Dominic Stevenson - Public Sector PR

Dominic Stevenson originally had his heart set on a career in the media, but when his media experience won him a job in the PR department of a local NHS trust, he discovered his real passion lay in communications, and in particular in communicating on behalf of organisations whose life-saving work he finds inspirational.

Having worked in a number of PR roles for NHS or Department Of Health units, he is now Press Officer at Moorfields Eye Hospital, an NHS Foundation Trust in central London. We spoke to Dominic about his career to date.

How did you first get into PR?

After graduating I initially went down the “I want to be a journalist” route. I spent about nine months thanklessly interning and freelancing for media big and small – some in London like The Independent, MTV and the BBC, and some local publications – until I realised that it just wasn’t happening for me. I was working 24 hours every weekend just to pay to travel to these internships, which wasn’t sustainable, and eventually I moved back into my parent’s house.

Once back in the parental bosom, my parents told me that I had to find a job locally, and then save up to have another crack at London. So I went off to the local job agencies. And one of those agencies had just been awarded the contract for recruiting temporary staff for the local NHS trust and, rather fortunately, a few days before I handed in my CV had been given a brief for a PR & Communications Officer. I went to the interview and, having had experience of being published in a national newspaper, I got the job.

From there I fell in love with public sector healthcare and I have never looked back.

How has your career progressed?

I have been extremely fortunate, because I went straight from one of the smallest NHS trusts in England to working for an arm’s length offshoot of the Department Of Health.

I very nearly didn’t get that opportunity. I applied for the position, but didn’t get a response. But, as it turned out, the person who had got the job first time round left after just three months, so the body turned to a temp agency for help. They happened to have my CV and, following two very well fought interviews, I was taken on as their Press Officer.

I am still not sure whether I deserved the job, but I was told afterwards that I put in an excellent interview. I worked as part of an incredible team who taught me more than I can ever thank them for, and my skills soon developed until I felt very comfortable in the role.

So, all was going well. Except, just a few months later a General Election was called, and the new government quickly ear marked the body I was now working with for closure. This presented two challenges. First my line manager left and wasn’t replaced, so for a time I had to punch above my station to help ensure the organisation’s communications continued. And then, of course, with more cost cuts incoming, I had to start thinking about my own next career move.

I initially went to be a Press Officer at an executive body of the DoH, and then subsequently moved to the specialist NHS trust where I now ply my trade. I have been fortunate beyond words with the people I have got to work with along the way, and all they have been able to teach me, and one day I hope to be able to do the same for the next generation of communicators.

You don’t have a degree in PR, do you think it’s affected your career?

It may not be fashionable to say this, but I’m actually thankful that I do not have a degree in public relations. And that I spent those nine months trying to make a go of it in journalism. Because I think that having interned at media organisations, and having met many journalists, and done a little writing myself, I have a better understanding of how media works, and that really helps when doing media relations.

And, as I say, in terms of building my knowledge of public relations, I don’t think I could have had a better education than to learn, on the job, from colleagues at my various jobs so far, some of the best strategists, planners, designers and media relations people who can offer advice and tips based on working on the front line of PR every day.

What does your current role involve?

I am responsible for both proactive and reactive media relations at an NHS trust that also has a very expansive research department. I work with media and organisations the world over to promote our latest developments. I also produce and publish two magazines, one internal and on for our foundation’s trust membership. I’m also currently developing our social media presence.

I start most days by checking my emails and dealing with anything outstanding, or anything requiring urgent attention, before checking our media clippings for the day and having a browse of the BBC and newspaper websites. I believe that one of the first steps to becoming a good communicator within the public sector is to be aware of as much of what is going on as possible. I sometimes spend this time looking at various third sector campaigns and their media coverage, because I feel that they are some of the most innovative communicators around.

The trust has over 16,000 members, and I spend some of my time researching the issues that are most concerning them, which can range from topics like disabled access to guide dog toilets. I feed this back to the membership engagement team and, where relevant, might use this as topics for the membership magazine.

We don’t deal with an excessive amount of media enquiries here, but we do get more than our fair share of film crews wanting to film on our premises. This can be great exposure for the trust, and means I get to see for myself some of the pioneering work that goes on here. Though it can be a hassle too, especially when film-makers try to circumvent our previously agreed terms for filming!

I also provide advice to clinicians on producing patient information leaflets, and this often means translating some tricky medical language into plain English. While this is can be very hard work, it again increases my knowledge of the organisation and what it does.

What are the main challenges for public sector PR?

The proposed changes to the NHS have meant that a lot of the people I have worked with have either lost their jobs, or face losing them. This is very difficult to watch, even though I’m sure a lot of them will be re-employed elsewhere in the public sector at some point in the future.

A common complaint is the lack of budget, which often means you can’t do everything you’d like to in a campaign.

Though for me personally, one of the main frustrations is the public’s apathy towards their own health, especially young people. We all know smoking may lead to cancer, too much eating to obesity and heart disease, too much drink to liver disease. But this doesn’t stop many people from doing these things to excess, and then the NHS is held to account over general public health!

The challenge for us is we need to persuade people to change their lifestyles for their own good, but while also supporting them whenever they need healthcare, whatever the reasons. That’s an uphill struggle, constantly. Plus, of course, wider social issues impact on public health – unemployment, low pay, the price of fresh healthy food, the cost of childcare – and those are totally outside the NHS’s control.

Do you think social media is having a big impact on PR as a profession?

The NHS is in a position to be an innovator here, and I look at what certain other trusts have done with great envy. Great Ormond Street had the Guardian live tweeting from a child’s heart surgery. I watched, I wept, and then I emailed the team to applaud their efforts. That is what can be done.

I think social media can really deliver for public sector institutions, especially because big things can be achieved on relatively small budgets. Though it isn’t going to happen overnight. I suspect that as my generation of communication officers move into management roles, and as our patients become ever more web savvy, social media will become more and more central to what we do in terms of communications. That’s not to say current management don’t recognise the value of social media, but as the Facebook generation dominate on both sides of the communication equation, I suspect social media will become the norm rather than an add on. We do already have a Facebook presence ourselves, and I do enjoy keeping that up to date.

That said, while digital is becoming ever more important, I’m not sure online communications will ever beat meeting and talking directly to key stakeholders. Where that is possible, I really think it makes a difference. Social media is good for keeping up with journalists, for example, but you simply can’t beat having a phone conversation with a media contact, where you learn more about their lives and interests, and build a relationship which can really deliver. And while it is sometimes easier to communicate via Twitter or Facebook, I’d urge every new communicator to remember how important face-to-face or phone communications can be.

Do you think there is a lack of ethnic diversity in PR, and how should 
the industry tackle it?

I believe the best candidate should get the job, oblivious of race, ethnicity, gender or whatever, but recognise that sometimes the best candidates don’t even get a chance to compete for social reasons. Therefore I think the battle to get more diversity in this industry needs to start in the schools, so that talent is spotted and encouraged, and no one loses out because they go to a poor school.

What advice would you have for anyone considering a career in PR?

My advice would be work for an organisation you believe in. You are the public face of your organisation 24/7, and to properly fulfill that role, you need to believe in what you’re doing. You have to live and breathe your organisation, and be able to celebrate the positive things, and be driven to correct the negatives.

I once went for an interview at a PR agency where I was told that I would be primarily representing a particular brand of cheese. I turned down the job, because I couldn’t do that. I didn’t care about the cheese. I had no desire to discuss the cheese. I did not want to be the public face of cheese!

What’s the best thing about your job?

I know that my actions now, if I do my job well, can benefit communities for years to come. Knowing that means that, however awful my day, I can sleep soundly.



What’s the worst thing about your job?

Everyone else seems to be having more fun! Throughout my career, I have been predominately involved with life-changing and life-saving organisations. That is hugely rewarding, of course. But it can rip your heart out when it goes wrong. Sometimes I think that, because I’m in PR, people assume you’re thick skinned and that kind of thing doesn’t bother you, but sometimes, when the working day it over, it really can.

What’s been the highlight of your career so far?

If I am being honest, many of my most valuable experiences, in terms of learning and expanding my skills, have come from crisis situations, which, in the NHS, often means tragedy for someone else, so you don’t generally think of those moments as highlights unfortunately.

But the people who I have worked with have been an inspiration, so I’d have to say that the highlight for me has been the opportunity to work with and learn from so many great people.

Tell us something interesting about yourself that we couldn’t find on the internet.

I had a reputation during my later school years, and in sixth form college, of wearing excessively bright Hawaiian shirts! This resulted in a lot of mockery, but also various awards at school for the ‘most flamboyant dresser’. I thought they were cool.

Dominic blogs at http://www.dominicstevenson.co.uk