Matter for Discussion: Member power

CHANGED to Resolution: That this meeting of RCN Congress calls on RCN Council to fully commit to building on and strengthening the undeniable power of the membership voice and further increase their influence and positive public opinion.

This resolution passed.

Regardless of which political party is in power, government decisions and health policies affect all areas of nursing.

The RCN’s industrial action has seen nursing staff become increasingly aware that political decision making, and decisions enacted by governments, impact not only their lives, but the care, health outcomes and overall wellbeing of the communities and patients they serve. They have also seen the power collective campaigning has at a local level with their own employers.

During the RCN’s pay campaigns and subsequent strike action, many nurses have articulated not only their straitened financial circumstances after 12 years of pay restraint, but also the policy failures and inaction which have led to unsafe staffing levels, a lack of resources and poor service levels.

But what is the best route to influence for change? Are health ministers and political leaders the only ones who are worth engaging with? Should members meet with their MS, MSP, or MLA, or speak to their Westminster MP? What is the role of a constituency MP and how much influence can they have? What about a member’s regional mayor or local council?

There are an average of around 800 RCN members per Westminster constituency. Working collectively, a group of that size can be an influential voice for change.

And as the largest workforce in health care, nursing can lobby for change at a workplace level too – our members have recently made real improvements to working conditions at their own workplaces.

In Scotland, political pressure from RCN members has secured a ministerial led Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce, which will include a programme of engagement with the current and future nursing workforce.

Providing an opportunity for members to influence political decision makers and shape the nursing workforce of the future, the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce will recommend a series of actions to address the current staffing crisis by supporting the retention and development of existing nursing staff and encouraging more people to consider a career in nursing.

In Wales, political pressure from RCN members secured the first nurse staffing levels legislation in the UK in 2016 and an extension of Section 25B of the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016 to paediatric wards in 2021. An RCN Wales parliamentary petition in 2022 received over 10,000 signatures and secured a debate in the Welsh parliament on the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016.

Recently, members in Wales have also secured a ministerial commitment to publishing nursing vacancy data and a commitment to publish a nursing retention plan by April 2023.

To improve political campaigning, engagement and participation, the RCN should formulate strategies that help members become more politically astute, and enable them to effectively hold employers, decision makers and legislators accountable for policies which affect nursing staff.

Reading list for this debate available at rcn.libguides.com/congress2023.

References

Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce