For the few of you who found part one of a day in the life of my job was really funny and insightful, I've decided to carry it on into the afternoon.
That's when a large majority of the leftfield queries tend to land, when brain capacity can be reduced by the lunchtime food coma.
Here is part two of the sort of things you might encounter working in a busy NHS comms team.
Disclaimer: This is a typical, albeit particularly productive afternoon (for dramatic effect). Things mentioned may or may not have happened exactly as recounted. Job titles may have been swapped about.
13:35 - Settle back in with another brew and check if any more comments have landed on social media. A post I'd scheduled the other day has gone out and there's a sarcastic reply from one of our regulars. Think it's safe to ignore this one, but best keep an eye out for any more. There's another that's worth a retweet though.
13:39 - Notice that one of my press releases has been picked up by a local news outlet. Notice that it's printed verbatim. Notice that the journalist has put his name on it. Well, I mean, they did change a whole two words...Imitation is the sincerest form of churnalism.
13:44 - Untitled email. It reads: "We've taken some photos at an event, please can you send them out on Twitter?" There are five attachments: An unmanned table with a box of pens and leaflets on it, a slightly blurred version of the same photo, a lonely pull-up banner next to the table, the back of someone's head looking down at said table, and a display board with illegible stuff stuck to it. This will make a great tweet.
13:50 - Staff suggestion alert comes in by email. It's a rambling tirade about someone's grievance with e-learning. It's clear they should have gone directly to the e-learning support people, so this one can go straight in the bin. There's another one that's asking about a day trip to the zoo. Why do comms oversee this 'suggestion' scheme again?
13:53 - Check if any website pages need a review and send prompts to responsible persons, if they still exist within the trust.
14:00 - Team meeting to discuss content for our quarterly magazine. How has it been three months already since the last one?
14:26 - I probably shouldn't have put my name next to that many pieces for the magazine. Never mind, I'm sure ticking off a few more simple emails will make me feel better.
14:28 - One of them is from the comms team at a local council. It's a friendly demand for us to promote one of their campaigns on social media. I remember their last request was our least popular tweet last month. Best to keep them happy though.
14:33 - Another of the emails is to approve a press release. May as well send it out now for the sense of achievement - copy the thing into an email, dig out the list of journos, sent. Now to stick it on the website and schedule some social media promotion.
14:58 - A journalist rings up to ask for a statement about a freedom of information request. They've kindly given us a deadline of 4pm. Luckily (for me) one of my colleagues is handling it, but the whole office shares the disdain.
14:59 - I'm distracted now so it's time for another brew. Tea this time. How many brews is that today?
15:06 - Decide to make a list of things I need to do in the remainder of the week. Think about the irony of spending time writing down a list of things I don't have time to do anyway.
15:08 - Turns out I'm out filming tomorrow afternoon so I'd best stick the camera on charge. Also looks like I've got a meeting in the morning that could definitely be condensed into an email, I suppose it helps to build relationships though...
15:11 - Phone call from a ward manager, they think it's me they need to speak to...about setting up a hashtag. I explain that anyone can set one up just by using it, they ask if I can set it up anyway. That was a quick win.
15:17 - A phone call is transferred through from reception with no introduction. It's a patient who's very cross, having been passed from pillar to post - they just want to speak to the bowel service. I scramble to find them a number but not before taking a rant.
15:22 - I've got a couple of twenty-odd page promotional booklets to proofread and edit, which certainly seems like a late afternoon task. It will require another brew - and biscuits.
15:35 - Another call comes in from a psychologist asking if I've had chance to look at the barracuda text yet. What on earth has fish got to do with NHS communications? Oh, they mean a pull-up banner. After a sift through my flagged emails, turns out they sent it through yesterday. We discuss timescales and their event in two weeks.
15:46 - The call is still going strong but we've moved on to Twitter, in the sense that they want one so they can tweet at the event. I try to explain that it isn't as simple as that, suggesting some established accounts they could link in with in the meantime. A passionate plea is about to start, but I manage to slip out with a promise to send over the proper forms.
16:39 - Solid progress has been made with the promo booklets, but my eyes could fall out any moment after deciphering so many acronyms.
16:43 - Final check of social media. A lovely compliment has been left about the children's nursing service - it's great to see recognition when it's deserved. There's also a message off someone from Nepal, asking how to get support from one of our services. That's a new one.
16:57 - Not long left now, hopefully I don't get embroiled in something at this stage. Wait, the phone starts to ring... I tentatively answer. One of our community mental health team's fax machine is broken, pandemonium is breaking out and they need an urgent comms to go out right now to everyone on the planet. I ask who uses it, if an engineer is coming and what their contingency plan is. I'm silently asking why anyone still uses fax machines. Due to the time, we agree it's best to wait until the morning to see what the crack is.
17:12 - Shut down and escape before anyone else collars me.
So that's a typical sort of day for day for me - albeit in the office and without a major crisis unfolding.
For those looking for something funnier and more insightful, I should finish by saying that the job does have plenty of humour. Most importantly though, it has lots of fascinating insights into the excellent work carried out NHS heroes around the clock.
That's when a large majority of the leftfield queries tend to land, when brain capacity can be reduced by the lunchtime food coma.
Here is part two of the sort of things you might encounter working in a busy NHS comms team.
Disclaimer: This is a typical, albeit particularly productive afternoon (for dramatic effect). Things mentioned may or may not have happened exactly as recounted. Job titles may have been swapped about.
13:35 - Settle back in with another brew and check if any more comments have landed on social media. A post I'd scheduled the other day has gone out and there's a sarcastic reply from one of our regulars. Think it's safe to ignore this one, but best keep an eye out for any more. There's another that's worth a retweet though.
13:39 - Notice that one of my press releases has been picked up by a local news outlet. Notice that it's printed verbatim. Notice that the journalist has put his name on it. Well, I mean, they did change a whole two words...Imitation is the sincerest form of churnalism.
13:44 - Untitled email. It reads: "We've taken some photos at an event, please can you send them out on Twitter?" There are five attachments: An unmanned table with a box of pens and leaflets on it, a slightly blurred version of the same photo, a lonely pull-up banner next to the table, the back of someone's head looking down at said table, and a display board with illegible stuff stuck to it. This will make a great tweet.
13:50 - Staff suggestion alert comes in by email. It's a rambling tirade about someone's grievance with e-learning. It's clear they should have gone directly to the e-learning support people, so this one can go straight in the bin. There's another one that's asking about a day trip to the zoo. Why do comms oversee this 'suggestion' scheme again?
13:53 - Check if any website pages need a review and send prompts to responsible persons, if they still exist within the trust.
14:00 - Team meeting to discuss content for our quarterly magazine. How has it been three months already since the last one?
14:26 - I probably shouldn't have put my name next to that many pieces for the magazine. Never mind, I'm sure ticking off a few more simple emails will make me feel better.
14:28 - One of them is from the comms team at a local council. It's a friendly demand for us to promote one of their campaigns on social media. I remember their last request was our least popular tweet last month. Best to keep them happy though.
14:33 - Another of the emails is to approve a press release. May as well send it out now for the sense of achievement - copy the thing into an email, dig out the list of journos, sent. Now to stick it on the website and schedule some social media promotion.
14:58 - A journalist rings up to ask for a statement about a freedom of information request. They've kindly given us a deadline of 4pm. Luckily (for me) one of my colleagues is handling it, but the whole office shares the disdain.
14:59 - I'm distracted now so it's time for another brew. Tea this time. How many brews is that today?
15:06 - Decide to make a list of things I need to do in the remainder of the week. Think about the irony of spending time writing down a list of things I don't have time to do anyway.
15:08 - Turns out I'm out filming tomorrow afternoon so I'd best stick the camera on charge. Also looks like I've got a meeting in the morning that could definitely be condensed into an email, I suppose it helps to build relationships though...
15:11 - Phone call from a ward manager, they think it's me they need to speak to...about setting up a hashtag. I explain that anyone can set one up just by using it, they ask if I can set it up anyway. That was a quick win.
15:17 - A phone call is transferred through from reception with no introduction. It's a patient who's very cross, having been passed from pillar to post - they just want to speak to the bowel service. I scramble to find them a number but not before taking a rant.
15:22 - I've got a couple of twenty-odd page promotional booklets to proofread and edit, which certainly seems like a late afternoon task. It will require another brew - and biscuits.
15:35 - Another call comes in from a psychologist asking if I've had chance to look at the barracuda text yet. What on earth has fish got to do with NHS communications? Oh, they mean a pull-up banner. After a sift through my flagged emails, turns out they sent it through yesterday. We discuss timescales and their event in two weeks.
15:46 - The call is still going strong but we've moved on to Twitter, in the sense that they want one so they can tweet at the event. I try to explain that it isn't as simple as that, suggesting some established accounts they could link in with in the meantime. A passionate plea is about to start, but I manage to slip out with a promise to send over the proper forms.
16:39 - Solid progress has been made with the promo booklets, but my eyes could fall out any moment after deciphering so many acronyms.
16:43 - Final check of social media. A lovely compliment has been left about the children's nursing service - it's great to see recognition when it's deserved. There's also a message off someone from Nepal, asking how to get support from one of our services. That's a new one.
16:57 - Not long left now, hopefully I don't get embroiled in something at this stage. Wait, the phone starts to ring... I tentatively answer. One of our community mental health team's fax machine is broken, pandemonium is breaking out and they need an urgent comms to go out right now to everyone on the planet. I ask who uses it, if an engineer is coming and what their contingency plan is. I'm silently asking why anyone still uses fax machines. Due to the time, we agree it's best to wait until the morning to see what the crack is.
17:12 - Shut down and escape before anyone else collars me.
So that's a typical sort of day for day for me - albeit in the office and without a major crisis unfolding.
For those looking for something funnier and more insightful, I should finish by saying that the job does have plenty of humour. Most importantly though, it has lots of fascinating insights into the excellent work carried out NHS heroes around the clock.