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Published: 27 May 2010
by TOM FOOT

MENTAL health bosses are splashing out tens of thousands of pounds of NHS cash on a corporate makeover just weeks after hundreds of staff lost their jobs due to a massive funding crisis.

The Camden and Islington Foundation Trust has agreed to pay £35,000 for a new logo and a business catchphrase because managers feel their standing in the marketplace will be “weakened” if they do not revamp their image.

Bosses will choose a new “brand” emblem from a selection created by design consultants. Current suggestions include a flower, a kite or criss-crossed spaghetti lines.

The Trust says the project – to “create an identity” – is important to survival in “an increasingly competitive healthcare market”.

Angry critics have suggested a “£” symbol or “two-fingers” might be a more appropriate badge, arguing the project is an insult to the hundreds of agency workers dismissed with one week’s notice over Easter.

One insider said: “This is the NHS business concept gone too far. Mentally ill people don’t have a choice where to go – you either go to Camden and Islington Trust or they take you there. What exactly are they selling anyway? This is a ridiculous waste of NHS money at a time when they’re supposed to be strapped for cash.”

Trust chief executive Wendy Wallace announced last month plans to make £20million “efficiencies”. She will also decide whether to sell the Grade I-listed St Luke’s Hospital in Muswell Hill.

Two years ago the Camden and Islington Mental Health Trust became the “Foundation Trust”. It is now set for a further revamp after chairman Richard Arthur said the name was “rather long and not very memorable, while giving no indication of what we actually do”.

The Trust will work the words “Care” and “Innovation” into its branding.

In contrast, the new “identity” for Camden’s mental health service does not mention the words “mental health”.

Service user Sheila Laws, who lives in ­Belsize Park, said: “I have feared for some time that there is a form of madness infecting the corridors of power at the Foundation Trust – this seems to be    another sign of it.”

The C&I designs revealed in a report will be discussed and approved by board members today ­(Thursday). 

Ideas for the logo that have been suggested by a design firm hired by the Trust include:

• Flying Kite – with “connotations of windy days with happy, healthy uncomplicated activities”.

• The Flower – “highlighting the Trust’s ­ability to blossom”. 

• The Bounding Box with Wavy Lines – “a reminder of how ­complex the lives of service users can be.”

• Arrow – set in “warm green” colour to “introduce a bit of humanity”.

• Region – big dots arranged in the shape of Camden and Islington borough boundaries.

The C&I colour scheme will “represent a balance of authority and calm” but “avoid the traditional NHS blue”, the report suggests.

The Trust’s expenditure came under the spotlight in December after the so-called “Choccies for Votes” row when bosses shelled out £3,000 on Belgian confectionery for staff, sending chocolates out in the same parcel as a feedback form used to monitor the workforce’s opinion of its managers. The move was criticised as a “sweetener” – in more ways than one.

As a result of recent reforms of how the health service is funded, “C&I” will be forced to compete with private firms to bid for NHS funding. 

In board meeting notes, health bosses were told the Trust would be “weakened” if the branding changes did not take place, adding that any delay “would impact on our image and reputation with stakeholders”.

Old letterheads and branded material – known as corporate ­literature – will not be pulped and the Trust instead plans to simply phase in the new designs.

A Trust spokesman added: “We want to make it easier for ­service users, their ­carers and members of the public to identify our communications and leaflets, in order to help them to find the service that meets their needs. A consistent appearance will help us to make it easier for people to ­contact us.

“Currently, we have no consistency in the design of our materials, beyond the use of the NHS logo. 

“Our services create individual designs for leaflets and posters; this adds cost, and does not adequately convey the quality and professionalism of the care we provide.

“We will also create standard letter ­templates, meaning we will save the cost of printing stationery (once existing stocks are used up). 

“We are therefore investing in a design which will save us ­money and make ­services easier to find and access. 

“Much of the cost covers statutory ­materials and leaflets, with a small element of design.”

Flying a kite – Ideas behind new logo plan

Pictured above are some of the new logo proposals being unveiled to board members today – with the following explanations from the design experts hired by the Trust:

• A KITE embodies a sense of freedom. A symbol of the aim of the Trust to empower service users. It has connotations of outdoors, windy days and happy, healthy uncomplicated activities. 

• PATHWAYS – the lines represent the diverse pathways encountered by stakeholders and service users in the Trust. It is a reminder of how complicated the lives of service users can be.

• REGION – Whilst having roots in the Trust’s geographical heritage, the graphic has been abstracted to avoid literal association and the purple/blue colour gives a cool reassurance.

• FLOWER – Symbolising growth and renewal the flower has a warm and reassuring colour. It highlights the Trust’s ability to blossom in the face of changing circumstances and still retain a nurturing approach.