National NHS organisations
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How can NHS organisations, campaigns or partnerships differentiate themselves?
The single NHS Identity was introduced in 1999 to clearly signpost patients to NHS organisations and services. It is the visual representation of the values and purpose of the NHS — a national service, accessible and free to all. Since being introduced, the NHS Identity is now instantly recognised by 98% of the public.
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Can conference and event organisers use the NHS Identity?
The letters ‘NHS’ and the NHS logo (lozenge) are protected by law. They are UK trade marks owned by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Therefore, they can only be used by external organisations in certain circumstances and with written permission.
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How do we change our NHS organisation’s name?
The process for changing your NHS organisation's name differs depending on whether your organisation is an NHS Trust, an NHS Foundation Trust or a Clinical Commissioning Group. The different processes are explained in the guidelines section on NHS naming principles.
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Why has the NHS colour palette changed?
The NHS colour palette has been expanded to give NHS organisations the flexibility to visually differentiate their communications from each other, but not from the NHS.
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Does the NHS colour palette apply to both external and internal signage?
Yes. The NHS colour palette applies to both external and internal signage.
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Can we use FS Me font instead of Frutiger and Arial?
No, the NHS fonts are Frutiger and Arial and only these fonts can be used for your NHS communications. The consistent use of permitted fonts achieves the unified and uniform approach that our patients and public want from the NHS.
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When do you expect communications and materials to follow the new NHS Identity guidelines?
One of the key principles of the new NHS Identity guidelines is ‘The use of the NHS Identity must always provide the best value for tax payers’ money.
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How will the NHS Identity be protected?
We hope that NHS organisations and providers of NHS services will want to follow the new NHS Identity guidelines because they:
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Can the NHS logo ever be purposely left off communications?
The NHS logo is instantly recognised and evokes positive, rational and emotional associations of trust, confidence, security and a sense of dependability. It should be used to ensure that patients, the public and stakeholders can quickly and easily identify communications from the NHS.