Congress is coming
Published: 20 February 2013
Since Congress 2012 in Harrogate, the RCN Older People’s Forum committee has been contributing to work streams in which we were identified as key stakeholders. This includes the agenda item Too much at risk, which originally focused on loss of specialist services for children but which was amended on the Congress floor to encompass all vulnerable groups including older people. The RCN document resulting from this work is currently going into production for imminent publication.
The forum has also been continuing our work and networks created from our 2012 Congress event on the current and future challenges in care homes. (See our spring letter from the Chair).
For Congress 2013 we have two lunchtime events planned, both of which link to the 2013 Older People’s Forum strategy.
- On Tuesday our seminar will offer a continuation from our event last year, celebrating the skill and value of nursing in care homes and how nursing influences outcomes for older people. We will publish further details on our webpages soon.
- Our Wednesday lunchtime event focuses on restraint and looking at best practice and guidance relating to the rights, risks and responsibilities of all involved. Our keynote speaker and facilitator will be Jane Buswell, Chair of the British Geriatrics Society specialist nurse and senior practitioner group. Jane has been leading thinking and clinical development around the concept of “clinical holding” in situations where a person needs treatment to be administered but they are unable to cooperate in this.
Why not come along to our events, meet our committee members, share your experiences and discuss the issues you face in your everyday practice?
This year we are planning a major presence in the main hall debates. We have had three items accepted onto the agenda and our committee member Sue Edwards has been particularly instrumental in bringing these items to fruition.
Older People’s Forum Congress agenda items
- Item 5: Alcohol advice and support services: resolution that the RCN calls on UK governments and local authorities to protect and promote referral and access to alcohol advice and support services.
- Item 18: An alternative approach: matter for discussion on the role of the nurse in alternative and complementary therapies.
- Item 25: A risk worth taking? resolution that Congress supports the need for clear guidance for nurses who facilitate a positive risk-taking culture when planning and delivering care.
We are currently negotiating with RCN officers and other members to clarify the details of these presentations and, of course, our members will be actively contributing older people’s nursing perspectives to the main hall debate.
We look forward to meeting with other forum members, sharing our experiences with each other and celebrating our skills and knowledge as members of the nursing family passionate and committed to high quality care for older people.
If you would like to find out more about the activities of the Older People’s Forum in the run up to Congress 2013, drop us an email to contact@olderpeoplesforum.co.uk or visit the RCN Congress 2013 webpages.