Congress 2008 report
This year, all TB Nurses Forum committee members attended RCN Congress at Bournemouth and participated in numerous resolutions and matters for discussion. Committee member Stacey Farrow writes.
The resolutions are the core business of Congress, and influence the RCN's work for the year ahead. One of the more heated debates was around the 'end of rule 12?', the 'no strike rule'. This provoked many opinions - in the end, 95.25 per cent of Congress voted that the process should start to amend the current rule.
Dignity takes central stage
A highlight of Congress was the keynote address from RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary Dr Peter Carter. The main content of his speech focused on dignity for patients and nurse alike. He urged all members to be "champions of patient dignity" but also said nurses should be treated with dignity in the workplace, in terms of both pay, and in protection from violent and abusive behaviour from patients. Dr Carter also stated that nurses were "drowning in a sea" of paperwork and called for nurses to have access to administrative support. He received a standing ovation as he stepped down from the podium.
The TB Nurses Forum, once again, held a fringe event and were lucky to have Alistor Storey, Project Lead, to talk about the Department of Health's Find and Treat project. This two-year pan-London health and social care project works alongside the mobile x-ray unit and frontline services to improve the care of hard-to-reach groups. The presentation lead to some interesting questions and statements from the audience around the difficulties faced by many TB nurses, across the country, in regards to hard-to-reach patients.
Congress is also an excellent opportunity to mix with nurses and health care professionals from all disciplines. If any of you are interested in attending Congress in May 2009 at Harrogate, it is highly recommended. We hope to see you there!