It has been an eventful six months for the RCN, the Eastern region and me as your RCN Council member.
I wanted to share with you my reflection on RCN Congress, my recent medical mission to Gaza and how the Eastern region can be instrumental in the college’s five year plan - A New Dawn For Nursing.
Brighton was my first RCN Congress, and I thoroughly enjoyed the debates, fringe meetings and evening events. My biggest take home learning was that Eastern region members led the way in the debates (and fringe events) throughout the week. The way you supported each other, as members taking to the podium to speak, was brilliant to see. I couldn’t have been more proud of the passion and professionalism of all those who attended and I am really privileged to be your representative on RCN Council. For me, being able to visit the Eastern region seating area during each break and before and after the Congress main programme, to socialise and chat, were the highlights of each day. As a region you set the bar high in 2023 – I’m excited to see how you shine at Congress 2024.
At the beginning of June, I was part of a colorectal medical mission to Gaza – the objective for me was to begin to focus on the outcomes and quality of life of Palestinians living with a stoma by training key nurses and surgeons in the clinical skills that are the foundations of stoma care - stoma siting, management of stoma complications and follow up support.
The geopolitics of Gaza is complicated, with the area at constant risk of rocket attacks and the local population innocent bystanders to the atrocities that take place. Given the pressure of what the nurses described as "a war zone, a prison we can’t escape from", it was humbling to witness their passion to make a difference, their resilience and absolute drive to learn and improve. Stoma care and nurse specialism is in its infancy in Gaza and I have committed to bi-annual visits to support them in improving the lives of ostomates.
I am discussing with colleagues in the college how we might support these nurses and am currently writing a more detailed blog and YouTube film. The thing that resonated with me, fresh from Congress, was the importance of the nursing voice in health care politics. In the UK nursing has never had more of a voice, never been more courageous. In Gaza, courageous nurses need our support to enable them to directly influence the quality of life of patients.
Finally, after the recent ballot results, I think we all need time to draw breath and to rebalance our activities within the region. We will continue to support and drive the national focus on nursing pay and conditions but will also be able to focus on other key professional nursing workstreams which have been on hold over recent months. If you haven’t read A New Dawn For Nursing, please do have a look.
RCN Eastern members have much to offer and share to enable the college to meet its four goals, and I’m looking forward to working with you on these.
