I’m sure like me, your thoughts are with nursing staff working in hospitals in the Ukraine and all that they are doing to care for the sick and wounded in that terrible war. It is perhaps timely that the RCN has now re-joined the International Council of Nurses (ICN). We live in a global community and it’s important that we take part; sharing our skills and knowledge as well as learning from others.
As your RCN Council member, it continues to be a very busy time and with so much going on I have Council meetings most weeks, sometimes several a week. The governance review has been completed and will be published soon. The NHS pay process is underway and our aim to get a meaningful pay rise for nursing staff is a challenge not to be underestimated. We also want to ensure that the equality and diversity agenda remains embedded in all we do, and we have the RCN’s yearly plan to approve.
There is no doubt that our members are suffering from the cost-of-living crisis. Utility bills up over 54%, fuel prices are rocketing, council tax is up, and inflation is at almost 7%. This is why we have to fight for a pay rise commensurate with the rise in the cost of living. We are asking for ‘inflation plus 5%’. We believe our member deserve this at the very least and we are prepared to stand alone, if need be, to get it. We are seeing a large increase in our membership, now at almost 500,000 and there really is strength in numbers so we must stand together for change.
I am delighted that we in the RCN are at last able to move away from virtual working to more face-to-face meetings. Our beautiful headquarters building in Cavendish Square in London is open for business and members are welcome to visit the library including the current exhibition Who Cares? A History of Emotions in Nursing. I am very excited that RCN Congress will be a full in-person event for the first time in over two years and I look forward to meeting our members in Scotland in June for that.
All this and none of us are forgetting that COVID-19 is still very much with us, continuing to cause huge pressures across all sectors of health care, compounded by the pressures to reduce waiting lists. Our members are exhausted, and we need to ensure we care for ourselves in order to care for others.
I am immensely proud to represent the South West in the RCN; I cannot thank you all enough for what you do every day for people who need care, and I wish you all a happy and safe Easter.
Geoffrey H Walker