About NHS Resolution
NHS Resolution is an arm’s-length body of the Department of Health and Social Care. The organisation provides expertise to the NHS on resolving concerns and disputes fairly, sharing learning for improvement and preserving resources for patient care.
The brief: writing the Annual report and accounts
NHS Resolution’s Annual report and accounts is typically around 175 pages and 60,000 words long. It needs detailed input from every facet of the organisation and to give a clear but comprehensive report of the financial year in question.
The size of the report means it’s too much for one person to write on top of their day-to-day responsibilities.
NHS Resolution wanted someone with copywriting expertise whose sole responsibility would be to write the report. They got in touch to ask if I’d still be interested in working with them.
In December 2023, after a couple of short interviews to see if we would be a good fit for each other, I joined NHS Resolution on a two-day a week contract for six months.
The writing and editing process
I was responsible for writing the performance report element of the Annual report and accounts for 2023/24. I was also responsible for editing the accountability report and financial statements.
My first task was to spend some time getting to understand the organisation. As well as exploring the website and intranet, I had introductory conversations with key people across the organisation.
To gather the detail for the report, I liaised with nearly 40 people in conversations, on Teams and via email over a period of two months. An outline of the report and the key elements it needed to cover were already in place, and these provided a vital structure for my conversations.
When it came to drafting, as a public-sector body, it was vital that NHS Resolution upheld the principles of good practice in annual reporting. The National Audit Office says these are:
- Supporting accountability: Annual reports equip readers with information they can use to hold organisations to account and so can help build trust with stakeholders.
- Transparency: By providing a candid view of their operations, including both successes and challenges, organisations can help foster confidence among stakeholders and promote informed decision making.
- Accessibility: Annual reports need to be accessible to a wide audience. Clear language, concise explanations, and user-friendly formats enhance accessibility and encourage engagement.
- Understandability: A well-structured report ensures that readers can easily grasp the organisation performance, goals, and impact. Clarity in conveying complex information is essential – whether in words or graphics.
The team felt their report did a good job in achieving these principles each year, but were keen to use my expertise to understand where they could do an even better job. My position as a relative outsider was useful because it was easier for me to spot when we were using language or concepts, or organising information, in a way that would be unfamiliar to a layperson.
The review process
Once the first draft was written, I spent some time working through the report line by line with the reporting and analysis manager and a policy and strategy manager to ensure that every number and every statement could stand up to the most robust scrutiny.
This work was important for two reasons.
Firstly, as a public body, NHS Resolution must always be strictly accurate in anything it reports. Secondly, the nature of NHS Resolution’s work means it is always of great interest to the media and so it has a responsibility to minimise the risk of anything it reports being misinterpreted or misunderstood.
We also went through a series of rounds of amends with internal teams.
Once the review processes were complete, the draft was signed off internally by the senior management team, the audit and risk committee and the board, and externally by auditors and the Department of Health and Social Care.
The importance of deadlines
Throughout, every stage was meticulously planned. The report has to be laid before Parliament on a set date each year, which meant there was no room for deadlines to slip. I’m happy to report that this was achieved thanks to the hard work of everyone involved.
A job well done
This was an amazing project to be involved with and I was working as part of a genuinely lovely and supportive team. I’m very proud of the finished result.
I’m also pleased to say my work was well-received, with more than one stakeholder commenting that the document was easier to read and review than in any previous year. In fact, my work was so well received, I rejoined the organisation to work on its Annual report and accounts for 2024/25 and for 2025/26.