In January our new board members took their seats and I have been working closely with our new RCN Council member for the South West region, Ashleigh Taylor, and our new South West Board Chair, Cathy Ellingford, to support all the governance functions to ensure that our work is focusing on the needs of members and we had a great development day, for Board and branch executive members in January to start this process.
We continue to grow our representative numbers, and it has been fantastic to see many new faces at our in-person CL&D events for reps. I look forward with anticipation to see what the new virtual additions to our CL&D offer will bring. We are fast tracking members in ICBs who wish to become reps and support colleagues through this challenging time, and I have been working closely with national colleagues on this work. We have many members who may be impacted in the recent announcements about the dissolving of NHS England and cuts to budgets for ICBs and we are putting a programme of support in place for them.
In January you will have seen our report On the Frontline of the UK's Corridor Care Crisis, which highlighted the impact of nursing teams having to provide care in inappropriate environments. I am so proud that reps in our region have been at the forefront of this work. The report was the latest action from a matter for discussion which was put to RCN Congress in 2023 by the Gloucestershire branch. Our Steward at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Matthew Stewart, has been heavily involved in the national work since standing up and presenting the item for discussion at Congress and when we published the report, Matthew spoke out in the media about the moral injury nursing staff experience when having to provide care in this way.
The list of work ongoing is huge. Our recently published student report highlights fundamental problems in the current nursing student offer and more work will be in train to tackle this. We continue to support GPNs to secure recognition of their value from their employers as well as applying pressure nationally to have their value renumerated fairly.
My team and I endeavour to ensure the best support possible to all of our reps and activists. Our branches are doing a huge amount to support members locally and many of our branch meetings this year have been exceptionally well run and well supported which is great to see.
With so much change taking place across the health economy in the region I have also been busy connecting with senior nurses in the NHS and in other sectors offering support to ensure that the voice of nursing is being heard at top tables across the region and beyond.
I am really looking forward to attending RCN Congress in Liverpool next month as your director. It is a great event, and I am always very proud of the contribution that South West members make to debates and ultimately the work of the RCN. I look forward to meeting many of you there.
Susan
We continue to grow our representative numbers, and it has been fantastic to see many new faces at our in-person CL&D events for reps. I look forward with anticipation to see what the new virtual additions to our CL&D offer will bring. We are fast tracking members in ICBs who wish to become reps and support colleagues through this challenging time, and I have been working closely with national colleagues on this work. We have many members who may be impacted in the recent announcements about the dissolving of NHS England and cuts to budgets for ICBs and we are putting a programme of support in place for them.
In January you will have seen our report On the Frontline of the UK's Corridor Care Crisis, which highlighted the impact of nursing teams having to provide care in inappropriate environments. I am so proud that reps in our region have been at the forefront of this work. The report was the latest action from a matter for discussion which was put to RCN Congress in 2023 by the Gloucestershire branch. Our Steward at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Matthew Stewart, has been heavily involved in the national work since standing up and presenting the item for discussion at Congress and when we published the report, Matthew spoke out in the media about the moral injury nursing staff experience when having to provide care in this way.
The list of work ongoing is huge. Our recently published student report highlights fundamental problems in the current nursing student offer and more work will be in train to tackle this. We continue to support GPNs to secure recognition of their value from their employers as well as applying pressure nationally to have their value renumerated fairly.
My team and I endeavour to ensure the best support possible to all of our reps and activists. Our branches are doing a huge amount to support members locally and many of our branch meetings this year have been exceptionally well run and well supported which is great to see.
With so much change taking place across the health economy in the region I have also been busy connecting with senior nurses in the NHS and in other sectors offering support to ensure that the voice of nursing is being heard at top tables across the region and beyond.
I am really looking forward to attending RCN Congress in Liverpool next month as your director. It is a great event, and I am always very proud of the contribution that South West members make to debates and ultimately the work of the RCN. I look forward to meeting many of you there.
Susan
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