OVID Health win at the PRCA Public Affairs Awards

OVID Health win at the PRCA Public Affairs Awards

The team at OVID don’t usually need an excuse to open up a bottle of wine, but we had a very good excuse on the 5th December!

In a crowded field up against well-known campaigns from global agencies, OVID came out on top and won the award for Best In-House Consultancy Collaboration with the NHS Confederation for our Health for Care campaign.

Health for Care is a coalition of major health and care organisations, led by the NHS Confederation, demanding meaningful change on the social care crisis in the UK. OVID Health worked together with the NHS Confederation to create a compelling campaign that gained massive public support, media coverage and buy-in from senior figures in health and politics.

Our online petition ‘Give social care the funding it needs’ gathered over 150,000 signatures – making it the largest of its kind. Major outlets and broadcasters were quick to jump on board when we revealed over three quarters of MPs believe there is a crisis in social care, as discovered by our exclusive survey.

Our open letter to Boris Johnson when he became Prime Minister was signed by over 70 leaders from across the NHS and health. On his first day as Prime Minister, Johnson pledged on the steps of Downing Street to “fix the crisis in social care once and for all with a clear plan we have prepared to give every older person the dignity and security they deserve.” The momentum we’ve created and the broad support we’ve brought together is incredible and we hope the momentum continues with the new Government.

OVID’s Managing Director Jenny Ousbey had this to say about our award win:

“It was a delightful honour to win this award from the PRCA. OVID Health and the NHS Confederation have worked seamlessly together on this really important and impactful campaign. Successive governments have failed to tackle the crisis in social care.

“The value of Health for Care has been that it has galvanised voices from across the NHS and health sector in arguing that the current crisis just cannot go on.

“I’m also particularly delighted that we have won the collaborative campaign category – testament to our culture at OVID to truly get under the skin of our clients and their needs to deliver success.’

Daniel Reynolds, director of communications at the NHS Confederation, said:

“On behalf of all our partners in the Health for Care campaign, I am very proud of the work that has been led by the NHS Confederation and OVID Health to raise public awareness of the perilous state of our social care services.

“This is undoubtedly one of the greatest challenges facing our society and should be at the top of the in-tray for the incoming government. We will continue to make the case for a more sustainable social care system, backed by a long-term financial plan, and this award from the PRCA is welcome recognition of just how important this issue remains.”