Congress 2007 - Wednesday's highlights
Campaign launched for better patient nutrition
The RCN launched a new campaign at Congress to improve patient nutrition in hospitals and the community.
The launch of the campaign, Nutrition Now, came as a new RCN survey revealed 42 per cent of nurses don't have enough time to spend on nutrition and 46 per cent of hospital nurses say there are not enough staff to help patients eat and drink.
The RCN’s President, Maura Buchanan, launched the campaign yesterday, saying:
“Nurses know how important nutrition is. They want to make it a priority – but they can’t.
“Our Nutrition Now campaign will arm nurses of all levels with the tools, the information and the evidence they need to side-step the obstacles that stand in the way of high quality nutritional care,” she added. Read more on this story
For more information about the RCN Nutrition Now campaign, visit www.rcn.org.uk/nutritionnow.
Leading from the ground
The RCN is already thinking about its manifesto in order to put the voice of nursing high on the political agenda for the next general election, which could be held as soon as 2008.Kathleen Mc Court, RCN Council member for Yorkshire and Humber Region and Chair of the Public Policy Committee, led the event which gave members the opportunity to hear about the RCN’s plans for the next general election.
Alison Cairns, RCN Head of Government and Parliamentary Relations, said that the RCN wants to encourage more members to become politically active. The South West were given as an example of a region who are politically energised, with an active Political Influencing Committee. Read more on this storyFocussing on Malawi
Malawi is a small country, and one of the 12 poorest countries in the world. There are just 560 registered nurses in Malawi to care for a population of 12 million. Every week one Malawian nurse dies from AIDS and the future for their children can be bleak.
In Malawi, nurses discuss similar issues to those we talk about at Congress – but on a very different scale. In Malawi nurses’ pay is just £90 a month but it’s taxed at UK levels. There is no holiday pay, no paid sick leave, and no pension. Each nurse cares for 80-100 patients, all of whom are very sick At work there is no protective clothing such as gloves or goggles.
At the Malawi partnership event, Ann Thompson and Geoff Earl, from RCN Scotland, described the RCN’s work with the Norwegian Nurses’ Association and the National Organisation of Nurses in Malawi (NONM), to help NONM develop as a trade union. Read more on this story