• Providing professional representation: Advocating for our members at a strategic level to ensure effective representation.
• Ensuring the nursing voice is heard: Making certain that nursing perspectives are considered in all relevant professional forums.
• Collaborating with organisations: Partnering with other entities to develop comprehensive policies and guidance.
• Organising study events: Facilitating educational events to disseminate best practices.
• Networking opportunities: Offering chances to connect with other critical care and flight nurses.
  
   

• Critical Care and Flight Nursing Forum Annual Report 2025 

We collaborate closely with Suman Shrestha, the Professional Lead for Acute, Emergency, and Critical Care at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). Suman plays a pivotal role in aligning the forum's objectives with the broader administration and strategic goals of the RCN. Additionally, he serves as a liaison between the CCFN forum and various critical care nursing associations, keeping us informed about their projects and priorities, thereby facilitating opportunities for collaborative efforts.

Our primary focus within the forum is to engage with our members and understand their needs, ensuring that our events and initiatives remain pertinent and beneficial.

Our current active projects are:

• Definition of critical care nursing. The forum is working on the definition of critical care nursing. This will be an academic piece of work which will provide updated definition.
• RCN Flight Nursing Conference is themed ‘Across Borders. Flight Nursing in an Unpredictable World’ was successfully held on the 7th March 2026 at RCN London HQ. This is an annual flight nursing conference.
• RCN Acute Care Symposium 2026 From recognition to response. Managing the deteriorating patient is being held on the 8th July 2026at RCN London HQ.
• E-learning resource for critical care nurses. The forum has been working on developing e-learning platform under RCN Learn with aim to complete in 2026.
• Unlocking Job evaluation system. We held series of webinar in 2025 to promote RCN Job evaluation scheme to critical care nurses particularly those who have completed ICU course with significant clinical experience and still working as Band 5 due to lack of Band 6 positions in the units. The webinar was opened by RCN President Bejoy Sebastian who provided insight into the process. We continue to work with the wider RCN team advocating from critical care and flight nurses on Pathway to Progression: band 5-6 career progression for nursing.
• Flight Networking meeting with industry leaders. We will continue to engage with the flight nursing industry leaders by hosting this network to promote and develop flight nursing as a specialty.
• We continue to collaborate with other critical care organisations and part of the UK Critical Care Nursing Alliance. We have contributed to these recent publications: Critical Care Nursing Workforce Optimisation Plan and Staffing Standards 2024-2027 (PDF) and Guideline for the Provision of Intensive Care Services Version 3.0.

• Production of a suite of podcasts discussing the impact of COVID-19 on repatriation work
• Production of webinars providing guidance on professional indemnity for flight nurses, and medical escort safety
• A selection of blogs from forum members
• Provided career advice for prospective flight nurses
• The ever popular RCN flight nursing study day was held in October 2020

The RCN and its forums are invited to participate in many cross working and multidisciplinary workstreams. Below are a selection of some of the activities that members of the Critical Care and Flight Nursing Forum are involved in on your behalf.

• Critical Care Leadership Forum. This forum is hosted by the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine and all the UK organisations related to critical care are members. We meet every three months to share and discuss matters related to critical care. Get it Right First Time (GIRFT) for critical care was one of the projects that was discussed and reviewed at this forum.
• UK Critical Care Nursing Alliance (UKCCNA). This is the alliance of all critical care nursing organisations in the UK. The aim is to work collaboratively on matters related to critical care nursing. The UKCCNA website contains a wealth of guidance, news and position statements.
• National Emergency Critical Care Committee. Hosted by the Intensive Care Society, the aim is to work collaboratively with all critical care organisations on matters related to critical care.
• NHS England Acute Deterioration Board. Its purpose is to ensure alignment between programmes of work being carried out by various national and regional healthcare organisations to improve the prevention, identification and rapid action in response to acute physical deterioration.