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December 2015
In this edition you will find: A look back at 2015 News about student bursaries and why we need them to stay How to stay in touch with us by using Facebook and Twitter
Sarah Dodsworth, Regional Director for Yorkshire and the Humber takes a seasonal look back at 2015 and the challenges that nursing has faced as well as celebrating our achievements.
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It’s been a busy year for all of us with nurses and nursing never far from headlines.
Our profession is complex and often misunderstood by the general public which is why we are really keen to hear and share your stories about nursing through our ‘Nursing Counts’ campaign. If you tell us about your daily routine or about the reasons that you have chosen to work in your field we can use what you have told us to highlight the amazing support and care that you give every day from cradle to grave. We believe that the more we share our real-life stories of how hard-working and dedicated most nurses are, then the stronger our case for better pay and conditions in the workplace will be.
In recent days we’ve heard that student nurses are to lose their bursaries and we’ve been campaigning to highlight the fact that this could put many future nurses off even applying to train – just at a time when we need as many new Registered Nurses as possible to keep our health services afloat. This will be a key RCN message in 2016, particularly as the Government will now debate the issue on 11 January following a massive swell of public support via an online petition.
Government cuts have continued to impact on employers’ abilities to attract and retain health care staff and we have seen reports across the Yorkshire and the Humber region of high spending on agency staff especially at York Teaching Hospitals. A new cap on the amount that each trust can spend on temporary staff may help to alleviate this problem, but we would really also like to see greater efforts to bring in new nurses as well as a better pay deal and stronger forward planning instead of the short-sighted cuts to budgets that are strangling our publicly-funded health services.
Next year will be the RCN’s Centenary, there is now a photo competition running nationally to celebrate this and it would be fabulous to see some entries from Yorkshire and the Humber, so whether you’re a budding photographer or just want to have a go then do take a look and get involved.
Here in the regional office we’re trying out new ways of communicating with you and so you can now keep up to date with us and get in touch using Twitter or Facebook as well as still being able to email if you have any queries or suggestions.
Members who have a more urgent or personal issue should continue to call RCN Direct on 0345 7726100. Phone lines will stay open over the holiday period from 8.30am to 8.30pm.
I know that many of you will be working over the festive period, whatever you are doing I wish you all the best for the holiday season and the coming New Year.
Let’s get social
If you are a Twitter user then why not follow us @RCNYorksHumber ? You can keep up to date with all the latest news and events as well as say hello and pass on your news to us.
If you are thinking about setting up a Twitter account then the RCN has produced a handy guide to getting started, available to download from the website (as a pdf).
You can also ‘like’ our new Facebook page, which is used for sharing information about events and important regional news.
Remember that when using any form of social media for personal or professional use, your posts and comments may be seen by external parties, so the RCN always advises you to refer to your employers’ policy on social media use and never post anything that you wouldn’t say out loud or show to your manager!
Celebrate our Centenary with pictures
Enter our photography competition and you could win £1000 and meet our celebrity judges – as well as see your photo on display in our Centenary exhibition.
To help celebrate the RCN’s Centenary year in 2016 we’re asking for pictures that capture the theme ‘Care on Camera’. In association with the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), the competition aims to capture the innovation and diversity of the modern day nursing profession.
Open to everyone, the RCN is asking you to record nursing life as it happens in its many settings and communities.
Winners will be chosen by an expert judging panel to include TV and theatre actress Tamzin Outhwaite, star of Eastenders, Hotel Babylon and most recently New Tricks.
There are two categories to the competition and the public will get to vote for their favourite nursing image in the ‘People’s Choice’ category.
Winners will be announced at the annual RCN Congress in June 2016 with the fifty shortlisted entries then going on to form a touring exhibition, travelling through schools, libraries, and various health settings around the UK.
To find out more or enter, please visit http://www.rcn100photo.org.uk/ Calling Bradford students – join your local nursing society
Vice President of the University of Bradford’s Nursing Society Vanessa Shaw tells us why it’s great to get involved in their group.
“The Nursing Society at Bradford University is a valuable support network for nursing students.
“Our photo shows Secretary (Fallon Scaife), Vice President (Vanessa Shaw) and President (Ashley Whittaker), this was taken at the University Freshers Fair stall in Sep 2015.
“We are sponsored by 24/7 Nursing Agency. As well as events and clinical skills sessions, we offer advice to students and share our knowledge.
“We also run formal meetings every month to address all member feedback and suggestions.
“You can become a member for only £5 a year and all the events we run are free.
“Our events Coordinator Saima Patankar has events arranged for members next year including an interactive session on dementia in the New Year and several social events. We are also setting up travel for students so they can visit the Glasgow RCN Congress in June.
“As Vice President of the society I feel that every university should have a nursing society, which supports students in various ways and gives them the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities and well as their studies. We offer this opportunity via our coffee mornings, clinical skills activities and peer support sessions.” (Vanessa Shaw)
“As secretary of the society I feel that studying for a healthcare degree is very different to other degrees and we wanted to offer more than other societies as they generally offer opportunities to socialise that do not fit in around placements and assignments.” (Fallon Scaife)
“One of our clinical skills sessions with the secretary and the events coordinator, these are very popular with all students. This one was IM injections and aseptic techniques.
You can get in touch with us via Twitter (@ubunursing) or Facebook (Bradford Nursing Society), we’d love to hear from you.”
Help the RCN Library by taking their survey
The RCN Library and Archive Service team need your help.
They are currently trying to get feedback about their current services from nurses, HCAs and the public through a simple survey. They want as much input/feedback as they can get, to ensure they continue developing the service in ways that are useful to members and the wider community.
Take the survey and you could be in with a chance to win an iPad. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RCNLibraryUserSurveyDec2015
Professional guidance from the RCN
The RCN regularly produces publications outlining the latest advice, guidance and research relevant to nursing. These are available on our website and are free to download from www.rcn.org.uk/publications .
Here is an example of our most recent publications (all pdf documents):
Supporting the delivery of immunisation education: a quality framework to support the implementation of national standards and guidelines on immunisation training An effective immunisation service depends on staff being suitably skilled and qualified. This publication builds on national guidance for immunisation training and recommends the standardisation of immunisation training for all nursing staff. A separate Immunisation knowledge and skills competence assessment tool (005 336) is available to support staff and to help managers assess competence and knowledge.
Get the WOW factor with RCN Xtra
RCN Xtra now offers a wider range of deals and savings than ever before. Go online, log on and find out more.
Health Care Support Worker Event
Tuesday 12th January 2016 1330 hours – 1630 hours
The Royal Hallamshire Hospital Seminar Room 4 Medical Education Department
Come along to find out more about how the RCN can support you.
Come any time between 1.30 and 4.30 to meet RCN staff and hear short presentations on:
13:30 Record keeping 14:30 Accountability 15:30 First Steps for HCAs (the RCN’s online learning resource for HCAs)
There will be examples of our RCN resources on show for you and an opportunity to meet staff and RCN reps including your regional officers and the RCN professional lead for HCAs and APs.
Bring your colleagues along and just have a chat, listen to a talk and look at our resources for HCAs and APs.
We’d love to meet you.
If you require further details please contact: [email protected]
This is a round-up of recent media stories of interest, please note that links are active at the time of writing, but may expire.
Regional Director Sarah Dodsworth was interviewed by BBC Look North about proposed cuts to public health budgets. The link is no longer available but in the interview Sarah highlighted the potential long-term cost to the NHS of cuts to public health services.
Telegraph and Argus reported on figures showing that physical and verbal assaults on NHS staff in Bradford have increased. Sarah Dodsworth was quoted saying: “The level of assaults against staff seems to be a barometer for the enormous pressures that many NHS trusts are facing.
Yorkshire Post reported on recruitment and retention issues across NHS Trusts in the region with emphasis on overseas recruitment. Sarah Dodsworth was quoted with regard to a lack of planning for the longer term.
The Regional office sent a quote to York Press from Regional Director Sarah Dodsworth about pressures on the NHS contributing to a shortage of beds at York Hospital.
Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals was mentioned in the Daily Telegraph in an article about bed shortages.
The Sheffield Star wrote a piece about how extra cash would be spent to help ward of a Winter crisis across health services in the area.
If you know of something that you think ought to be in the next newsletter then please get in touch with the regional communications team to discuss by emailing [email protected] and mark your email for the attention of Kevin Terry or Sally Cooper.
Go to the Yorkshire and the Humber events pages for more events. All members are welcome to attend their local branch meetings and you can check which branch you belong to here.
5 Jan 2016, Humber branch meeting Val Waterhouse Centre, 41-43 Kent Street, Grimsby, DN32 7DH
5 Jan 2016, Leeds branch meeting Room 015, Bexley Wing, Level 7, St James’ Hospital, Leeds, 4-6pm
12 Jan 2016, First Steps learning event Seminar room 4, Medical Education Department, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield S10 2JF
2 Feb 2016, North Yorkshire branch meeting Board room, York Hospital, 7pm
10-11 March 2016, UK Joint Representatives’ Conference This event is open to accredited RCN represnetatives and you will need to apply for a place, further details are online https://www.rcn.org.uk/news-and- events/events/joint-reps-spring-2016
Do let us know if there are any events coming up that might be of interest to RCN members in the Yorkshire and the Humber region. Send your information to [email protected] and mark it for the attention of Kevin Terry or Sally Cooper.
Insurance deals for RCN members