Health & social care

Reputation management

Healthcare organisations are frequently faced with potentially damaging events such as a public inquiry or a publicised legal challenge. Such situations require careful handling to protect individual and corporate reputations.

Reputational considerations are a key part of our advice to clients facing sensitive or high-profile challenges.  We regularly work with internal communications staff and external PR agencies to manage publicity.  As well as helping to draft “For publication/broadcast” statements, we also advise on the availability of legal and regulatory remedies against online, print and broadcast media outlets and online discussion media.

As well as managing adverse publicity, we work with our healthcare clients to defend claims of defamation and to protect confidential information from inappropriate disclosure; both to protect commercial data and to protect staff – for example, we have obtained injunctions to protect the identity of staff in sensitive situations. 

Our work includes:

• Dealing with legal challenges over controversial plans for service reconfiguration and the funding of medical treatment
• Representing health organisations in connection with external and internal investigations, criminal investigations against members of staff and high-profile inquiries
• Advising in connection with investigations by the Care Quality Commission and the Health and Safety Executive
• Acting for health organisations over covert filming for use in television programmes, so as to protect the reputation of trusts and the identity of staff and patients

Reputation management partners

David Firth
Gerard Hanratty
Francis Lyons
David Mason
Daniel Purcell