The Centre for Health Communication Research (CHCR) is based at Buckinghamshire New University. It focuses on the communication challenges, issues and opportunities faced by organisations in the health sector. CHCR acts as a catalyst for innovative thinking at the boundary between academe and the public sector. It seeks to inspire the use of effective and professional communications to improve patient outcomes, strengthen patient experience and ensure the most efficient and effective delivery of health services.

This research project – the first to explore the experiences of NHS professional communicators during the coronavirus pandemic - has been conducted as a contribution towards NHS learning. It has been undertaken with the support of an Advisory Group comprising:

• Daniel Reynolds, NHS Confederation
• Adam Brimelow, NHS Providers
• Lisa Ward, NHS Providers
• Andrew Ashcroft, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust
• Dan Charlton, Visiting Research Fellow CHCR, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
• Charlotte Gawne, Visiting Research Fellow CHCR, South West London Health and Care Partnership
• Zuleika Henderson, NHS London Procurement Partnership
• Steph Hood, Visiting Research Fellow CHCR, Hood & Woolf
• Genevieve Ileris, Waltham Forest and East London Clinical Commissioning Groups
• Emily Loud, Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust
• Victoria Parker, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
• Antony Tiernan, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust