A New NHS Site

A New NHS Site!

Recently, we were lucky enough to launch the latest website for the East Suffolk & North Essex NHS Foundation Trust. We were really privileged to work for a high-profile client with an internationally recognised brand and ensured a smooth digital transition to support the merging of two NHS trusts.

Planning the Project

In terms of planning for the project, it was approached in the same way as any other, with care and attention. We always take the time to fully understand the brief and speak to our clients during focused meetings to ensure we have the necessary information to begin our work and deliver exactly what the client wants. Thanks to this, there were minimal issues with the project as we knew exactly what we needed to deliver and planned for it.

We kept in constant communication with the representatives from the NHS which led to an excellent client relationship. We were all on the same page with the timeline and any issues (even the best of projects have some small ones) that arose were dealt with swiftly.

The project was a success mainly because of these points, but ultimately, when we plan carefully and thoroughly and follow our processes, projects do tend to be a success. We tried and test methods allowed us to see the process across the line and deliver a quality website that the NHS deserve.

Mapping the Site

Prior to building the site, it was daunting for our designers to map a new site that merged tons of content from multiple websites. As each individual hospital website was quote content heavy, the challenge was making this content easy to navigate for all audiences and age groups.

By working closely with the clients, we were able to decide exactly what content was needed. as a lot of pages had dated or duplicate content, we took this as a real opportunity to be ruthless with removing irrelevant information, to ensure only relevant services and patient information was carried over.

Delivering

For our developers, it was important to recognise that the site would be an important resource for a huge number of people. Due to this, they had to think deeply about every aspect of the journey and usability of the store to deliver the simplest possible user experience.

The chance to make a difference and something positive for the community was an exciting and rewarding opportunity.  There were many aspects of the site that required a lot of thinking, testing and iterating. We had to work very closely with the client and focus groups to come up with solutions to a number of problems to produce a site that made the most sense to the most people.

Overall, the relationship was incredibly positive, collaborative and effective. We took their guidance on board and followed their instructions and they listened to our solutions, trusted our judgement and we were able to collectively deliver a good site.

As mentioned, the project was a success from start to finish due to client engagement, our proactive attitude to solving problems and a collaborative effort between the client and our team to produce something the community deserves.

Ultimately, we were able to deliver:

• A website design and development that delivers the simplest possible user experience
• A keen focus on accessibility, ensuring information is available to everyone
• Staying true to the established NHS brand image
• Instilling confidence in the new trust through simplicity and quality

If you want to check it out for yourselves, head on over to www.esneft.co.uk.