The South West regional dinner last evening was a great opportunity for the South West delegates to get together and we enjoyed great food with lots of laughter. You can see some photos on our Facebook page.
Today we began with a discussion on 'location of care' which is so important in today’s world with the pressures on health care. We have patients waiting longer in emergency departments and there are huge challenges with the placement of mental health patients; these are just two of the many issues raised during the debate. It was great to see student members among the speakers and they spoke with such passion on these issues.
We then had a very hard-hitting emergency resolution: "That this meeting of RCN Congress calls on RCN Council to campaign for a ban on conversion therapy across all four countries of the UK." The debate on this was both powerful and extremely emotional, with many members sharing their personal perspectives and stories which touched the hearts of everyone in the hall. The emergency resolution was passed by Congress and I look forward to us tackling that issue in the coming months.
Next we heard from Michael Rosen, the famous poet who joined us virtually to talk about his experience of COVID-19 and his 47 days in ITU - for 40 of which he was unconscious and ventilated. It was emotional to hear his story and he read from his patient diary which staff kept for him while he was very unwell. He gave such a very powerful personal account, and it was so good to hear that reading his diary, and the words of the nurses who cared for him while he was unresponsive, helped him fill in the time he had no memory of. He delivered his account with great humour, but it was also extremely emotional, moving many to tears.
We then had our second keynote speaker, Gordon Brown, former prime minister and current World Health Organisation (WHO) ambassador, who gave a powerful and motivational speech in support of world health care and about the challenge we face with the shortage of nurses across the world as we emerge from the pandemic. He stated that WHO estimate that 170,000 health care workers have died to date due to the pandemic. He also highlighted the lack of access to vaccinations in other parts of the world. It was an outstanding, inspirational speech made with no autocue or notes; he delivered his messages with emotion, from the heart and then also answered lots of questions from the hall.
So much to take in for one morning. I will keep you updated as we have more debate this afternoon.
Today we began with a discussion on 'location of care' which is so important in today’s world with the pressures on health care. We have patients waiting longer in emergency departments and there are huge challenges with the placement of mental health patients; these are just two of the many issues raised during the debate. It was great to see student members among the speakers and they spoke with such passion on these issues.
We then had a very hard-hitting emergency resolution: "That this meeting of RCN Congress calls on RCN Council to campaign for a ban on conversion therapy across all four countries of the UK." The debate on this was both powerful and extremely emotional, with many members sharing their personal perspectives and stories which touched the hearts of everyone in the hall. The emergency resolution was passed by Congress and I look forward to us tackling that issue in the coming months.
Next we heard from Michael Rosen, the famous poet who joined us virtually to talk about his experience of COVID-19 and his 47 days in ITU - for 40 of which he was unconscious and ventilated. It was emotional to hear his story and he read from his patient diary which staff kept for him while he was very unwell. He gave such a very powerful personal account, and it was so good to hear that reading his diary, and the words of the nurses who cared for him while he was unresponsive, helped him fill in the time he had no memory of. He delivered his account with great humour, but it was also extremely emotional, moving many to tears.
We then had our second keynote speaker, Gordon Brown, former prime minister and current World Health Organisation (WHO) ambassador, who gave a powerful and motivational speech in support of world health care and about the challenge we face with the shortage of nurses across the world as we emerge from the pandemic. He stated that WHO estimate that 170,000 health care workers have died to date due to the pandemic. He also highlighted the lack of access to vaccinations in other parts of the world. It was an outstanding, inspirational speech made with no autocue or notes; he delivered his messages with emotion, from the heart and then also answered lots of questions from the hall.
So much to take in for one morning. I will keep you updated as we have more debate this afternoon.
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