I am Donna Sue-Wright, the RCN Convener at Oxford University Hospitals, I have been an RCN Steward since 2013. As the Convener, I have 18.5hr per week to work on behalf of RCN members.

Here's a typical day at work for me:

9:00am - I open the inbox to see what’s new. There may be a new referral from the regional office which generally I will accept. Most of the time I hold between 8-15 cases at any time and try to make capacity for new cases where possible. As a local rep I am able to give clear advice on local policy and have a good relationship with HR to attempt to resolve member problems.

10:00am - Policy committee: I have the opportunity to comment on new and updated HR policies. I read the policies the week before and make notes to raise to the authors and I will argue when a policy point isn’t in our favour or would be of detriment to members. This is a great opportunity to affect change early and make a difference before it becomes policy.

11:00am - Health and safety meeting with senior members of the health and safety team to discuss an issue a member has raised to me. It's about a risk at work that they had reported to estates but hasn’t been acted on - they are worried about the safety to themselves as well as patients. We discuss the matter and the team agree this needs expediting and arrange for this to be completed by the end of the week.

12:00pm - Lunch: time to move away from the computer. With a lot of my meetings now happening via Teams, I need a break away from the screens. I’ll often listen to a podcast to switch off and not think about work.

12:30pm - Initial member phone call - this is a first phone call with a member with a new case. I establish the issue and what has happened, we identify what is happening next or how we will move forward, and we discuss if there is any element of discrimination and, if so, any specific acts that may indicate a legal referral. We agree a plan for next steps and I update our case management system to reflect our conversation.

1:30pm - Member hearing: I support a member at their hearing. Generally we have around 2 weeks to prepare for a hearing and they can be face to face or via Teams. The management will send a copy of the hearing pack to the member and they will forward it to us. I will read it over the course of the 2 weeks. There are usually at least 20 appendices which have evidence. I usually read this at least twice - first read for content and further reads for comments and questions.

As part of the preparations I will call the member to ask questions about the evidence and gain their perspective of the situation. I will ask them to prepare a reflection of the incident and make them aware of what it likely to happen at the hearing. Hearings can take up to 3 hours and there may not be an outcome at the end of the meeting. They can be very stressful for the member as often their jobs are on the line. My role is to support and advocate for the member where possible and ensure the process is completed fairly and in line with policy.

Today we have had a good outcome an the member received a first written warning. The work we did leading up to the hearing paid off and we were able to demonstrate flaws in the evidence and with a good reflection demonstrating remorse where there was guilt. The chair felt there was only a need for a first written warning with lasts 12 months on the member's record. Our member is delighted with this outcome and so am I.

3:30pm - I review my emails again and check for new cases or case updates. I read a new consultation to prepare for the consultation committee I have tomorrow, I give advice to members who have emailed me for a one-off query or I read the new policy or prep for my next hearing. If there are urgent phone calls to make to members I will try to do them here or I will try to book a call for the following day.

5:00pm - I shut the computer down and switch off for the evening.