Photo: Members of the RCN UK Health and Safety Representative committee celebrating the award at the recent RCN Joint Reps Conference in Leeds.

In September, along with three other RCN health and safety reps, I had the opportunity to attend the National Hazards Conference at Keele University.

The annual conference, organised by the Greater Manchester Hazards Campaign and other health and safety groups, is open to all unions regardless of affiliations and seeks to bring together trade union reps to provide an opportunity to learn about current health and safety issues, and share success in tackling issues

Some of the conference sessions covered health and safety issues not typically linked with the healthcare sector such as the risk of Silicosis to workers cutting manufactured stone and marble kitchen worktops or the health and safety impacts of the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

However there were other aspects like responding to the challenges of working in extreme weather events, the health risks from poorly maintained estate and older buildings which contain hazardous materials like asbestos, which helped provide an interesting perspective on the common challenges faced by workers across different sectors and working environments.

There were also areas where the is a direct link to issues facing workers in the health care sector such as the physical and psychological impacts of violence and sexual harassment in the workplace.

The biggest issues facing every sector remains work related stress. A member of the RCN’s Health Safety and Wellbeing team was an invited speaker at the main plenary session on this topic and within their presentation emphasised that stress should be treated as a collective issue rather than an individual one.

They also pointed out that high stress levels among healthcare workers are not being adequately addressed by employers, concluding that there is a need for trade unions to organise around this issue, together with building an evidence base to pressure employers and for the workplace safety regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), to be proactive and take enforcement action on stress-related issues.

One surprise and a particular highlight of the conference for me was being part of the delegation who were asked to accept an award on behalf of the RCN in recognition of our work on ending corridor care.

It was a proud moment for me and our delegation to see the efforts of RCN members, activists and staff recognised on a national stage, particularly for campaigning against practices that compromise both patient dignity and staff safety and wellbeing.

The “Certificate of Excellence” award was presented to the RCN in recognition of the Corridor Care campaign and how members, activists and RCN staff worked together to achieve changes and improvements for both workers and patient safety.

The campaign started from members raising concerns with reps. The RCN acted on these concerns by running a UK wide survey on corridor care in 2024 which received over 11,000 responses and shone a light on the true scale of the issues facing patients and staff. The survey results were used to support the development of specific health and safety resources to help reps raise and tackle the issue locally with employers

Overall, my experience of the Hazards Conference was energising, providing a space to reflect on the progress already made, and highlighting areas where more focus is needed. As I reflected further on the conference, I was mindful that some of the pressures facing healthcare workers are unique, so perhaps having them more strongly represented at future conferences, might also enrich the wider discussions on safety, dignity, and worker rights.

I left Keele feeling proud and emboldened.

Proud of what we as members have achieved, motivated to continue pushing for safer, fairer, and more supportive workplaces across healthcare and beyond.

Emboldened by the knowledge that we have a proven set of skills and activists to tackle the challenges we face in the sector.

If you are interested in becoming active on health and safety issues for the RCN you can find out more by visiting Become an RCN Rep

The RCN Ending Corridor Care campaign resources and guidance can be found here