Michael and I were kindly invited by Abram Mosiya from the Berkshire Branch to meet the team at Broadmoor Hospital – it was a fascinating day and brilliantly organised by the team.
We were greeted with coffee, biscuits and an informal chat with several reps from across the county as well as reps from Broadmoor Hospital. The branch chair Liam Reville and branch secretary Abram along with Jacqui Carr, the RCN senior regional officer, shared their insights.
We had a lively and interactive meeting, including discussions about Congress and the issues that were presented and debated. It was encouraging to hear from the recently recruited local reps about their experiences and the mutual support provided by colleagues.
There was an in-depth discussion led by Jacqui about the imminent Band 5 job evaluations.
The meeting discussed the great attendance at the last branch event and began making positive suggestions for how they can build on this.
Michael and I shared information from the SE Board meeting and encouraged people to think about standing for roles in future elections for the Board.
It was a positive meeting and a huge achievement for the Berkshire team considering the branch was threatened with closure last year due to a lack of branch leadership and engagement.
Following the meeting Jacqui, Michael and I were taken on a visit to the hospital. This transpired to be an amazing experience. Our visit had been pre-arranged as a visitor, and we followed the security process. As we entered the hospital our fingerprints were taken, we had to present identification and our photos were taken. We were not allowed to take phones or bags into the hospital and went through airport style security, before security guards gave us a physical search. Nursing staff must undertake these security checks before they attend work everyday and the time it takes is not included in their pay.
Following the security checks, we were escorted to a meeting room where we met the director of nursing and senior nursing staff. They were very welcoming and very supportive of the RCN’s involvement in the hospital. They explained the structure of the hospital and the care that the patients received in the different areas of the hospital.
The level of security throughout our visit was extremely high. We were always accompanied by several nurses and the director of nursing; all doors were locked throughout our passage through the hospital.
We were shown a rehabilitation ward in the newest part of the hospital, which was opened in 2019. Due to a recent incident, we could not go on the ward but could view the ward from the nurses’ office, through large windows. The ward was organised into specific areas, the television area, the relaxing area, a pool table etc. Patients were in all these areas and have their own rooms. We were shown an isolation room and an interview room and talked about the strict security protocols that were activated when patients were accompanied to these areas.
Following this ward visit we were shown a ward in the older part of the hospital. This part of the hospital was 20 years old. We were shown a rehabilitation ward where the senior nurse was bright and friendly, and appeared to have a good relationship with the patients. A patient who was also the ward rep showed us around the ward, into the kitchen, his room, the relaxation area, the exercise bike in an area that had a huge window that looked out on a stunning view.
We were shown the buildings that contained the sports facilities and the building that housed the art therapies and other therapies. The hospital has a shop and a GP surgery.
Our visit concluded after a navigation back through security and collection of our property from the lockers provided.
We said fond goodbyes to the Berkshire branch team who looked after us so well all day.
We appreciated the time to hear about the local issues, and we both felt they were making positive efforts to build relationships within the branch. We also both left the hospital site feeling very impressed by the hard work and the caring attitude we had observed throughout the hospital by the whole nursing team.
We were greeted with coffee, biscuits and an informal chat with several reps from across the county as well as reps from Broadmoor Hospital. The branch chair Liam Reville and branch secretary Abram along with Jacqui Carr, the RCN senior regional officer, shared their insights.
We had a lively and interactive meeting, including discussions about Congress and the issues that were presented and debated. It was encouraging to hear from the recently recruited local reps about their experiences and the mutual support provided by colleagues.
There was an in-depth discussion led by Jacqui about the imminent Band 5 job evaluations.
The meeting discussed the great attendance at the last branch event and began making positive suggestions for how they can build on this.
Michael and I shared information from the SE Board meeting and encouraged people to think about standing for roles in future elections for the Board.
It was a positive meeting and a huge achievement for the Berkshire team considering the branch was threatened with closure last year due to a lack of branch leadership and engagement.
Following the meeting Jacqui, Michael and I were taken on a visit to the hospital. This transpired to be an amazing experience. Our visit had been pre-arranged as a visitor, and we followed the security process. As we entered the hospital our fingerprints were taken, we had to present identification and our photos were taken. We were not allowed to take phones or bags into the hospital and went through airport style security, before security guards gave us a physical search. Nursing staff must undertake these security checks before they attend work everyday and the time it takes is not included in their pay.
Following the security checks, we were escorted to a meeting room where we met the director of nursing and senior nursing staff. They were very welcoming and very supportive of the RCN’s involvement in the hospital. They explained the structure of the hospital and the care that the patients received in the different areas of the hospital.
The level of security throughout our visit was extremely high. We were always accompanied by several nurses and the director of nursing; all doors were locked throughout our passage through the hospital.
We were shown a rehabilitation ward in the newest part of the hospital, which was opened in 2019. Due to a recent incident, we could not go on the ward but could view the ward from the nurses’ office, through large windows. The ward was organised into specific areas, the television area, the relaxing area, a pool table etc. Patients were in all these areas and have their own rooms. We were shown an isolation room and an interview room and talked about the strict security protocols that were activated when patients were accompanied to these areas.
Following this ward visit we were shown a ward in the older part of the hospital. This part of the hospital was 20 years old. We were shown a rehabilitation ward where the senior nurse was bright and friendly, and appeared to have a good relationship with the patients. A patient who was also the ward rep showed us around the ward, into the kitchen, his room, the relaxation area, the exercise bike in an area that had a huge window that looked out on a stunning view.
We were shown the buildings that contained the sports facilities and the building that housed the art therapies and other therapies. The hospital has a shop and a GP surgery.
Our visit concluded after a navigation back through security and collection of our property from the lockers provided.
We said fond goodbyes to the Berkshire branch team who looked after us so well all day.
We appreciated the time to hear about the local issues, and we both felt they were making positive efforts to build relationships within the branch. We also both left the hospital site feeling very impressed by the hard work and the caring attitude we had observed throughout the hospital by the whole nursing team.
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