As an experienced nurse I have developed a strong voice when advocating for my patients. Whether I am trying to secure an appointment, prescribing medication, giving advice or communicating with other health professionals, my voice is confident and strong. I understand my role and have the experience, knowledge and skill to be able to communicate effectively. Finding a voice to talk about Treacle has been much more challenging. There are three levels of communication needed to spread word about https://www.treacle.me

Firstly,

talking with the organisations listed on Treacle, as well as education, employment and voluntary sector staff is an essential part of the process. Much of the time it is simlply a case of one school, one surgery and one community centre at a time. Never has the phrase “Rome was not built in a day” ever more true. In the early days I was imagining a budget for social media and real life advertising, but the reality is not quite there yet. Much of the hard work is being done by Samantha, the very first staff member I recruited and who has been with me from the early days. Her steadfast work and attention to detail is ensuring that word is spreading.

Secondly,

to get the news out to the public, I am talking to newspapers, radio shows and teams of health professionals. Getting publicity is priceless. However being able to talk to large groups of professionals is effective and has the added bonus of immediate feedback. When I address a room full of nurses, social prescribers or social workers I am overwhelmed by their support and encouragement. The feedback from people who are at the coal face of social and health care gives me the energy to continue to do what is often, to be honest, a difficult job.

Thirdly,

finding a voice to speak to the people in a position to commission Treacle and grow the network is a constant challenge. Armed with knowledge about the astonishing contribution to the social return on investment which Treacle represents, it should be a simple task. However I do not have a voice, or even a seat at the table, so attracting the attention of those at top of the chain of command is difficult. The life blood of Treacle comes from decades of nursing experience and then, one patient I saw one day who had so many un met needs and no idea where to turn. It was at that moment I had an “enough is enough” epiphany.

The Future,

In Treacle I have built a simple solution which works across health, education, the voluntary sector and social care. I built Treacle because I needed it. It exists because it did not exist anywhere else. It is growing it because it is used by so many professionals across so many sectors.

Now Treacle is working and growing, how should it scale, who should fund it and how do I go about finding a voice to speak to those people? These are the questions keeping me up at night.

Treacle recently had a whole page spread in the local newspaper here