20 new deputies will 'champion' nurses' calls for action

Thursday 15 October 2020

More than half of the newly-elected deputies have signed up to become 'nursing champions', and the RCN is hoping a change in government will elevate local nurses' concerns to the top of the agenda.

After months of back and forth with Policy & Resources, local nurses looked set to strike this year. But when covid hit, those plans had to change to avoid putting patients at risk.

Now, the Royal College of Nursing is asking for support from the incoming States Assembly, which it hopes will bring change.

"In the run up to the election we held two successful hustings events where we were able to correct some of the misconceptions about nursing pay," said the Chair of the Guernsey branch of the RCN, Steve Mundy. "We had 56 candidates sign up to become nursing champions, 20 of which are now elected deputies."

Pictured: The RCN held two hustings events for election candidates.

The elected RCN nursing champions are:

Sue Aldwell
Chris Blin
Yvonne Burford
Tina Bury
Andy Cameron
Andrea Dudley-Owen
Peter Ferbrache
John Gollop
Neil Inder
Marc Leadbeater
David Mahoney
Aidan Matthews
Carl Meerveld
Victoria Oliver
Charles Parkinson
Rob Prow
Lester Queripel
Lindsay de Sausmarez
Heidi Soulsby
Andrew Taylor

Pictured: The RCN would also like to discuss why Guernsey doesn't have a Chief Nurse.

"All deputies should know that our door is always open for discussion and we especially look forward to working closely with nursing champions to ensure that the voice of nursing is heard at the top of the table," Mr Mundy added. "We are cautiously optimistic that the new deputies, especially our nursing champions, will stand firm by their commitment to us.

"Our members are keen to resolve the nursing pay issue and we are asking for a clear timetable and firm commitment to address the pay parity gap as soon as the Policy & Resources committee is established."

P&R has suggested a number of pay offers over the past year, but they have all been rejected by nursing unions.

But "fair pay" isn't the only issue the RCN would like to address in the next political term.

"Alongside pay, we are looking forward to being able to fully and frankly discuss the role of a Chief Nurse and why Guernsey doesn't have one, as well as looking at ways to future-proof nursing on the island through ongoing nurse education and establishing a healthcare regulation framework," continued Mr Mundy.

"None of these are easy tasks, we appreciate that, but we hope that by working in partnership, nursing in Guernsey will thrive."

Pictured top: Protestors at a march last year which demanded fair pay for nurses.