LIFT LOBI Case Study

Client Profile and Issue

The Liaison Organisation for Business Investors in LIFT schemes was established in March 2005 to represent the private sector partners in LIFT ventures. The membership comprises 13 organisations; more than 90% of the private equity investors in NHS LIFT ventures around the country. Whitehouse were appointed to provide the Chairmanship and Secretariat services as well as public affairs support.

LIFT is a government-endorsed finance scheme based on long term joint ventures at national and local level to improve investment in primary care in England. By the end of 2005, 54 new LIFT facilities had opened nationwide.

Our Strategy

Although LIFT is at the heart of the Government’s policy to move focus away from acute services, increase investment in primary care and deliver a patient-led NHS, understanding of the delivery mechanism remained low within the public policy arena. Too often LIFT was grouped together with other private finance schemes and its unique benefits and partnership approach ignored.

Whitehouse have therefore sought to widen understanding of LIFT among opinion leaders and decision makers; vocalising the message that LIFT provides an elegant solution to achieving health improvement goals and is the perfect delivery mechanism to drive forward the policies contained in the White Paper on primary health and social care.

Our aim was to ensure that LIFT had widespread support among all stakeholders and on both sides of the House in order to secure its long-term success at a time of wider uncertainty in the NHS.

Outcome

LOBI has been recognised as a key partner alongside public bodies in developing and extending LIFT. In this position, the private sector has been able to act collectively to counter robustly a range of threats to LIFT’s continuing success.

Core messages have been communicated to professional medical associations, NHS bodies, Shadow Ministers, backbenchers and Ministers. We have successfully positioned the organisation as a mouthpiece for direct communication with Government through which member concerns can be heard at the highest levels.

New LIFT facilities will open at a rate of one every week throughout 2006. We continue to drive forward the development of this valuable delivery mechanism for primary healthcare with support from across the political spectrum.