Using Animation to Make Healthcare Information More Accessible
The Challenge: Creating Accessible Patient Education Resources Across NHS Cancer Services
The Personalised Care Team at Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance wanted to create sustainable healthcare animated videos that were clear, engaging, and easy for both NHS staff and patients to understand.
Working across multiple stakeholder groups within cancer care meant that information needed to be accurate, accessible, and adaptable for a wide range of audiences. Traditional written resources were not always the most effective way to communicate important guidance and support information, particularly for patients navigating complex healthcare journeys.
The team needed a solution that could simplify complex subject matter while also being scalable and sustainable for long-term use.
Why Video Animation?
The team chose animation because it offered a visual, eye-catching, and succinct way to communicate healthcare advice and guidance.
Animated video content allowed them to:
- Deliver complex information in a clear and engaging format
- Create sustainable resources that could be reused across multiple platforms
- Improve accessibility for both healthcare professionals and patients
- Support patient understanding through easy-to-follow visual storytelling
After exploring options, they partnered with Squideo to bring the project to life.
The Collaboration Process: Developing NHS Patient Information Videos with Multiple Stakeholders
From the outset, the collaboration was highly consultative and flexible. Because each stage of the animation process needed to pass through multiple stakeholder groups for feedback, timelines could sometimes be extended.
The team at Squideo worked closely with the Cancer Alliance throughout, adapting to their processes and supporting the project with clear communication, templates, and guidance to keep everything running smoothly.
“The whole process has been excellent from start to finish. Squideo has been responsive and flexible to fit with how we work as a Cancer Alliance. They supported us with templates and information that helped ensure the process was smooth and efficient.”
One aspect that particularly stood out was Squideo’s ability to translate highly complex healthcare topics into simple, engaging animations that worked for a broad audience.
“Squideo have been brilliant at interpreting quite complex subject matter and turning it into easy-to-understand animation.”
The responsiveness of the creative team also made a significant impact, especially when incorporating feedback from hundreds of stakeholders across the wider animation series.
Audience Response
The animations have been positively received across both NHS teams and patient groups.
Healthcare professionals including Clinical Nurse Specialists, Cancer Care Coordinators, and Dieticians have started embedding the healthcare animation videos directly into patient information packs, support resources and NHS communication materials, helping patients access important guidance in a more engaging format.
Patients involved in co-producing the animations also responded positively to the process.
“Patients really enjoyed co-producing the animations and felt valued.”
Results & Impact
The animations are hosted on a playlist connected to the wider Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance YouTube channel, allowing the team to monitor engagement and reach.
Within the first month:
- Individual animations achieved between 15–40 views within month 1
- One animation in the series has already received more than 90 patient views
- Multiple healthcare teams began embedding the videos into patient-facing resources and websites
The team expects engagement to continue growing as the animations are promoted further across social media channels and patient support networks.
Would They Recommend Squideo?
Absolutely.
“Definitely — 100%. Squideo are easy to work with and all of the staff are helpful and friendly. There is clear communication of expectations and timelines, and they have been really flexible and reactive to the amount of changes requested given we have had to consult with hundreds of stakeholders across the full series of animations. Thank you from the Personalised Care team.”
Looking to Simplify Complex Healthcare Communication?
Squideo helps organisations transform complex ideas into engaging animated videos that inform, educate, and inspire audiences. Get a quote today.
