Collaborating, campaigning, caring

Dame Donna’s address

Reflecting on how challenging the last seven months have been for the nursing profession, RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary Dame Donna Kinnair opened the first online event by leading a minute’s silence to remember health care colleagues who sadly lost their lives to COVID-19.

Dame Donna thanked reps for their incredible efforts to support members during the pandemic, telling them: “The intelligence you gave to us and the support you gave to fellow members was outstanding and I’m very proud of what you did.”

Dame Donna’s speech touched on some of the work the RCN has been doing to influence governments and employers since the outbreak of COVID-19. As well as negotiating improvements to protect members’ pay, terms and conditions, the RCN has been calling on employers to do more to protect nursing staff who are more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19, including nursing staff from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities (BAME).

Dame Donna said: “The health and care workforce is perhaps uniquely diverse. We are a rich tapestry of nationalities and cultures. And as people began to lose their lives, it became very visible that BAME communities were losing a disproportionate number.

“At the very height of the first phase, I joined a call with hundreds of BAME nurses. They raised concerns about their treatment, experience and the science. We led the calls on employers to commit to implementing individual risk assessments and redeployment of staff. And I am proud we were the lead developer of joint union principles for carrying out such risk assessments.”

Reassuring reps that the work would continue, Dame Donna added: “As we learn more about the second intense phase of the pandemic, we will be maintaining the pressure on the politicians and employers on these issues and new ones as you raise them.”

‘No medals, badges or claps this time – just pay nursing staff fairly’

Turning reps’ attention to the RCN’s recently launched pay campaign, Dame Donna said that although public support for nursing staff had been incredible and heartening this year, politicians had let nursing staff down after the first phase of the pandemic. 

Dame Donna said: “Back in the summer, we asked Boris Johnson to start talking to us about a fair pay rise coming out of the pandemic. And do you know what he said? Absolutely nothing. Not even the courtesy of a reply, from the prime minister, to 14 health unions asking him to bring forward pay discussions.

“Before they get any ideas, I have something simple to say to Boris Johnson about this time round. We don’t want claps, or medals or pin badges – this time, just pay us fairly for the tough job we do.”

Dame Donna told reps that earlier that day, the RCN had published its formal submission to the UK government’s anticipated Comprehensive Spending Review in November. 

The document sets out the moral, political and economic case for a 12.5% pay increase for NHS nursing staff and outlines what effective nurse staffing levels do for patient outcomes, and the dangers when they fall too low. It says we must have, in law, accountability for provision of the nursing workforce – not just in some countries of the UK, but all – with a plan based on true population need.

It also calls for students across the UK to be financially supported to study nursing – abolishing university tuition fees in England and commissioning additional places.

Dame Donna told reps that the 12.5% pay demand is the first step in a long-term campaign to achieve fair pay for all nursing staff in all settings across all countries of the UK.

Posing the question of why nursing is treated so unfairly, Dame Donna said: “It’s down to this idea that nursing is a vocation. That it’s women’s work. This is so damaging and disrespectful. It allows our wages to be suppressed and our working conditions to be downgraded. It undermines our professional identity. It disrespects our fundamental contribution to socio-economic progress.

“Gendered notions of nursing fail to match the reality of a complex profession defined by technical, emotional and cognitive skills of the highest level. We are a safety-critical profession. But ultimately, this is about political decision-makers looking at what we already do and choosing to value it fairly.

“In this dreadful year, we are shattering those perceptions day after day. Confronting people with the realities and complexities of modern nursing.”

It is when we feel we aren’t being treated fairly that we must use our collective strength

Concluding her speech, Dame Donna contemplated what has been learnt from the historic strike action members took in Northern Ireland at the beginning of the year.

Dame Donna said: “As accredited reps, you will know the struggles members face every single day in both their working and personal lives. It is when we feel we aren’t being treated fairly that we must use our collective strength.

“We’ve learnt so much from our work in Northern Ireland. Lessons on how we support and empower each other to lead change, and the power of standing together for a common purpose. 

“This kind of organising – and the unique power and potential of member-to-member conversations – working together in our workplaces to name the things that stand in the way of progress, to set the agenda for action, is precisely what I have in mind. And you, as reps, are at the heart of this.”

Day two of RCNReps2020 gave reps the opportunity to attend our annual John Goodlad Memorial lecture, usually held at RCN Congress.

This year, the event focused on mental health and wellbeing with Dr Gail Kinman from Birkbeck University sharing the key findings and recommendations from a joint report published by the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) and the RCN Foundation titled The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Nurses and Midwives in the United Kingdom.

Key findings from the report include the below.

• Nursing staff and midwives in the UK are at considerable risk of work-related stress, burnout and mental health problems.
• Overall, nursing staff and midwives are engaged in the work they do and motivated to make a positive difference to the lives of patients, striving hard to ensure that any stress they may experience themselves does not adversely affect their patients.
• Individual factors are generally less important for wellbeing than work factors.
• Satisfaction with demands, control, support and role clarity is lower in nursing than in other professional groups in the UK – high admin demands, emotional labour and moral distress were identified as factors.
• Nursing staff and midwives are at high risk of harassment and bullying with BAME staff at greater risk, and work-life balance is generally poor – for example, longer shifts constrain rest and recovery and nursing staff may be under financial pressures.

The report also identifies short staffing as a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed in order to support the mental health and wellbeing of nursing staff.

The report was published earlier this year and in her talk Dr Kinman acknowledged that a lot of the issues identified, such as work-related stress and burnout, are likely to have become more prevalent due to the exceptional pressure nursing staff are experiencing during the pandemic.

Denise said: “Working full time on the frontline and supporting members was a challenge. I was determined to advocate for nursing welfare, terms and conditions and signposting whilst worried about my own family. Time was a precious commodity.”

Hilary said: “Not always being able to meet members face to face was challenging. Human contact is important. I’ve supported members on the phone having never met them but being able to maintain contact with members has been a priority.”

Phil said: “I managed to negotiate revised HR processes to fairly reduce their impact on staff during the pandemic. For example, automatic renewal of a sickness caution instead of a final hearing and potential dismissal.”