Represent, inspire and empower

I’m a few weeks into my role as President of the Royal College of Nursing, and I can say, hand on heart, that I’ve never been prouder of my profession as I see how dignified and determined you are to continue the fight for fair pay. I promise to continue supporting you during the difficult times, and I also look forward to celebrating the highs with you. My role is to represent, inspire and empower through my voice as you continue your nursing journey.

However, what none of us could have anticipated is the path we’ve trodden as a profession and as a Royal College. You continued to care for your patients through the COVID-19 pandemic with dedication and commitment while experiencing your own grief, and now we attend to picket lines to fight for fair pay and patient safety.

In March, members in England will strike around the clock for 48 hours, with more of you than ever before being asked to withdraw your labour. I stand with Pat Cullen and agree with her that it is only with increased pressure that we’ll force politicians to act. Please visit the RCN strike hub for all the information you need to know as you prepare to join our biggest strike yet.

You are invited to an online meeting with Pat Cullen on Tuesday 21 Feb, 6.30pm to hear more about this next step. Please know that I recognise your courage in standing up for our profession and I urge you to continue supporting one another as we walk this path together.

I have been a nurse for over for 30 years, working in different clinical settings for both the NHS and the independent sector, and in academia. I am passionate about safe, effective patient care, championing nurses and nursing. As a registered nurse and an RCN member I have seen the highs and lows of the profession.

As your President, one of the things I am looking forward to most is meeting you. Some of our paths have already crossed already on picket lines in England; thank you for your dedication, your time, and your passion. I’m planning to visit as much of the UK as I can - towns, cities, rural and coastal areas, across all employers and sectors. I am looking forward to meeting you and hearing what you have to say.

My key priorities as President are to help secure a fair pay rise for you; protect the title of Nurse; reduce economic, social and psychological pressures on nursing staff post-pandemic; and reduce racism, misogyny, bullying, harassment and discrimination of health care workers. Another commitment is to build the Royal College of Nursing into an even stronger college and union.

I will advocate for equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging in the workplace and strive to improve the protection and safeguarding of all nurses.

It’s with a heavy heart that I watch the horrific aftermath of the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, and my thoughts are with our colleagues who are helping with the recovery operation. It was with admiration that I witnessed nursing staff safeguarding babies in incubators as the tremors hit. Our nursing colleagues in the region have a huge task ahead of them, and it will take great strength, fortitude, and character to manage – but these are three things nursing staff across the globe have in abundance. Your courage and dedication never go unnoticed. Nursing really does showcase the very best of people.

I’m excited to meet many of you at Congress in May, and I encourage you to book your place as soon as possible. Together at Congress in Brighton, there will be educational sessions, debates, networking opportunities and events to support you professionally and personally. It is a chance for you to set the direction ahead for your profession and your college.

Alongside our fight for fair pay, our work to support members in delivering safe and effective care to patients will continue. Upholding patient safety is, after all, the aim of our profession. I will always be 100 percent behind you.

The RCN’s five-year plan will soon be launched, and I am excited to see the shoots of growth emerge from the foundations we lay. I know from my recent tour of RCN HQ it is steeped in an exciting history that reveals a strong relationship with professionalism and trade unionism. The RCN was designed to support these two pillars for our nursing workforce. I see positive movement and plans to restore the college to what it is meant to be in relation to supporting our members and the staff.

I am committed to ensuring the delivery of the work needed following the Carr review into the culture of the RCN as part of the transformation plan. Although the challenges are there, I am relying on our member’s voices to support this work moving forward. We can only do this together when we are united as a professional and trade union college, but also with your feedback on the change in culture.