After being voted onto the Board last year, I was delighted to attend my first face to face meeting as Board Chair in February.

The day is split into two sections – a confidential and open session. In the confidential section a range of information was reviewed by Board members and questions asked by the Board to the regional staff. This reflects the accountability function that the Board has as part of its governance role. 

It was great to welcome several members to the open part of the meeting who were able to ask questions of the Board. The Board shared the success of the Board development days held for the South East branch executives, discussed the refresh of the link roles for Board members to branches, the support for the ongoing work to promote corridor care and support to members and the concern about the reduction in applications for student nurse training, as well some universities reducing lecturer posts.

One of the most important parts of the day was for the Board to review the Congress voting member applications from South East branches I’m delighted to say the majority were approved. Successful applicants will be informed and a branch event will be held nearer the date to confirm the responsibilities of attending as a voting member. 

Debates make up the core of Congress and I made a submission on behalf of the RCN Oxfordshire branch, for a matter for discussion, titled Redefining engagement: building a truly member-led RCN for 2025 and beyond. The item progressed to the final trawl but was not selected by the Agenda Committee as work is underway as part of the Governance and Culture review. The Congress Agenda is now online and there is still time to sign up to attend. If you can’t go in person, you can view Congress online.

I am looking forward to working with our Board members as we approach the next Board meeting in June. If you’d like to attend the open session – please contact jackie,brooker@rcn.org.uk for more information.