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Professional Nursing Committee 

The committee responsible for the RCN’s professional work

Our Professional Nursing Committee helps us achieve our purpose as a Royal College, making decisions on professional issues affecting nursing. It is accountable to RCN Council. It has three main functions which are taken from our Royal Charter:

  • Promote the science and art of nursing, as well as education and training
  • Promote the advancement of nursing as a profession
  • Promote the professional standing and interests of our members

Find out more about the role and remit of our Professional Nursing Committee in the terms of reference.

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Updates from the Professional Nursing Committee 


Agenda

Agenda

Report to members

Agenda

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Agenda

Report to members

On 19 March the Professional Nursing Committee met at RCN HQ and online. The following day we were joined by our colleagues on the Trade Union Committee for our second joint meeting of the year to discuss key issues where it is critical for the professional and trade union functions of the RCN to come together.

Meeting first as PNC we received a wide-ranging update from RCN Chief Nurse Professor Nicola Ranger. The committee shared Nicola’s continued and increasing concern at the significant drop in applications to nursing degree programmes, alongside high attrition rates. This led to a discussion on the public understanding of the role of a nurse and perceptions of nursing as a career choice. We recognised that recent rhetoric which has focused on negative incidents involving nurses was damaging to this public perception and is likely to have played a part in young people not seeing nursing as a career of choice. Pay was also agreed to be a critical element in that career choice, as well as increasingly being cited as a factor by those intending to leave the profession. The committee recognised the need to celebrate the value of nursing, whilst recognising the appalling working conditions being endured by nursing staff. We were pleased to hear that this is the subject of live work between the nursing department and the communications and policy teams at the RCN.

The committee reviewed the most recent report on the workstreams arising from Congress 2023, including addressing the increased normalisation of corridor care in all its many manifestations. The placing of patients in inappropriate settings compromises their dignity and safety, and increases nursing workloads, which further impacts on patient safety. Listening events taking place over recent weeks are further refining the RCN position in calling for an end to these unacceptable practices.

Safe staffing remains our most critical workstream. Building on the outcomes from the international Safe Staffing Summit in December we looked ahead to a further summit, which took place the following week.  This summit brought together nurses with operational responsibilities for the nursing workforce to hear from some of the same experts in the field. It was an excellent day which continued the work towards gaining the support of the profession in the development of our position of establishing safety-critical registered nurse-to-patient ratios across health and social care. At the request of PNC (and others) most of the keynote talks from the December meeting are now available in full on this webpage. Former PNC member Professor Alison Leary’s recent William Rathbone lecture was also shown at the summit and received extremely positive feedback. Alison’s lecture is available on the QNI website.

At both PNC and the joint meeting with the TUC, Nicola Ranger presented an update on the RCN Institute of Nursing Excellence, and the progress to date on establishing the five academies which will make up the Institute. These are the academies of nursing practice, nursing leadership, nursing workforce, international nursing, and the activism academy. At PNC this generated further discussion about how we align the committee workplan to the development of matrix working across the college and the Institute. This is an exciting time, and as the meeting progressed, we recognised the way in which much of the work overseen by PNC is woven into plans for the Institute to strengthen the RCN as the Voice of Nursing.

PNC considered a paper from Jonathan Beebee, Professional Lead for Learning Disabilities, which set out the challenges faced by the speciality not only in terms of recruitment and training uptake but also in the perception of the role and relevance in today's world. The Committee considered some very stark data on the reduction of numbers of learning disability nurses, and shared examples of the complexity of the role, and how it has changed over time. We supported plans for a national summit on learning disability nursing, to be convened by the RCN, and look forward to a discussion on the Congress agenda in June, Redefining learning disability nursing.

We were delighted to be joined at PNC by Professor Bridie Kent, the Chair of the Forums Governance Group, and Paul McAleer, the new Chair of the Forum Chairs Committee (and Chair of the Nursing in Justice and Forensic Health Care Forum). They highlighted the huge amount of work the forums have achieved over the last year and the vital contribution they continue to make to the professional voice of the RCN. We were also updated on some of the changes in governance processes which we hope will be agreed by Council, to encourage and support member engagement and involvement. The forums will be promoted at Congress and a third World Café event is planned to achieve as much feedback and discussion as possible.

The current RCN position statement on nursing associates was reviewed and discussed in detail in the light of increased evidence of the substitution of registered nurses by registered nursing associates and continued concerns with regards to inappropriate role expansion. This discussion was taken forward into our meeting with the Trade Union Committee the following day, as it was recognised that this was an area where there were some key questions with regards to employment issues as well as professional concerns. It was agreed that we needed to strengthen our current position, and this is now going through the process of redrafting following insightful input from both committees.

A further issue was raised at PNC in relation to medical associate professionals, and the apparent inclusion of some registered nurses (such as surgical care practitioners) in commentary relating to these roles. During our two days of meetings a further position statement was drafted, discussed, and reviewed and has now been published.

Our joint session with the TUC provided the opportunity for discussion on topics of shared concern, notably our work on safe staffing, and the current consultation on a separate pay spine for nursing. This consultation has generated an impressive level of response from RCN members, and we discussed the draft of the RCN position which recognises that nursing staff working for the NHS are currently not well served by Agenda for Change. Whilst we recognised that a separate pay spine for nursing could bring significant benefits to the profession, there was also some caution with regards to potential risks to terms and conditions and other benefits of AfC. The RCN has now submitted its views to the consultation: A fresh start for nursing pay? RCN responds to government consultation

It is three years since publication of the RCN Nursing Workforce Standards. We are delighted to see how much traction they are gaining, and the many resources which have been developed to support their implementation. It is now time for the Standards to be reviewed and strengthened. In a workshop session with Lena Johnson, Professional Lead for Nursing Workforce, PNC began the review process, and recognised opportunities to align the standards to the work on safety critical registered nurse-to-patient ratios, to address skill mix within the nursing workforce, and the risks of registered nurse substitution, as well as being more specific with regards to the ‘uplift’ which should be applied to nurse staffing establishments. We look forward to continuing this work with Lena and colleagues in the nursing department, with input from our counterparts on the TUC and staff colleagues with regards to the employment components.

Agenda

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Agenda

Our first meeting of 2024 took place in London (and online) on Thursday 1 February. I welcomed our new Committee members, as well as thanking once more those Committee members who stepped down at the end of December. All members of the committee give their time voluntarily on behalf of the members they represent to ensure we are leading the College’s important work to advance and support the profession.

The Committee first discussed our terms of reference, and we will revisit them after some work internally later this quarter. I gave a Chair’s update to the Committee following our last meeting at the end of December and sought their feedback on the joint session we held on Wednesday 31 January with the Trade Union Committee. We work closely together on shared matters of interest, and all agreed that it was really positive for the committee members to meet together and build on this spirit of collaboration. We felt emboldened and hopeful from the session for the work we will progress together in the year ahead.

Our Chief Nurse, Nicola Ranger gave an update to the Committee on the consultation on the nursing pay spine. We believe that Agenda for Change has lost sight of our value - after 20 years, three quarters of our members are on the two lowest pay bands possible for registered professionals. Nurses are too often at the bottom of the pay and grading structure, without a clear route through. We want nursing staff, wherever they work, to be rewarded for their skills and knowledge while staying close to clinical care, and to patients. The Committee will be inputting into the RCN’s response to the government consultation.

The normalising of corridor care is also a key concern for the Committee, and we discussed how this is occurring across health and social care settings, not just in emergency or acute care but also in the community and in mental health. The College’s work, led by PNC, will continue to raise the alarm on this issue and the negative impacts on patients.

We reviewed the Committee’s work plan and risk register for the year and discussed how we will lead and monitor progress on these key areas of work for the College.

One of the most significant workstreams for the College and for PNC is staffing for safe and effective care. We discussed how staffing issues continue to be a key issue for our members and the outcomes from the international Safe Staffing Summit and the work already being undertaken to strive to achieve these. This will involve a range of work including evidenced-based statements on registered nurse:patient ratios across health and social care.

The Committee agreed that work will take place to set out a position statement to clarify our view on the role of registered nurses and registered nursing associates in maternity care. We discussed the continuing development of the RCN Professional Framework and work that has been delivered to date, including the Definition and Principles of Nursing and registered nurse substitution. We are looking forward to the imminent publication of the new definitions and standards for enhanced and consultant level practice, and the revised definition and standards of advanced level practice, which will be reflected in our contribution to the deliberations of the NMC with regards to possible regulation of advanced practice.

The Committee was updated on the public policy work happening to influence policies that impact on our members. The first item discussed was the Strike (minimum service levels) Act and the impact on our members’ freedom to strike. We also noted the work the organisation will do to influence during the General Election this year, and how we will be kept updated and involved. International recruitment is a key policy focus for the College, and we discussed the Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday 31 January led by Kwasi Kwarteng on international recruitment to health and social care and heard that our briefing was used by MPs to reference the experience of our internationally recruited members.

We had an update on the Institute for Nursing Excellence and the five academies which will make up the Institute. These are the academies of nursing practice, nursing leadership, nursing workforce, international nursing, and the academy for professional activism. It is an exciting time for the College and the Committee will be fully involved in leading this work.

The RCN Professional Lead for Research, Dr Ada Hui presented the new RCN research strategy – this strategy will ensure that RCN’s work, and that of the Institute and Academies, is underpinned by high-quality research to achieve the organisation’s strategic goals for the nursing workforce and will promote nursing leadership in research. The strategy has been developed alongside the Research Forum, and through engagement with a wide range of members. We congratulated Ada for the work, and suggested some final edits before the strategy progresses to publication, with a planned update for members at Congress.

Christine Callendar, RCN Head of Nursing Practice, gave an update on the implementation of the recommendations from our forums and networks review. Progress has been made on the way the forum steering committees can communicate with each other, and other work in progress includes updating our governance structures and training for forum steering committees. This is one of the workstreams where we have been concerned at delayed implementation, and so we were pleased to see the progress being made, whilst recognising that there is more to do to ensure the forums receive the right level of resource and support to sustain the significant contribution they make to the professional work of the college.

The Committee reviewed the mid-year update on Congress 2023 resolutions and confirmed the Committee will contribute to further updates for the Council report to Congress in June. New PNC leads were identified for some of the workstreams.

Our final agenda item for the day was an update on the Governance and Culture Joint Partnership board to take forward recommendations from recent reviews and reports. Most of the deliverables are on track. Members can keep up to date with our 'Transforming our Culture and Governance' page.

Our new and existing Committee members brought much to the discussions throughout the day and like me, are motivated for the year ahead. PNC members are committed to collaborating with colleagues from the nursing and policy staff teams, our Trade Union Committee counterparts, and with Council, to ensure the work we are doing achieves our aims for the benefit of our members.

At the end of 2023, our General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen reflected on a ‘historic year for nursing’. This brief report from the Professional Nursing Committee (PNC) reviews progress across our 2023 work programme.

At the start of the year, members in England were back out on the picket lines, with our overarching campaign for fair pay and safe staffing showing more clearly than ever the professional and trade union arms of the RCN working together. PNC meets regularly with our colleagues on the Trade Union Committee (TUC); we work closely together on shared matters of interest. At Congress in Brighton PNC proposed a resolution, seconded by TUC, that ‘This meeting of RCN Congress affirms that the strength of the Royal College of Nursing comes from its dual function as a professional body and a trade union’. We were delighted that this resolution was passed with an overwhelming majority.

Congress in Brighton was also the launch pad for the RCN strategy, A New Dawn for Nursing. Central to this strategy is the development of the RCN Institute of Nursing Excellence. The continuing development of the Institute brings together two of our key workstreams, Education, Learning and Development, and Research, both of which will underpin the work of the five academies within the Institute.

2023 saw the continuing development and dissemination of RCN Learn the single sign-on online portal for RCN and RCNi education and learning resources. One of our priorities for 2023 was the development of the RCN Research Strategy, working closely with the RCN Research Forum. The shared experiences and expertise of RCN staff, members, fellows, forums, and an expert reference group from across the four nations have been invaluable to shaping the vision.

Staffing for Safe and Effective Care remains one of our most significant workstreams, as well a critical issue for our members. PNC provides oversight to the UK programme board for this work, and supported the move to be much clearer about what safe staffing means in practice and establish a strong position on the need for a ‘safety critical red line’ below which staffing levels should never fall. This has led to a focus on the need for a minimum ratio of patients cared for by a registered nurse. This position was presented and debated at the end of the year in the RCN international Safe Staffing Summit. This event, which I had the privilege to Chair, brought together national and international experts to present the evidence behind the ‘international case for ratios’. In 2024 we will be looking to harness four country, cross sector and political support for this position. Members can find out more on our 'Safety critical nurse-to-patient ratios' page.

We continue to provide oversight to the development of the RCN Professional Framework for Nursing. Three workstreams have continued to progress this critical work: Professional Practice; Levels of Practice; and Career Frameworks.

2023 saw the completion of the professional practice workstream, with the publication of the revised Definition and Principles of Nursing. This definition was well received, and underpins the development of the whole framework.

2024 will see the culmination of the workstream on levels of practice, with publication of the new definitions and standards for enhanced and consultant level nursing practice, and the revised definition and standards of advanced level practice. This will be reflected in the RCN contribution to the deliberations of the NMC on possible regulation of advanced practice. 2024 will also see the start of a new workstream, collaborating with the Nursing Support Worker Committee, to define and set standards for supportive and assistive nursing roles.

During 2023 we became increasingly concerned at the evidence from across all countries and settings pointing to increased substitution of the registered nurse. This is despite the evidence that demonstrates the impact of this practice on patient outcomes. We recognised the need to reiterate our position statement on preserving safety and preventing harm - Valuing the role of the registered nurse (2021) and a suite of resources was developed to support this position focused on registered nurse substitution.

Following on from discussions at Congress in 2023 we supported the development of a further position statement with regards to the role, and scope of practice of the Registered Nursing Associate (in England) affirming that the post is intended to support the role of the registered nurse, and, for some, to provide a bridge to nurse training, and should never be used as a substitute. For more information, see our position statement on the role and scope of practice of the Nursing Associate.

PNC remains committed to the recommendations of the Forums and Networks Review. We have worked closely with the Director of Nursing, and her Deputy, for whom this work has been a priority in 2023. Progress has been made on the way the forum steering committees can communicate with each other, and other work in progress includes updating our governance structures and training for forum steering committees. The Chair of the Forum Governance Group, and the Forum Chairs Committee remain central to this workstream and meet with PNC on a twice-yearly basis to provide updates from the forums. At the end of the year, we were delighted to receive the collated Forums Annual Report, which demonstrated the amazing work done by our professional forums over the year.

At the end of 2023 we regretfully said goodbye to five members of PNC who completed their terms of office: Siobhan Donald (Northern Ireland), Sue Haines (East Midlands), Sally Young (North West), Paul Trevatt (London) and Suzanne Davies (student member). I am very grateful for the significant contribution each one of them made to the work of the Committee, and the College. They were all valuable members of the PNC whose knowledge and expertise will be much missed. We welcome Donna Gallagher (Northern Ireland), Aquiline Chivinge (East Midlands), Dunni Akinbulumo (North West), Sonia Henry (London) and Alisha Brown, (student member) who joined the committee in January 2024.

Agenda

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Agenda

Agenda

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Our September meeting took place in London (and on-line) on Wednesday 6 September. I would like to place on record once again my thanks to our committee members. They are all busy, working nursing staff who give up their time voluntarily on behalf of the members they represent. Their contribution to the college can often go unseen, but the impact is incalculable – huge thanks to them all.

As a committee we recognised significant opportunities over the coming months to raise the professional profile of the RCN through our work programme, notably through the work on Staffing for Safe and Effective Care (SSEC), the development of the RCN Institute of Excellence, and the RCN Professional Framework. All were addressed during the meeting, and individual members provide a lead for specific workstreams on behalf of the committee.

RCN Chief Nurse Professor Nicola Ranger updated the committee on her recent trip to Montreal as part of the RCN’s delegation to ICN Congress. We will be hearing more from Nicola in our next meeting as to some of the key learning from this event. We were delighted to hear of the warm reception given to the RCN delegation, which included Deputy President Tracy Budding, and the positive impact of rejoining the global nursing community at the ICN.

As the lead committee overseeing the college’s safe staffing work, we discussed the strides other countries have made in ensuring safe nurse staffing levels, and how the RCN can use its influence to achieve similar results in the UK. We discussed the plans for this work for the remainder of the year, and in the lead up to Congress 2024, with reference to the development of the college’s policy position on ratios - maximum patients to registered nurse safety standards. Staffing levels are our members’ top priority, and the committee continues to have a laser focus on doing everything it can to drive this work forward. So much of the committee’s work plan – and the work of the wider college – is directly related to staffing issues. We look forward to an international summit on safe staffing to be hosted by the RCN towards the end of the year.

Nicola Ranger updated us on plans and progress of the new RCN Institute - its structure, ambitions, and scope. Many of our priority work areas – including safe staffing, education, learning and development, research, the professional framework, and nursing policy – will migrate to the Institute, and we continue our engagement in its development and alignment with our work programme. 

As part of our priority work on the RCN Professional Framework for Nursing, we were delighted that the definition and principles of nursing, a critical element which will underpin the framework, were ready for publication.

One of the key aims of the Professional Framework is to set out the RCN position on the levels of nursing practice. Following discussion in our August ‘Deep Dive’ session, we formally ratified the RCN definitions of enhanced, advanced, and consultant level nursing practice. We expect these definitions to be published ahead of the RCN Advanced Nurse Practitioner conference in October. They will inform the RCN contribution to the work being undertaken by the NMC on Advanced Practice. The work of the Professional Framework will include work on defining the nursing support workforce and provide clarity on supportive and assistive roles in that workforce.

We looked in detail at the supporting evidence which has been gathered to inform a revised position statement concerning the risks of substituting registered nurses with other health workers. The RCN’s original position statement was published in 2021: Valuing the role of the registered nurse The Committee considered whether publishing an updated position statement on substitution was required as we are developing the position on the ratio of patients to the registered nurse, and had recently agreed a position on the specific concerns related to the scope of practice of the Nursing Associate in England. It was agreed that the 2021 statement covered the key concerns on substitution, but that it needed to be made more easily available to members and stakeholders, and that it should be reissued with the inclusion of a selection of case studies, to help illustrate the risks of substitution of the registered nurse.

The committee went on to review the agreed position statement on the scope of practice of the Nursing Associate. This had come back to the committee in the light of developments in the other three countries of the UK, most notably in Wales since the position statement was signed off. 

Nicola Ranger outlined recent developments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in relation to the potential further development of Band 4 roles and the possible introduction of the Nursing Associate role in these countries. The Committee agreed that there was no need to amend the position statement as the points made in relation to the potential for the development of the role outside England addressed the need for the evaluation of the role as implemented in England, and the need to develop an England wide employer code. 

The Committee concluded that the position statement was clear that Nursing Associates should not be asked to carry out any duty outside their scope of practice, as defined by the NMC, and should therefore not be used as substitutes for registered nurses. The NA role should be in addition to the registered nursing workforce, not a replacement, and this was clear in the statement. It was agreed to publish the position statement agreed and signed off by both PNC and Council as soon as possible.

Finally, under any other business, the committee welcomed plans for the RCN’s first ever Nursing Support Workers Day Conference taking place on 23 November at RCN HQ.

Meeting agenda

Report to members

14 March

Meeting agenda

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Meeting agenda

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Overview

For many reasons, 2022 will be remembered as an incredibly significant year for the RCN. We held our first ever UK-wide industrial action ballot, completed far-reaching reviews into our governance and culture and raised unprecedented political and public awareness of both our college and the challenges faced by our profession.

In October, we acknowledged the publication of Bruce Carr KC’s independent review into the culture of our college, and we accepted its recommendations in full. We’re fully committed to working alongside RCN Council, the Trade Union Committee and the RCN Executive Team to achieve change.

We were delighted at the end of the year to welcome Professor Nicola Ranger as our Executive Director of Nursing and look forward to working closely with her. Huge thanks to Helen Whyley, Director for Wales, who has provided Executive Leadership to the Nursing Department, the Staffing for Safe and Effective Care Programme and the Professional Nursing Committee.

Much of the second half of 2022 was dominated by our industrial action ballot and subsequent strike action. This campaign has seen both the professional and trade union aspects of the RCN working in tandem – it has demonstrated the incontrovertible link between fair pay and safe staffing. As a senior nurse and picket supervisor so succinctly put it: “patient care is unsafe, because we don’t have enough staff, because we’re not paid enough."

Despite the organisational focus on industrial action, progress against KPIs on all areas of the committee’s workplan has been made.

Education, learning and development

RCN Learn

KPIs

  • Launch and evaluate Phase 1a of RCN Learn
  • Secure resource for Phase 2

Progress

Phase 1 of the RCN Education, Learning and Development Strategy saw the launch of RCN Learn, a single sign-on online portal for RCN and RCNi education and learning resources to be accessed from one accessible place for members, registered users, and subscribers to RCNi plus. Work on Phase 2 started at the beginning of 2023.

Research strategy

KPIs

  • Secure resource and establish an engagement programme for the RCN Institute of Nursing Excellence
  • Launch the RCN Research Strategy (2023)

Progress

Council agreed and approved the funding for the Institute of Nursing Excellence which will bring both the ELD and Research strategies together. Market research to explore funding opportunities and international comparators has been completed.

A series of virtual events has been planned with the RCN Research Society and other members to discuss and agree our vision for the RCN Research Strategy.

Staffing for safe and effective care

Nursing Workforce Standards

KPIs

  • The RCN Nursing Workforce Standards are endorsed, and adopted nationally, regionally and locally.
  • Setting-specific Nursing Workforce Standards resources are developed.

Progress

A process for the adoption and endorsement of the Standards is under development through the Staffing for Safe and Effective Care Programme.

Criminal Justice and Speciality Nursing-specific content has been developed and is now live. Other setting and country-specific content within the professional guidance section of the Nursing Workforce Standards will be reviewed and enhanced.

Professional Framework

KPIs

  • Agree an RCN definition of nursing to underpin the programme.
  • Revise the principles of nursing practice; co-create and publish an overarching UK professional framework for nursing.

Progress

Definition of nursing: An engagement and consultation process has been completed, and long and short definitions have been agreed by the committee. Once the sign-off process has been completed, these will be adopted as the college’s standard definitions of nursing.

Professional framework: Three workstreams have been established to progress aspects of this work: Professional Practice; Levels of Practice; and Career Frameworks. A draft revision of the Principles of Nursing Practice – which are based on the definition of nursing, have been informed by expert feedback and have been mapped to the NMC Code. This has been presented to the committee, and the work is continuing. Work on Levels of Practice and Career Frameworks has commenced.

Forums and networks

KPIs

  • Recommendations within the forums and networks review are implemented.

Progress

While some operational improvements have been made, other recommendations detailed in the report present challenges and will take longer to implement. We will work closely with the Director of Nursing who has identified this work as a priority for 2023. The Chair of the Forum Governance Group, and the Forum Chairs Committee will remain central to this workstream.

Policy

KPIs

  • To promote RCN policy positions and see them adopted by stakeholders
  • To develop evidence-based rationale to establish and / or support our influencing position
  • To gain increased political support (contacts, mentions, attitude and disposition shift) within political parties across the UK

Progress

Using the approach agreed with PNC in 2022, a review and analysis of the UK Government legislative programme is underway. This will result in recommendations for our lobbying approach being presented to RCN committees and Council.

Mapping work on a nursing leadership (international to bedside) position and resource is ongoing, and is aligned to the corresponding Congress workstream.

Policy analysis and solutions for nursing workforce supply, recruitment and retention in England was completed and published October 2022.

An evidence-based policy analysis and proposed solutions for retention will be published and promoted in February 2023.

Your chair and vice chair

There are 14 Professional Nursing Committee representatives across the UK. They are led by a chair and vice chair, who also serve on the committee as regional representatives.  

Rachel Hollis

Rachel Hollis FRCN

Member for Yorkshire and the Humber, January 2022 - December 2025

Rachel Hollis is Honorary Nurse Advisor for Children’s Cancer in the Leeds Children’s Hospital at the Leeds Hospitals NHS Trust. Rachel trained originally as a Registered General Nurse in London before going on to become a Registered Children’s Nurse in Leeds where she spent most of her professional working life.

Rachel is a children’s cancer nurse, and has played an active role in the development of children’s cancer nursing, and children’s cancer services, at the national level in the UK. She represented the RCN on the Guidance Development Group for NICE ‘Guidance on Improving Outcomes in Children and Young People with Cancer’ (2005). She went on to represent the RCN on the NHS England Clinical Reference Group for Children and Teenage Cancer.

Rachel is a past Chair of the former Paediatric Oncology Nurses Forum and was the first Chair of the Children and Young People’s Specialist Care Forum. She was made a Fellow of the RCN in recognition of her contribution to the nursing of children with cancer. Rachel has a particular interest in international health care and is a member of the nursing group within the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP). She is a Trustee of ‘World Child Cancer’, a charity which works to support twinning programmes and capacity building in a number of low- and middle-income countries. Rachel and the team in Leeds are actively involved in supporting a children’s cancer programme in North West Cameroon.

Rachel is also a Trustee of Young Lives vs. Cancer, the UK’s largest charity supporting the families of children with cancer, and lobbying for improved services nationally.

Outside of work Rachel enjoys travel and walking; often combining the two. She has the Yorkshire Dales and Moors on her doorstep, and travelling further afield has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro twice! 

PNC.YorksandHumber@rcn.org.uk

Colin Baker

Colin Baker

Member for South West, June 2022 - December 2025

Originally from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, Colin has been working in the NHS for over 30 years and qualified as an RMN in 1996 at the Queen Elizabeth School of Nursing, Birmingham under project 2000. He has worked in Gloucestershire since 2000 and spent 17 years as an inpatient ward manager in various services for older persons mental health. In 2015 he became the Lead Nurse for Dementia and currently still holds this role as well as Community Service manager for the counties Dementia services. 

Colin has also worked in Learning disabilities, working age mental health services, PICU, eating disorders, substance misuse, care homes and hospice care. However, the majority of his career has been in Older persons mental health and specifically dementia services working closely with Physical health and voluntary services.

He completed his Honours Degree in 1998, the Mary Seacole Leadership Award in 2016 and the Older Persons Fellowship at Kings college London in 2019. He has led on falls prevention Quality Improvement strategies for people with dementia for most of his career and has presented this work at several national and international forums. He is also a member of the British Geriatric Society.

Colin has a career long involvement in unions and has held senior staff side roles for many years within Gloucestershire. Outside of work he has four children and is a keen mountaineer, hiker and runner as well as enjoying archery, fishing and art. He also has supported the charity Wellchild as part of their mountain safety team for their annual Three Peaks Challenge for several years. 

PNC.SouthWest@rcn.org.uk

 

 

Your regional representatives

Country and regional representatives are elected by members in their country or region. 

Aquiline Chivinge

Aquiline Chivinge MBE

Member for East Midlands, January 2024 - December 2027 

Aquiline trained in Zimbabwe as a Registered General Nurse and Midwife before moving to Scotland and Australia, and settling in Nottingham in 1997. She has over 28 years of NHS experience.

Aquiline has worked on different medical and surgical wards at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust as she progressed from staff nurse to deputy sister, sister, matron, Clinical Lead post and now as Assistant Director Nursing /Midwifery and AHP –Inclusion. She holds the Honorary Professor role at University of Nottingham School of Health Sciences and is an Advisory Board Member on the Forum for Shared Governance. Listening to staff and patient voices has enabled Aquiline to collaborate, innovate and develop new pathways, some of which include local communities. This work was a contributory factor in Aquiline's receipt of an MBE in 2020, for services to patients from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Aquiline served for two terms as a member of the East Midlands Board before taking up her seat on the Professional Nursing Committee.

Aquiline is passionate about compassionate leadership and listening to our member voices ensuring that every voice is heard and concerns acted on. She believes that together we are stronger.

PNC.EastMidlands@rcn.org.uk

Alison Paterson

Alison Paterson

Member for Eastern, January 2024 - December 2027

Alison is the Lead Cancer Nurse at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust. Qualified for over 20 years she started her nursing career on a Bone marrow transplant ward moving onto intensive care and completing her Masters in Advancing Critical Care Nursing at Kings College London. More recently she has held CNS roles in Haemato-Oncology and Acute Oncology including a Lecturer-Practitioner role qualifying as an Independent Prescriber and practicing at an advanced level.  
 
Alison has been a member of Blood Cancer UK Nurses group since 2018 and a member of their Healthcare Professional Advisory Group since 2020 contributing to the APPG on Blood Cancer. She is also the Lead for the East Of England Cancer Alliance Lead Cancer Nurses Group.

PNC.Eastern@rcn.org.uk

Sonia Henry

Sonia Henry

Member for London, January 2024 - December 2027

Sonia is a Registered Nurse with over 30 years of nursing experience. Sonia has worked in women’s health and medical and surgical including primary and community healthcare. Sonia has held senior nursing roles, providing leadership and management within specific areas of clinical and quality governance. Sonia joined Royal Trinity Hospice Charity as their Director of Nursing in August 2022. She has worked on raising the profile of nursing, across educational institutions, recruitment and retention of nurses, including Return to Practice and International Nursing. Sonia recently supported the healthcare assistants to train as nursing associates into the hospice core nursing workforce. She is passionate about continually improving the representation that reflects the diversity of the nursing workforce to ensure safe staffing levels.

PNC.London@rcn.org.uk 

Tim Grace Tim Grace

Member for Northern, January 2024 - December 2027

Tim Grace works in a community mental health service as a Psychological Therapist, where he is a part of the Leadership Team. Though he is an independent prescriber, his main professional interests relate to working with people with voice-hearing experiences, service development, teaching, supervision and research. He has been involved in a number of research studies, though the most notable was working as part of a team whose study was published in The Lancet.

Tim’s clinical role involves providing highly specialist psychological interventions, including cognitive therapy and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for people troubled by their mental health. He provides clinical supervision for a range of professionals and has supervised postgraduate students on MSc university courses and postgraduate CBT courses in the Northern region.

However, the most rewarding aspect of his role is his direct clinical work; he feels very privileged to be in a position to help people whose lives have been affected by trauma and adversity, and has learned considerably from the people he has worked with. Tim also works together with people with lived experience of mental health problems in other settings, such as developing workshops, deliver training to staff, and service development. Clinical leadership is an interesting and important part of Tim’s role, as it allows him to influence patient care across services while still retaining the individual clinical work that he enjoys.

The RCN has been a part of Tim’s professional life for most of his career. Tim was lucky enough to spend 15 months on secondment with the RCN, which he reports was a valuable time which provided him with many skills and experiences to draw on in his NHS role. Being part of the RCN Professional Nursing Committee is a relatively new role, but one which he is already finding very rewarding, and in which he is looking forward to contributing to over the coming years.

When Tim is not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, and has a wide variety of interests, including travel, football (spectating), eating out and theatre. Recently he has tried his hand at growing his own fruit and vegetables, with varying degrees of success. Tim has also been learning Chinese for the past few years, though he thinks it will be many more years before he can claim to speak Chinese.

PNC.Northern@rcn.org.uk
Donna Gallagher Donna Gallagher

Member for Northern Ireland, January 2024 - December 2027

Donna has been a member of the RCN for over 20 years. She joined the RCN Professional Nursing Committee in January 2024 and also sits on the Northern Ireland Board as an ex-officio member. 

Having commenced nurse training in 1989, Donna specialised in mental health nursing, with a keen interest in the physical and mental health of older people. She moved in to further education and then higher education as a lecturer and senior lecturer at The Open University. Donna was influential in the development of The Open University’s nursing programme, working across HSC trusts and the independent sector in Northern Ireland and as part of a wider UK provision. She has also worked with the NMC as a programme reviewer.

As member of the Professional Nursing Committee, Donna hopes to influence and inform a wide range of topics and policies on behalf of RCN members and use her knowledge, skills and networks to support the work of the RCN. She continues her passion for mental health and recovery, and continues to practise as a cognitive behavioural psychotherapist, keen to support others on their life journey.

PNC.NorthernIreland@rcn.org.uk

Martha Gill 600x500 Martha Gill

Member for Scotland, January 2022 - December 2025

Martha currently works as a community island nurse in Orkney. This role covers community nursing, practice nursing and emergency care. She is a dual citizen and has lived and worked as a nurse in Scotland and Australia. Moving back to Australia after completing her nursing degree in Glasgow Caledonian University in 2010, Martha worked as a practice nurse and aged care nurse and in community palliative care. Completing a Post Graduate Certificate in General Practice Nursing from Flinders University in 2013. She was involved in union work while in Australia receiving an activism award from ANMF for her work in an enterprise bargaining agreement. 

In 2016 she moved with her husband and, then 2 year old, daughter from Canberra to Orkney to commence her current role. Since then she has been involved with the RCN as a steward sitting on her health board's area partnership forum. Martha's specific interest are in remote and rural health care delivery and service models and ensuring the voice of nursing is heard and advocated for at all times. 

PNC.Scotland@rcn.org.uk

 

Mary Codling Mary Codling

Member for South East, January 2022 - December 2025

Mary has worked in the NHS for 40 years starting in Essex where as soon as she qualified she began her nursing career in the community. Mary later moved to Berkshire where she has worked across all localities of the county in various roles from community nursing for people with learning disabilities, managing community teams, as an associate lecturer, epilepsy nurse specialist, best interest assessor, independent nurse prescriber and currently as a primary healthcare lead for learning disabilities.

During her career Mary has undertaken further studies such as a Diploma in Counselling, a first degree in community studies, a Masters in Health Science and an MPhil in research which were instrumental in further enhancing her clinical skills. Alongside this, Mary is also a reviewer for the NIHR Dissemination Centre. Over the years Mary has published a number of papers sharing some of the innovative projects that have helped in developing services. In the mid 2000’s Mary was awarded the title of Queens Nurse for her contribution to practice and continues to work with the Queens Institute on nursing topics.

The RCN has always been part of Mary’s life having first become a member in 1980 and later as a South East representative on the Quality Improvement network. Over the years Mary has been instrumental in her role within the RCN linking it with her connectivity to members in practice, working with both to promote the profession of nursing and key areas of health. Mary’s special interests are epilepsy, health promotion, family dynamics, research, communication and consultations with patients, end of life care, education and person centred care.

PNC.SouthEast@rcn.org.uk
Carolyn Middleton

Dr Carolyn Middleton MBE

Member for Wales, January 2022 - December 2025

Carolyn has worked as a nurse in NHS Wales for almost 44 years. Her career started as an Enrolled Nurse in a variety of surgical settings; after achieving her RN she worked as a pain management CNS, she has also held several senior divisional roles. The culmination of her career was being appointed as the Associate Director of Nursing at the  Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, a role that enabled her to gain wide ranging experience of working at a national level in Wales, linking closely with the CNO’s team and Health Education and Improvement Wales. Following semi-retirement Carolyn continues to work within the corporate nursing team. She has been an RCN member since the late 1970’s and has been an RCN Wales Board Member for the past year. 

Academically Carolyn achieved a first class honours degree, a masters degree in pain management and a professional doctorate in nursing from Cardiff University; Carolyn is an Independent prescriber. She has co-written and edited a clinical text book and has written over twenty practice related journal articles. Carolyn is currently a visiting professor at the University of South Wales and was awarded an MBE for services to Nursing in the Queens Birthday Honours list 2020. 

Carolyn's specific interests include medicines management and prescribing, professional development and regulation. Carolyn was a key member of the NMC revalidation work stream leading the largest UK pilot site. She has also been actively involved in the iterative processes undertaken by the NMC to review the English language and OSCE requirements for overseas nurses registering in the UK. 

PNC.Wales@rcn.org.uk

Raymond McMorrow

Raymond McMorrow FRCN

Member for West Midlands, January 2022 - December 2025

Ray commenced his nursing career as a Student in mental health branch at Goodmayes Hospital, in Ilford (then Essex) in 1978, and continued his education in learning disability at the Princess Marina Hospital, Northampton, completing that training in 1982.

He worked for two stints at St. Andrew’s Hospital Northampton between 1982-83 and 1987-89. In the interim period of 1983-87 he worked as a staff nurse in Bermuda where he became interested in the presentation of mental illness in the Black community and in relation to issues of transgenerational experiences. He brought back to the UK a commitment to culturally informed practice within hospital settings and the community. He also joined the RCN whilst in Bermuda, and retains an awareness of the importance of the organisation to its international members. During his second period at St Andrews he completed the EHB 603 course in Child Mental Health and his career in children’s nursing was commenced.

He has been a CPN in Solihull, Senior Community Nurse in Southern Derbyshire, Nurse Consultant for Community CAMHs at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Designated Nurse for Safeguarding Children at Derby CCG and the Health Advisor at the NWG response unit for Child Sexual Exploitation and trafficking. In recent times Ray has returned to his care practice as a specialist Nurse in CAMHS with Midland Partnership NHS Trust.  Ray also serves as Safeguarding Advisor to Derby Cathedral, and to Freeman Collage in Sheffield.

He has completed an MA with the Tavistock Clinic in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, has trained in a number of therapeutic approaches and currently practising Mentalization with young people at risk of suicide. Ray is particularly interested in the relationship between therapeutic approaches and new learning in neuro-development.

With the RCN he has been the Chair of the CYP Staying Healthy Forum, has ran numerous events at Congress, represented the RCN on RCPCH child protection committee, at the Independent inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation. He has advised the Academy of Royal Colleges, Royal College of Psychiatry, NHE England, Public Health England, Football Association on Safeguarding children policy. He has worked with Brook, Childrens Society, and numerous other services in developing education tools for practitioners. Ray represents RCN on the MindEd consortium. Ray was made a Fellow of the RCN in 2021.

He also received a Commendation from the Chief Police Constable of Derbyshire for his support in protecting young people.

PNC.WestMidlands@rcn.org.uk

Your nursing support and student representatives

Nursing support workers and students also have representatives, who are elected by members in these categories. 

Tracie Culpitt Tracie Culpitt

Nursing Support Worker member, January 2022 - December 2025

Tracie works in Education and Organisational development at a NHS Trust as the lead for Quality Assurance. She currently works with bands 2-4, around apprenticeship standards. She also sits on the RCN Education and Clinical Governance Forums. As the Nursing Support Worker member of the committee, Tracie is a voice for the unregistered workforce. She is an ex-officio member of the RCN UK Nursing Support Workers committee.

PNC.NursingSupportWorker@rcn.org.uk
Alisha Brown

Alisha Brown

Student member, January 2024 - December 2025

Alisha is an Adult and Mental Health Nursing student, and has been an RCN Student Ambassador since 2020. Alisha was previously the student member of the Trade Union Committee (2022-2023), and is now the student member of the Professional Nursing Committee (2024-2025). Alisha is also an ex-officio member of the Students Committee, and was elected as its Chair in January 2024.

Through social media, she has found her voice and passion for activism, using her creativity to get involved with the RCN’s campaigns. Alisha aims to empower student members to be more active within the RCN and increase member engagement. 

Alisha received the commendation for the RCN's Student Ambassador of the Year award in 2021.

PNC.Student@rcn.org.uk

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