Welcome to my second blog as your Eastern region representative on the Professional Nursing Committee (PNC). I have been in this role since January 2023 and have just been re-elected to continue for the next four years. Many thanks to those of you who voted for me.
It is an exciting and busy time to be part of the PNC. The RCN's safe staffing summit was held in December. Attending this event, I found it inspiring, but also disappointing. There are so many years of evidence showing how vital safe staffing is to patient outcomes. This has sadly been continually ignored by successive governments and policy-makers.
The expert speakers included Howard Catton, CEO of the International Council of Nurses, who told us 57% of nurses and doctors perceive their workplace to be unsafe. He said we now talk about “recruitment and retention”, but we should change this to “retention, retention, retention and recruitment”.
Professor Jane Ball, Professor of Nursing Workforce and Policy at Southampton University, confirmed that the right staffing levels are critical. She explained: “When registered nurses are caring for more than eight patients this is a level that should be treated as a red flag, because at that level some care is almost always missed.”
RCN Chief Nurse, Professor Nicola Ranger, said she believed the profession was under threat due to the lack of nursing staff. She appealed to us all to take action to call for safe staffing levels.
If you would like to learn more and get involved please visit the RCN's campaign for safe staffing.
You can watch the highlights of the RCN safe staffing summit highlights here.
In March, I joined RCN Eastern’s Regional Director, Teresa Budrey, at a follow-up event. It was great to meet registered nurses from across the region who are the workforce leads for their trusts.
The PNC are working to update and strengthen the nursing workforce standards, which have already been used successfully by staff in all settings to improve their nursing establishments. You can read more about the PNC's work here.
In addition to my PNC role, I have been selected and appointed as the PNC representative on the new RCN Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
The purpose of this committee is to provide advice, leadership and oversight to the development, implementation and delivery of the RCN Group’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. This work is so vital to the future of the RCN.
The RCN Congress is taking place in Newport, Wales, in June and I’m looking forward to meeting many of you there. There is sure to be lively debate and lots of learning opportunities. If you haven't registered already, there is still time to register to attend Congress.
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