Spectrum of Care

University Hospitals Bristol & Weston are making a change. They’ve committed to making the NHS a place that cares for its own as well as it cares for its people. Their new strategy ‘Full-hearted Care’ speaks to an internal and an external shift with a humble and honest tone.

The best strategic positioning statements are the ones that function creatively too. Where you can see resemblance of the intent in the visual language. When asking ‘what does full-hearted care look like’ you don’t think the NHS imagery style we’ve all come to recognise. It shows its staff at a surface level – all smiles in a job that we all know is anything but.

The answer to the question ‘What does Full-hearted care look like?’
A spectrum of care. 

Care doesn’t begin and end. It’s a spectrum from small to big, light to dark, energised to exhausted. It lives in many moments and can be visualised in many different ways in every individual, so they needed a flexible photography style to reflect that.

This came into play in multiple ways including making sure that every staff member sees themselves reflected in the brand photography – a hospital functions with more than just surgeons and nurses. Raw emotions were key. It was about showing the light and potential dark in any given day, it shows care in all forms, verbal, physical and emotional. 

We even considered the strategy when choosing the photographer. Ciara is an award-winning photographer and a long-term patient of the Trust. She spent much of her childhood years receiving care at the Bristol Children’s Hospital, and now at the BRI which she documented in her own personal projects, so she was the perfect choice as she was able to bring her own respect and lived experiences into the shoot days. Finding opportunity in meaningful moments.

These images form a new library for the Trust to use and reflect its colleagues in a more sincere and authentic way – with roles across multiple departments now being seen on film.