Communications


debate, but we can learn from the tactics. We need one compelling narrative about social care’s contribution to people and place. Thankfully, it exists in spades across every great social care service in the country.


The marketing trap I would challenge readers to truly consider how they contribute to the sector’s narrative, what their community engagement work is for, and what purpose it serves. The summer fete, the animal visit, the school choir at Christmas. These are all wonderful events that bring a smile to people’s faces and bring the community together. But, fundamentally, these are marketing


activities. They’re important because they raise the profile of your home or service, and they bring people through the door. They celebrate your work but do they really show the impact of it? If we want to seriously shift the public


sentiment on care, then we need to build a strong narrative in all our public-facing activity. To do this, there are three questions to ask every time we’re planning speaking to external audiences: n Does it show the impact of our work? n Does it convey the contribution our


sector makes?


n Does it reveal what social care makes possible for the people it supports and employs?


The value of family The reach of any one care service may be limited, but each has remarkable depth in their community. At any moment, perhaps sixty families are attached to your service, plus everyone who has previously been involved. Each holds the trust of dozens more people; it’s a massive network that can be tapped into and it’s hugely influential, as the King’s Fund’s research shows. As one example, Burnham has spoken


a lot about his father’s experience with Alzheimer’s and how he wouldn’t know his son has achieved his political dreams. Those of us who have had loved ones with dementia know how heartbreaking these moments are. Yet, days after walking into No.10, the


manager of his father’s care home told him what her team had done: “We got Roy in his chair and we got the telly right in front of him and six of us stood around him and all said, ‘Look, Roy, look.” For a moment, they believe, Roy knew his son had become Prime Minister.


It’s the kindness of strangers going above


and beyond for someone else’s family. Not doing something they were asked, but something they felt was right. They shared that story with a son, that son told the nation and I’m left in no doubt that Roy’s home has one extraordinarily great team. While most of us aren’t lucky (or unlucky)


enough to have a major politician or celebrity among our families, we can all consider what story the people connected to our services might tell about us. Few need persuading that a young


adult with a learning disability should be supported to watch their favourite football team or see their favourite band. Community Integrated Care’s brilliant work shows that (see case study). Dementia services may have a harder job


of this than others. What does making every day meaningful look like for someone with dementia? What does the ‘living’ part look like as someone comes towards the end of a life? Despite the 300-mile journey, I never


forewarned my Gran’s care home when I came to visit. Yet, without fail, I always found her singing along to her favourite songs, surrounded by her favourite sweets,


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