Media information
The Communications Team is the first point of contact for all media enquiries, filming requests and photography.
The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is committed to the welfare of its patients and ensuring that they are protected and that their confidentiality is maintained at all times.
The Trust reserves the right to decline media requests where these conflict with patient care, our duty to patient and staff confidentiality or operational requirements.
Social media
The Trust has an official social media presence on the following platforms:
Media enquiries
- If you are a member of the media/press and have an enquiry for the Communications Team please email countess.communications@nhs.net call 01244 362 116
- Please note that the Communications Team is only available weekdays 9-5pm and is not available out of hours. We will endeavour to respond as soon as possible on the next working day.
- If your query is urgent and can't wait until the next working day you can call the hospital switchboard on 01244 365000 and ask to speak to the on-call duty manager. Please note this is for media queries only.
Condition checks
Brief condition checks confirming if someone is ‘critical’ or ‘stable’ will only be given to journalists under certain circumstances:
- If the journalist can supply a name, date of birth and/or address of the patient
AND
- If the patient/their next of kin or legal guardian (if aged under 16) consents to the information being provided to the media.
Filming and photography at our hospitals
We welcome requests from the media, and our staff are happy to get involved where reasonable and appropriate.
All requests for interviews with patients or staff, and any filming or photography at our hospitals must be made in advance and directed to the Communications team in the first instance. Please do not visit our hospital sites prior to seeking permission or you may be asked to leave.
Filming or photography that may obstruct the provision of care to our patients will not be permitted.
No patients or staff should be filmed or photographed without the proper consent, even if done from the outside of our hospitals. No patient identifiable information or patient records should be filmed or photographed whilst on site.
A member of Trust staff, usually from the communications team, will accompany anyone who has arranged for filming/recording on trust premises.
Filming requests
We receive many requests for documentary and location filming. All proposals will be considered and accommodated where possible and appropriate.
Proposals for filming can be emailed to countess.communications@nhs.net and should include the following information:
- Name and organisation
- Production working title
- Delivery format
- Target audience
- Duration
- When it will be shown/whether it has been commissioned