local nursing, medical, pharmacy and anti-microbial stewardship champions to advocate for improvement and support clinicians on the floor
- Creating a display board on the wards or fact sheet handout with education, information and data about the improvement project
- Setting a standing agenda item or PowerPoint presentation at regular meetings
- Using double-staffing time or staff meetings to provide short, regular updates
- Creating posters, lanyards and computer screensavers
- Holding a project launch, workshop or integrate engagement activities into existing local events e.g. patient safety forums, Grand Rounds.
- Conducting a quiz, creating social media posts or sending email communications
- Distributing information to general practitioner Visiting Medical Officers (in rural and regional areas).
It is highly recommended that World Sepsis Day is included as part of the communication strategy.
World Sepsis Day is a global initiative to raise awareness about sepsis and is held annually on 13 September.
The CEC celebrates World Sepsis Day every year and promotes resources for the districts/networks to use to raise sepsis awareness. World Sepsis Day can be an effective mechanism for the project team to promote the project, regardless of what stage it is at. For example, using World Sepsis Day to launch a sepsis improvement project or showcase the progress the project team has made.