The importance of PR Crisis Management for your Care business

Avoid negative press during tight media scrutiny with PR crisis management.

With the ever-increasing presence of news stories surrounding the shortfalls of some social care organisations, the care sector has never been put under such heavy public scrutiny.

Unfortunately, the media tends to jump to negative conclusions quickly when a story arises which involves a welfare organisation. If your business should face a crisis, how best could you minimise negative coverage whilst you’re busy handing the incident behind-the-scenes?

Public Relations Crisis Management gives you access to a professional public relations organisation which would be able to alleviate some of the stress should you find yourself in a difficult situation. The consequences of bad press and media attention can be extremely detrimental to your organisation, and without public relations expertise, clumsy handling can be devastating to your business.

PR Crisis Management cover can help you in situations such as:

  • Allegations of a wrongful act by a governor, director, council member, officer or trustee.
  • Entity Defence related issues
  • Professional and Public Liability issues including:
    • Any incident or alleged incident of abuse, maltreatment or molestation
    • The death, injury or disappearance, misplacing or abduction of anyone in your care

Preparation is key. Although you will not be able to predict the exact circumstances of a crisis, you can identify which areas of your day-to-day operations are most likely to be problematic and mark out any potential pitfalls which could be used to draw negative attention to your business. Once this is outlined, you can assemble a practical crisis management plan – who would you need to contact in a crisis, both internally and externally? Who in your organisation will speak to the media, and what will they say?

PR crisis management cover helps with the costs of employing a professional PR organisation to manage adverse press coverage. With some insurance providers, policyholders are entitled to access the services of a nominated organisation as part of the cover, or it may be available separately or as an add-on. Linked to policies such as Directors and Officers Insurance and Entity Defence, this extra service can be well worth utilising.

If you would like to know more about the cover available do not hesitate to contact our dedicated Care & Social Welfare team on 01653 697055 or by emailing care@networkportfolio.co.uk/mcclarroninsurance.com.

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