I had the greatest honour of representing the RCN at HM The Queen’s funeral on 19 September. The service was incredibly moving, and so very sad, but also brought together so many people from across the country and the wider nations to pay their respects.
The Queen was our patron since 1953, and during that time she met with a huge number of nursing staff showing great interest and understanding of the value that nursing brings.
She always took the time to listen to the nurses she met. They felt she understood what they did and how important their role was.
I walked back from the service alongside members of the public who lined the streets and were part of this very sad and historic event. Many stopped me to ask who I was, and when I said I was representing the Royal College of Nursing I was overwhelmed with messages of support for nursing. Many people gave examples of where they had received excellent care and asked me to pass on my thanks to the nursing profession. Reflecting on these moments shows the immense value and affection the public hold for nursing.
We have opened books of condolence at RCN HQ, and in our offices in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh. There is an online book of condolence too, and the many messages from nurses across the UK show the great affection they felt for Her Majesty. They are very moving to read, please continue to add your messages.
At the RCN, work continues – not just on our campaigns for safe staffing levels and fair pay, but across a whole range of areas that you’ve told us are important. Work that will make a long-term difference to the profession and to our patients.
Our Royal Charter commitment to advance the education and training of the profession continues. Our new RCN Learn platform brings together learning resources from across the RCN group making it much easier for you to find and use professional development material relevant to your work.
Our Professional Framework Programme will undertake a revision of both the ‘definition of nursing’ and the ‘principles of nursing practice’ and will encompass levels of practice, and a new RCN career and competency framework.
We want to ensure that our Nursing Workforce Standards are embedded everywhere that nursing is delivered. They set a benchmark of excellence for employers to attain, outlining what is needed to ensure services are properly staffed, safety is prioritised, and that we as nursing professionals are supported to deliver the very best for our patients.
The PNC and our Trade Union Committee are also working on the related issues of scope of practice and job evaluation, to give both practitioners and patients the confidence that safety, competence and recognition are central to the delivery of care.
And as mandated by RCN Congress this year, we continue to lobby legislators to protect the title of ‘nurse’. At present, although the title ‘registered nurse’ is protected, anybody can call themselves a ‘nurse’, even those who have never undertaken any training in nursing or who have been removed from the NMC register. This campaign is about giving the profession the dignity and recognition it deserves and protecting patients from rogue practice.
The sad events of this month touched us all in some way, grief affects us all where we too remember the death of those close to us, please take care of yourselves and of each other.
Thank you for all that you do.
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