Garritt Brown is a senior staff nurse and Infection Prevention and Control Lead at Princess Alice Hospice in Esher, where he’s been an RCN steward since autumn 2023. 

Covering an area of 600 square miles and employing around 80 full-time, part-time and bank nursing staff, the Hospice provides care for up to 1,000 people at any one time. Their range of services includes hospice at home, wellbeing, night response, and carer and bereavement support, alongside in-patient palliative care. 

When I first became an RCN steward, we hadn’t had representation at the Hospice for some time. I felt it was a real gap, so that’s why I decided to take it on. From the beginning, I wanted to set up a forum where nursing staff have a safe and confidential space to raise their worries or concerns and we can work together to find potential solutions.

Together Everyone Achieves More (TEAM) held its first meeting last year. Now we meet quarterly and afterwards, whatever is discussed, I raise with the relevant managers, feeding back what’s happened to the next meeting. Issues can be wide-ranging, but include topics such as staffing and workload. One issue was around the Hospice’s Wellbeing Week, where some in-patient staff were disappointed they couldn’t take part in events because of work pressures, so we’re trying to hold them at different times. 

There have been lots of positive results, but high among them is staff saying they feel they’re being listened to. At our last forum, one long-standing staff member said thank you for giving them a voice. I’ve always been very honest, reminding everyone that while some things can be resolved speedily, for others there are no quick fixes and they’re likely to take longer. In practice, I will often say if someone isn’t happy with something, how do they suggest we change it? I encourage them all to think of positive ways we can make improvements. 

Sometimes it can be difficult for managers to hear criticisms or incidences where staff are unhappy, but it’s vital there’s a place where these kinds of issues can be raised, so we can discuss them and try to find a resolution, before they escalate into much bigger concerns. If we can tackle things at an early stage, it can often prevent a grievance being raised further down the line.  

Managers have been very supportive of my RCN role, giving me one day each month to carry out my duties, alongside supporting my training and attendance at different RCN events. I’m very interested in becoming more involved in the RCN’s work around diversity, equality, anti-racism, inclusion and bullying, and this is something that chimes with the Hospice’s own values and culture.  

Over the last year, I’ve been able to raise the profile of the RCN too, recruiting some new members and explaining how the organisation can help them. This includes signposting to some of our excellent free services and resources, highlighting how the RCN can make a real difference to nursing staff’s working lives. Sometimes there can be a perception that the RCN’s focus is on NHS staff, but I hope my work demonstrates a solid commitment to those of us who work in the independent sector, too.