Tools & Checklists · Free playbook
Hospital crisis comms playbook
A hospital crisis communication plan you can adopt: severity levels, first 60 minutes, roles, holding statements, channels and rehearsal.
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Why it exists
The problem it solves
Every hospital will face a crisis: an allegation after a death, violence against a doctor, a fire, a ransomware attack, a video that goes viral overnight. What decides the damage is rarely the event itself. It is the first hour: who knew, who decided, what was said, and whether staff and families heard it from the hospital or from the news.
This hospital crisis communication plan is a playbook you can adopt and adapt. It sets out severity levels, a minute-by-minute first hour, named roles, an approval chain, seven holding statement templates, a channel plan for every audience, a do-not-say list, recovery steps and a rehearsal calendar.
Inside
What you get
- Three severity levels with triggers, who acts and how often to review
- A first-60-minutes sequence any duty manager can follow out of hours
- Eleven crisis roles and a pre-agreed approval chain with out-of-hours deputies
- Seven holding statement templates, including patient death allegations, violence, data breach and viral posts
- A channel plan for families, staff, doctors, media, social, reviews, authorities and the board
- A do-not-say list, spokesperson rules, recovery checklist, rehearsal plan and contact sheet
Audience
Who it’s for
Hospital CEOs, unit heads, medical directors, communications and PR teams, and patient relations leads in India who need a working crisis plan before they need it.
Method
How to use it
- Read the playbook with your leadership team and replace every bracket with your own names, numbers and timings.
- Agree the severity levels and approval chain formally, including out-of-hours deputies, and record approvals.
- Pre-approve the holding statement templates with legal and the medical director so only facts need adding on the day.
- Print the contact sheet and do-not-say list and keep copies offline with every duty manager.
- Run the first tabletop exercise within a month, then follow the rehearsal calendar.
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Questions about this playbook
Enter your email in the form on this page and confirm it from the email I send you. Your welcome email then includes the download link for this playbook and for every other tool on the Tools & Checklists page. It is free.
At minimum: how to judge severity, what happens in the first hour, who does what, who approves statements, pre-approved holding statements, how each audience will be told, what never to say, how to recover and how often to rehearse. This playbook covers each of those, with templates you adapt to your own hospital, roles and legal advice.
The most credible and calm senior person who has been media trained, often the medical director or unit head, not automatically the CEO or promoter. They must know the facts, stay within approved messages and be comfortable saying what is not yet known. Name a backup, because crises do not wait for travel plans.
Fast enough that staff, families and the public hear from the hospital before they hear rumours. Set your own target for each severity level and rehearse against it. Speed comes from pre-approved templates and a clear approval chain, not from skipping legal and clinical review, which creates the next crisis.
Post the holding statement where the issue is live, pin it and answer questions with approved lines. Move individuals to a private channel. Do not argue, delete legitimate criticism or discuss any patient. For reviews, reply once with a short, privacy-safe line and an offline contact, and report only genuine policy violations.
It flags them and assigns them to legal counsel and the data protection lead, including notifying affected people and authorities after a personal data breach under India’s data protection law and cyber incident reporting where applicable. It is not legal advice. Have your lawyers confirm the specific obligations, timelines and wording for your hospital.