I SHOULD like to respond to the comments made by Helen Jones MP in her column 'House Calls' by highlighting the vital role which communication plays in today's NHS.

The following is taken from the 24 page document entitled: Shifting the Balance of Power within the NHS: Communications, produced by the department of Health (DoH) in February 2002 with a foreword from Nigel Crisp, Chief Executive of the NHS.

"Good communications are essential to the success of any large organisation in the modern world. They should be integral to the NHS as it sets about the task of delivering the reforms set out in the NHS Plan and putting patients first.

"Gone are the days when communication was a bolt-on activity. Now it is central to good management practice, and crucial to building and maintaining public confidence in our health care system.

"The reforms (of the NHS) are based on the principle that staff, patients and the public must have a significant voice in how NHS and social care is delivered. For this to happen there will need to be robust communications systems in place. If we are serious about the amount of influence to be exercised by staff, patients and the public in future, they will all need to be better informed.

"Communications has a prime role in ensuring that information is clear and accessible, whether this be advice on treatments, access to services, or improvements in the way local health care is delivered.

"The need for improved communications right across the NHS is now widely recognised and in today's society, employees, patients and the public will accept nothing else."

As Chief Executive of North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust, I consider it appropriate to follow DoH guidance on the need for skilled and effective communications, and employ a communications agency which specialises in health.

The core fee paid to our communications agency has not increased since 1996, in spite of the merger between Warrington and Halton Hospitals in April 2001. This represents astonishingly good value for money.

The Trust was formed when Warrington and Halton Hospitals came together in April 2001. In their last year of operation (2000-2001) the two former Trusts spent a total of £34,600, compared to the spend of this year, £29,100. This means that we are spending £5,500 less on communications as one Trust compared to the two former hospitals.

The suggestion that the communications budget is spent on "spin" is unwarranted. The budget covers not only press releases and newsletters, but also the costs of public information, such as guidance to patients when using A&E during the building works. This information was distributed in the form of a leaflet, via the Warrington Guardian series, to 74,000 local homes. Printing and distribution costs amounted to £4,885.

Our aim in communications is to give an open and honest account. On the one hand this is celebrating the hard work and achievements of frontline NHS staff and on the other hand, taking responsibility when things do not go well.

As a consequence, news coverage of the Trust by the Warrington Guardian has quite rightly been critical but balanced. Scrutiny of the big news issues at the hospital in previous months included the fire in May, the NHS performance ratings, the inspection by the Commission for Health Improvement, the development of the A&E Department and a pay dispute. These are matters of fact and public record and have been reported as such.

PAUL CRONIN

Chief Executive

North Cheshire Hospitals

NHS Trust