Access provided by
London Metropolitan University
Nurses who turned inspired ideas into real-world patient-care improvements share their tips on devising, developing and funding their projects
Have you ever had an idea that you knew would improve patient care?
Nursing Standard. 39, 1, 54-55. doi: 10.7748/ns.39.1.54.s20
Published: 03 January 2024
We spoke to nurses who have turned their innovative ideas into fully fledged businesses and social enterprises to find out how they made it work.
As an advanced nurse practitioner in a general practice in a small Yorkshire community, Helen O’Connell was aware that many people coming to the surgery were not in need of medical treatment.
‘Whether they were hungry, lonely, or, for example, struggling to cope with their teenager’s mental health issues, I would say that for 20% of our patients, the need was more for what we would call social prescribing,’ she says.
Ms O’Connell wanted to do something practical to help, so decided to set up a food bank. ‘Talking to people who came to use the food bank made me realise people don’t know where to go to seek help when something goes wrong in their lives – that’s how I formed the idea for social prescribing website Treacle.me.’
Treacle.me is a free and easy to use social prescribing directory, which gathers together information about small local groups – as well as national help and support – in one site. ‘I spoke to a web designer who lived in the village, who told me it would cost £1,000 to create the kind of website I was after,’ says Ms O’Connell, a finalist in the community and general practice nursing category at the 2023 RCN Nursing Awards for creating Treacle.me.
‘Some years ago, a patient had left the practice some money in their will, to be spent for the good of the community,’ she says. ‘At the next practice meeting, I said “I’ve got an idea for a website, and could I have £1,000 from the fund for it?”. Everyone at the meeting liked the idea and said yes.
‘It was the spring of 2020, I had the £1,000 and I was off. I spent two to three months working with the web designer.
‘There are so many small enterprises helping people, but they don’t have the money to promote themselves, so they were happy to be on the website. I wanted it to be super-easy to log on and find help.’
Neomi Bennett won the innovations category at the 2019 RCN Nursing Awards for inventing Neo-Slip, designed to help people put on compression stockings.
‘I came up with the idea when I was a student on placement and saw patients struggling to put on their compression stockings,’ says Ms Bennett. ‘I knew these stockings were potentially life-saving for them, but they just couldn’t manage them. I remember visiting one couple in their home and they were using the stockings as curtain ties because they couldn’t get them on.
‘My lecturers were really enthusiastic about the idea, which helped. I even had business meetings at the university as I was getting the product off the ground.
‘It’s a myth that you need to have lots of money to get started – it’s better to do things bit by bit and use the resources you have around you. I also had some financial support from the Florence Nightingale Foundation.
‘There were lots of obstacles along the way, and it took a lot of determination to get the product out to patients. Getting into the NHS supply chain is difficult – they do a huge amount of due diligence, so everyone can have confidence in the products the NHS use.
‘Feedback from real patients was invaluable.
‘My advice to nurses who are thinking of starting something would definitely be to go for it. There are so many opportunities for innovating.’
Other nurse-innovators funded initial startups themselves, as well as researching and applying for grants.
RCN Nurse of the Year 2020 Ana Waddington won the award for her work founding YourStance, an initiative in which healthcare professionals teach life-saving skills to young people in London at risk of serious violence.
She says finding funding was her biggest obstacle in the early days. ‘For two years, I did everything with my own funding and donated items. I became quite exhausted by it,’ she says. ‘I then successfully applied for a grant from Barts Charity, which helped me to build the foundations of the organisation.’
Mental health nurse Matty Caine set up mental health support centre First Person Project in 2019. ‘I worked as an independent nurse for a while to raise the money to put into practice my vision for a people-powered mental health centre in Liverpool, which I was later able to set up and fund as a social enterprise,’ he says.
‘I had lots of ideas, straight from when I was at university, but I was always told things couldn’t be done a different way. It was only when gained more experience that I had the confidence to innovate.’
He says tenacity and determination are key to getting any project off the ground, alongside a belief in yourself and your idea. ’Don’t stop asking: “Are we as efficient as possible?” You have to have the courage to be disliked, to be misunderstood when you come up with ideas for doing things differently,’ he says.
All the nurse entrepreneurs we spoke to say they used their transferable nursing skills when getting their initiatives off the ground – alongside learning along the way, both on the job and through taking courses.
‘I had to learn the business administration side of things, often by trial and error,’ says Ms O’Connell. ‘I worked out we needed to be registered with Companies House as a community interest company with directors. I opened a social enterprise bank account with the bank that seemed the easiest to deal with. I now employ three people part-time to keep the website up to date. That leaves me to do what I’m good at – going out to talk to people.’
Ms Waddington agrees that it’s about knowing what your skills are and then finding people who have skills to complement yours. ‘I’m not skilled at grant writing but my co-director is amazing at it and has experience of grant applications. She is focused on applying for funding, and is the reason we are surviving financially.’
‘It’s a myth that you need to have lots of money to get started – it’s better to do things bit by bit and use the resources that you have around you’
Neomi Bennett, nurse inventor of a compression stocking fitting aid
» Start writing things down ‘If you have an idea, draw pictures of it, make notes and gradually add to it,’ advises nurse and founder of Neo-Slip Neomi Bennett
» Value your skills and experience ‘Nurses think they don’t have certain skills, such as sales, but they do,’ says Ms Bennett. ‘For example, selling your product or idea is like persuading a patient to take their medication or do more exercise – even if they don’t want to. Nurses are good at communication, problem solving and risk assessment’
» Be bold ‘If you’ve spotted a gap, you know the context and you’ve thought through the pros and cons, don’t let go of it,’ says mental health nurse and founder of First Person Project Matty Cain
» Attend trade fairs and exhibitions ‘These can be invaluable for meeting people who can help you,’ says Ms Bennett. ‘One company even invited me to display Neo-Slip on their stand in the early days’
» Try not to worry about others stealing your idea ‘It takes a lot to get an idea up and running – you can’t steal someone’s passion to do that and overcome the obstacles,’ says Ms Bennett
» Surround yourself with people who believe in you Helen O’Connell, nurse and founder of social enterprise Treacle.me, says: ‘I met people who were so positive about Treacle that they wanted to come and work with me. Having positive voices around you spurs you on’
» Research training courses, advises Ms O’Connell. For example, the NHS Innovation Accelerator provides significant support and training to individuals innovating in the healthcare system
For Ms O’Connell, expanding the reach of Treacle.com has been a step-by-step process. ‘Since getting Treacle up and running, it’s been a continuing journey of facing challenges and trying to get the idea taken up at a larger level. I had a significant two-year NHS investment, but that is due to run out in April, so our future is uncertain.
‘The most rewarding thing I’ve experienced is the positive feedback from so many different types of people – social workers, teachers, job centre staff – all of whom come into contact with people who use the website.
‘I also have such positive messages from the public – that’s what I live and breathe for.’
