24 | Nursing in Practice | Summer 2023
RCN CONGRESS 2023
‘ General practice nurses deserve their pay looked at with those in the NHS ’
Nursing staff across the UK came together at this year ’ s RCN Congress to discuss and debate key issues facing the profession and the people they serve . Wiliam Hunter and Megan Ford report on the most burning topics raised at the event
Pay and support
The conference heard fresh calls for a greater focus on pay for general practice nurses ( GPNs ). RCN members said the college had been unable to ‘ grasp the nettle ’ around the pay of GPNs , who felt excluded from its ongoing pay campaign , which is focused on NHS staff .
Jason Warriner of the RCN Public Health Forum spoke about a ‘ false expectation ’ that the NHS pay award would ‘ automatically transfer ’ to GPNs . Delegates heard some GPNs had a pay rise of just 1 % this year , with concerns also raised about discrepancies in maternity and sick pay .
RCN members also used the annual congress to focus on the stark impact of rising living costs on the wider profession . Some nurses were ‘ living from hand to mouth ’ and had even been forced to leave their jobs for better paid roles elsewhere , the conference heard .
During a media briefing at the event , RCN chief executive and general secretary Pat Cullen was pressed by Nursing in Practice on what the college was doing to support GPNs with their pay and workplace challenges . Ms Cullen insisted that GPNs were ‘ the gatekeepers of health and social care ’, adding : ‘ They deserve their pay to be looked at , alongside those within the NHS .’
She claimed the RCN had ‘ started some work on this within the college ’ and pledged to continue to do so .
A motion demanding ‘ minimum standards for employment terms and conditions for all nursing workforce ’ was passed by the conference .
Suicide prevention
Delegates discussed the need for urgent action on suicide within the profession , calling for a suicide prevention programme for the UK nursing workforce . Nurses shared tragic stories of colleagues who had died by suicide . RCN Education Forum member Ally Middleton described how her best friend , a fellow nurse , died by suicide . ‘ It is important that we support our nurses ,’ she said . ‘ Support us to act and to help as much as possible with this terrible epidemic .’
Meanwhile , Chantel Rose , a mental health nurse of 25 years , said her job was ‘ getting harder ’ and ‘ more distressing ’. ‘ Sadly , I have more fellow nurses on my caseload than ever in my entire life ,’ she said .
A resolution calling on RCN Council to ‘ lobby for the implementation of an evidence-based , integrated suicide prevention programme for the nursing workforce across the UK ’ was overwhelmingly passed . Putting forward the resolution , Ruth Bailey , an ANP from East Sussex , said the college had to ‘ act now to prevent further death by suicide in nursing and midwifery ’.
General practice nurses are the gatekeepers of health and social care Pat Cullen
I ’ ve waited 32 years to have a conversation about racism in an organisation that would accept it Sheilabye Sobrany
Women ’ s health issues
A lack of workplace support for women ’ s health issues is driving nurses out of the profession , congress heard . RCN members voted to push RCN Council to ‘ lobby employers to ensure that female employees are supported with specific women ’ s health and wellbeing needs ’, such as menopause , menstruation , fertility care and pregnancy . RCN Women ’ s Health Forum chair Katharine Gale described her experiences of endometriosis and fertility treatment and said the menopause had forced her to walk out of her job .
She called for leadership from the college on the issue , saying it should ‘ role model what support should be available for healthcare organisations ’.
Dionne Daniel from the RCN ’ s History of Nursing Forum explained the impact of endometriosis : ‘ For most of my working life as a nurse , it was dreadful .
‘ Right now in this room , there are women going through things that can destroy their career . So , we need to have an important discussion .’
Racism and LGBTQ + hate crimes
Nursing staff at the conference voted for action to ensure the RCN is an anti-racist organisation , and shared shocking experiences of racism in the workplace . RCN members also drew attention to concerns about racism in the college itself , as highlighted by the damning findings of the Carr Review – an independent investigation into the culture at the RCN published last October .
During the discussion , RCN president Sheilabye Sobrany said she had ‘ waited 32 years to have this conversation in an organisation that would accept it ’. As an Asian woman born and brought up in the UK , she had seen firsthand the devastating impacts of racism , she said . Ms Sobrany said that , during her training , she had seen family and friends who had ‘ died from racism ’.
‘ The experiences of racism killed them ,’ she said . ‘ The bullying [ and ] the harassment caused such physical and psychological stress that they died from strokes or ended up in hospital ill .’
Nurses also gave stark and moving accounts about the ongoing challenges and hate crimes faced by patients and colleagues in LGBTQ + communities .
One recalled a patient who repeatedly refused to be treated by a transitioning colleague , while another spoke of a friend being prohibited from wearing a dress as a student nurse while transitioning . Members passed a resolution calling for action to ensure nurses are better able to support victims of LGBTQ + hate crimes . How can we be more inclusive for transgender patients ? Page 32