Communications and Social Media Policy

This Policy describes how Bladder & Bowel Community uses digital communication tools such as email and social media in order to ensure fair and safe use. It sets out realistic expectations for response times, as well as outlining our zero-tolerance approach to discriminatory or abusive communications.

The information that we gather on or through our Services and how we use and process such information is described in our Privacy Policy, and you can refer to our Terms of Use here.

Purpose

We aim to provide our customers with a range of information, and aim to empower, inform and support people to advocate for their own healthcare needs. Communications are used to inform, notify, respond and consult with customers in accordance with our privacy policy, and to satisfy service needs of community members.

We use the following communication channels with customers and community members:

Email – We use a secure cloud-based email platform in order to receive communications from customers, and respond in a timely manner.

Social Media – We use social media tools to communicate with customers and wider audiences, and receive messages from them when in need of support.

Telephone – We do not offer a telephone enquiry option. The only exception is our Home delivery service which has a dedicated phone line. Please note, this can not receive general enquiries and is exclusively used by the Home Delivery Service.

We have outlined the intended use, service expectations and limitations of these communication tools below.

Zero Tolerance

The Bladder & Bowel Community is run by a team of passionate individuals, who care about reducing the stigma associated with bladder and bowel conditions, and helping people to live a happier and healthier life. We wish everyone to enjoy their part in the community whether they are employees, members or volunteers. As such, we have a zero tolerance policy on any abuse made towards our staff or members of the community, across any online communication. This is especially important for direct communications between customers or community members and our staff via email or social media or any other digital, written or verbal communication.

Example of abusive behaviour includes (but is not limited to):

Swearing
Threatening language
Malicious comments
Offensive or obscene language
Inciting hatred based on race, religion, gender, nationality, sexuality or any other personal characteristic or medical conditions
False impersonation
Emojis or GIFs used for abusive purposes

Where examples of communications like this are received, we will investigate and escalate as necessary in order to protect those concerned. This policy applies to staff, community members and customers.

Email

We understand the need for personal enquiries from customers and community members, so offer a publicly available email address for people to contact us. We approach each email with the sole purpose of supporting the customer to resolve an issue or answer a query, or signposting to more appropriate services where necessary.

We use a trusted email service provider to deliver our newsletter, to which people must opt-in to receive, after which subscription preferences can be controlled directly by the person from the footer of the email. Emails are only transmitted in accordance with subscriber preferences. We also transmit transactional emails where necessary to confirm receipt of an enquiry, or confirmation of a request.

Social Media

We set out a broad moderation policy which covers our use of Facebook, X, Linked In and Instagram accounts. These are all free to use, third party tools used by Bladder & Bowel Community to communicate news, views, articles and information to followers and wider audiences. We may ask questions to learn about topical situations, to which users may choose to respond or not at their discretion.

Should we choose to follow a particular account or engage with a post, this does not necessarily indicate endorsement. Users are encouraged to be open and friendly, and any discriminatory behaviour or use of abusive language or imagery will not be tolerated.

Moderation

The Bladder & Bowel Community is an information-led service. We kindly ask users to review these guidelines when posting comments to promote a healthy and inclusive environment. Moderation may not always be required, but Bladder & Bowel Community retain the right to make informed decisions when moderating content if it is deemed appropriate. If moderation is required, the person(s) involved will be notified of the action taken, and reasons it was required.

Following

Bladder & Bowel Community may decide to follow a particular Social Media account however this does not imply endorsement of any kind. We follow accounts that we feel are relevant to our community and wider interest areas, which may include following companies and other commercial enterprises (and/or their employees) who comment on Bladder & Bowel related issues.

Shares and Re-posts

If Bladder & Bowel Community shares a post from a third party, this does not imply endorsement. We may choose to share or repost news, information and items of interest that we believe are relevant to our community.

Availability and Responsiveness

We are committed to updating and monitoring our Social Media accounts during regular office hours (9am to 5pm GMT), whilst we may post, monitor and respond at other times of the day, we may not be able to respond to messages directly until usual working hours. The only exception is the Bladder & Bowel Community Support Group on Facebook – see details below.

Any messages received directly will be reviewed, and when possible we will respond to them. However, please note that due to the high number of enquiries we receive, we encourage users to email us at [email protected] in order for us to direct their enquiry accordingly. This also applies to anyone wishing to make a media request, data request or complaint.

Community Support Group

The Bladder and Bowel Community Support Group is managed via Facebook, as a widely accessible tool. We take care to moderate comments and discussions within the Group in order to protect and nurture an inclusive, healthy space. This group is provided free of charge and moderation is provided for the benefit of all.

We encourage helpful and lively discussion, however at times it is necessary to remind people that their actions may offend, or negatively affect others.

Bladder & Bowel Community have published a set of rules in Facebook for Members to follow. You can see a copy of these rules via the Group ‘About’ section. We ask users to agree to Group Rules when requesting to join the group by selecting ‘I agree’.

We ask support group members to:

Be kind and respectful at all times
Not offer medical advice
Not privately message other members
Keep posts on topic. We cannot allow posts that defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others.
Support each other
Not advertise or spam the group
Keep medical photos to the comments section
Report any posts that infringe these rules to Group Admins
Not offer to sell, give or trade prescription items to others, including continence and catheter products

We also remind members that the support group is private and as such:

Not to share personal details with others such as contact details
To be yourself – and not to impersonate another person or organisation
Not to act unlawfully in any way
To gain a parent or guardian’s permission if under the age of 16

Unfortunately we do not have the capacity to moderate comments which are made in any language other than English.

We reserve the right to suspend comments at any time, or remove people from the group where necessary. Moderation will not be used to suppress legitimate, reasoned discussion, however if Administrators of the Group have received complaints from other members, or foresee issues arising, they may decide to take action to protect all concerned.

If moderation is required, please note this action is not taken to censor your views. The aim is to ensure that comments relate to the particular subject being discussed, and do not escalate unnecessarily. The user(s) concerned will then be notified of the reasons for the action taken.

Telephone

We do not offer a telephone enquiry option. The only exception is our Bladder & Bowel Home Delivery service which has a dedicated phone line, which is operated by Bullen, our Service Delivery partner. Please note, this phone line can not receive general enquiries and is exclusively used by the Home Delivery Service. As such, any telephone communication you may receive would also be from the Home Delivery team.

For general enquiries please contact us via our website.

This social media policy was last updated 11th January 2024