Nursing Matters Royal College of Nursing

This special edition of Nursing Matters focuses on our brilliant nursing support workers across the UK, to recognise their invaluable contribution as the RCN celebrates its annual Nursing Support Workers’ Day. We’re talking about the critical roles they play, how they deserve better recognition, and why this vital but often neglected element of the nursing workforce should get the best education and training opportunities for career development. 
Our special guests are Tara Johnson, a healthcare assistant working with children and young people at Torbay Hospital, and Richard Griffin, Professor of Healthcare Management at King’s College, London.


“I have a thing, every time I go to work, which is as long as I make one person smile on my shift, I've done my job.” Tara Johnson, Healthcare Assistant working with children and young people


“The amount of skills and training and support I've got to get to where I am now and the amount I've achieved with that support is absolutely incredible.” Tara Johnson


“Workforces that reflect their local populations have better health outcomes, and also tend to be more diverse as well.” Richard Griffin, Professor of healthcare management at King's College London


“I hope that support workers everywhere feel not only that their employers and colleagues value them but the NHS as a whole values them.” 

 
Nursing Matters is presented by PNC chair Rachel Hollis PNC Member for Wales Carolyn Middleton.. We want know what YOU want us to discuss on the podcast. Let us know by tweeting @theRCN with the tag #NursingMatters
Presented by Rachel Hollis and Carolyn Middleton. Audio production by Alex Rees. Assistant producer Kasia Tomasiewicz. Music: ‘Snappy’ by Jonathan Boyle under licence from premiumbeat.com. Nursing Matters is a Podmasters Production for the RCN.
 
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October is Black History Month, an opportunity for the RCN to spotlight the contributions of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic nurses across the profession. Dr. Ann Mitchell is a practitioner, educator and researcher in mental health nursing. She talks about her work: challenging stereotypes, stigma and the racism faced by both service users and those who care for them – highlighting the importance of transcultural care, and equal opportunities. 

Nursing Matters is presented by PNC chair Rachel Hollis and committee member for the West Midlands Ray McMorrow. Tell us what YOU want us to discuss on the podcast by tweeting @theRCN with the tag #NursingMatters



“Human rights are an important part of mental health care.” - Ann Mitchell



‘’I'm an action researcher…, and I believe if you collaborate in your work together, you can gain so much more’’. Ann Mitchell



“Institutional racism, which is part of a systemic racism… can act as that barrier to promotion.” - Ann Mitchell


‘’We want to have change, we want to be valued, we want to be given our true worth for the work that we're doing’’. – Ann Mitchell


Presented by Rachel Hollis. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Music: 'Snappy’  by Jonathan Boyle under licence from premiumbeat.com. Nursing Matters is a Podmasters Production for the RCN.
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The nursing workforce in crisis – this week’s Nursing Matters hears from Professor Alison Leary, a Fellow of the RCN whose areas of expertise include health care and workforce modelling, and patient safety.
 
Why is the nursing workforce in such a precarious position? How could this crisis be solved? As RCN members are asked to vote for strike action, why is nursing pay pivotal to the health, safety and wellbeing of the nursing profession, and the UK population?
 

“We have a perfect storm now of pay restraint and an exhausted workforce that can't put his head above the parapet to even think about anything, an ageing workforce, and really poor working conditions…pay is one of the issues certainly.”

I get messages from nurses pretty much every day, telling me they're the only registered nurse on for a ward for 32 patients with maybe a nursing associate and some support workers, or very commonly, they have 15 patients in an acute medical or surgical setting. All the evidence tells us that that's unsafe.”

“The voice of nursing is the voice of the vulnerable, it’s the voice of patients. It is the voice of social justice. And without that voice, I really would fear what would happen to society in the future, particularly the people in society that can't speak for themselves.”

 
Nursing Matters is presented by PNC chair Rachel Hollis and PNC committee member Carolyn Middleton. Tell us what YOU want us to discuss on the podcast by tweeting @theRCN with the tag #NursingMatters 
 
Presented by Rachel Hollis. Audio production by Alex Rees. Producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Music: 'Snappy’ by Jonathan Boyle under licence from premiumbeat.com. Nursing Matters is a Podmasters Production for the RCN. 

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The nursing profession has a long history of activism and of advocating for change. This episode of Nursing Matters hears from Professor Dame Anne Marie Rafferty, past RCN President, Professor of Nursing Policy and noted historian. Anne Marie introduces her top nursing heroines, makes the case for industrial action to effect positive change and discusses the links between pay and patient safety.
“Nurses are absolutely crucial in driving access to care, you know, quality and patient outcomes…you can't run a system on goodwill everlastingly.”
“There are times when you have to respond. You just feel in your heart as well as your head. That it's a kind of make-or-break moment. And we've all got to pull together and move forward in lockstep with each other.”
‘’It's not just a battle for patient safety. It's not just a battle for staffing levels. It's also a battle for the survival and the sustainability of the profession’’.
Nursing Matters is presented by PNC chair Rachel Hollis. Tell us what YOU want us to discuss on the podcast by tweeting @theRCN with the tag #NursingMatters
Presented by Rachel Hollis. Audio production by Alex Rees. Producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Music: 'Snappy’ by Jonathan Boyle under licence from premiumbeat.com. Nursing Matters is a Podmasters Production for the RCN.
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As the RCN prepares to ballot members on industrial strike action, we talk to one nurse from Northern Ireland who knows exactly how it feels to join a picket line. 
In 2019, Edna Grant took part in the first ever strike by RCN members which resulted in pay parity and a commitment to safe staffing legislation for the nursing profession in Northern Ireland. 
Edna shares how she made the decision to go on strike, how derogation worked and how patient safety remained paramount. She also offers insight into how she feels now, with industrial action once again on the horizon.   

“I think what we learned was, in order to bring about change, we have to be that voice, and we have to be united. There is strength in numbers, we know that.”   

“We had a plan, we could prioritise our patients, we could ensure that there was somebody out there while bringing the rest of the girls to the picket line, which is where they wanted to be and what they had voted to do.” 

“There was just a constant flow of food or warm drinks of people, cars driving past…people stopping and coming out to speak to us or tooting the horn on the way past, it was absolutely unbelievable. To see the amount of support that the public gave us on the picket lines... they knew what we were trying to do was to benefit them." 


Nursing Matters is presented by PNC chair Rachel Hollis and PNC committee members. Tell us what YOU want us to discuss on the podcast by tweeting @theRCN with the tag #NursingMatters 
Presented by Rachel Hollis. Audio production by Alex Rees. Producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Music: 'Snappy’ by Jonathan Boyle under licence from premiumbeat.com.
Nursing Matters is a Podmasters Production for the RCN. 
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With the announcement of the NHS pay awards, we’re looking at the state of pay in nursing. Are UK governments doing enough to recruit and retain the nursing staff our profession, and most importantly our patients, really need?  
And just how likely is it that nurses will take industrial action? Special guests
Ben Zaranko, senior research economist from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and Denise Kelly,
Chair of the RCN Trade Union Committee join us to talk pay, safe staffing, and strike action. 
Nursing Matters is presented by PNC chair Rachel Hollis and PNC committee member Paul Trevatt. Tell us what YOU want us to discuss on the podcast by tweeting @theRCN with the tag #NursingMatters 
·        
Fair pay for nursing is about creating a society where nursing is truly valued by paying them a salary that reflects their
level of education, training and skills.’’  – Denise Kelly 

·        
"Arguments about the appropriate level of pay should be framed in terms of these issues about recruitment and retention,
and making sure that we do have the right level of nurses and other NHS and public sector workers in the right places at the right time to provide the services that we all want to see.’’
Ben Zaranko 

·        
‘’We need to make nursing the profession of choice that's comparable with other graduate professions.’’ –
Denise Kelly 

·        
"Providing funding for the NHS might be fairly low down on the (new prime minister’s) shopping list….that will be a political
choice." - Ben Zaranko 

·        
 

Presented by Rachel Hollis. Audio production by Alex Rees. Producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Music: 'Snappy’ by Jonathan Boyle under licence from premiumbeat.com. Nursing Matters is a Podmasters Production for the RCN. 
 
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