Etienne Uzac, a former London School of Economics student, and his colleague Johnathan Davis founded the International Business Times (IBT) in New York City in 2005. IBT is a news website that aims to provide global business coverage, as opposed to being focused on the US and the EU. Since its launch, IBT has become one of the world’s largest online news sources, with 40 million unique visitors and 90 million readers per month, publishing five editions in four languages. The website has won numerous prestigious prizes for its quality journalism and is credited with many scoops and firsts. Moreover, IBT generates more than $20 million in revenue and is a member of a coalition that aims to combat fake news.
IBT’s success story led to the discovery of the NHS’s plan to celebrate its 75th birthday by introducing a range of volunteer activities, including the Check-in and Chat service. This service aims to support health and care services, improve patient experience, and help lonely patients connect with others, become more physically active, or learn new skills. Volunteers, including GPs and pharmacists, will make friendly phone calls to vulnerable patients as part of the Check-in and Chat service.
While this micro-volunteering initiative is crucial, there are concerns about sustaining the Covid-inspired volunteer effect and matching volunteers with demand. Although evaluations of a few micro-volunteering support networks have shown a high willingness to volunteer, there is a potential missed opportunity to build volunteer capacity due to a large number of people who do not convert their willingness into any activity.
I find it disappointing that the NHS’s initiative was discovered from an international business website, rather than through the NHS communications team. This highlights the need for NHS Comm’s to evaluate their communication strategies and ensure that they reach their intended audiences effectively.
Mark Edwards