W ELCOME
F IT
FOR THE
F UTURE : A MESSAGE
C OLLEGE OF N URSING
THE
R OYAL
Paul Vaughan, Regional Director, RCN West Midlands
FROM
P UBLIC I NQUIRY 2013
“We need a patient centred culture, no
tolerance of non compliance with
fundamental standards, openness and
transparency, candour to patients, strong
cultural leadership and caring,
compassionate nursing, and useful and
accurate information about services”
Robert Francis (2013)
Changing population
People admitted to
hospital at weekend
increase risk of death
Last 10 years hospital
admission up by 35%,
bed numbers down by
10%
Length of stay: over
75/10 days, under 60/4
days
30% of all admissions
to hospital frail elderly
Hospital patients routinely treated in storerooms
Nearly two-thirds of nurses in poll say patients treated in areas not designed for
clinical care, from cupboards to kitchen. Guardian , Tuesday 9 March 2010
H UMAN FACTORS : S ILENCE KILLS

Poor/no understanding of
accountability

Failure to connect ethical
conscience to professional
practice

Lack of psychological safety

Stress, burn out,
depression leading to
‘detachment’

Hierarchies within and
across professional groups

Poor team relations –
collection of individuals
versus team

Culture – gender issues

Ineffective or poor
leadership

Disempowerment/fear

Someone else’s job
S OMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE THIS
FIT FOR THE FUTURE
If you describe
someone as a
person, what do
they deserve?
W HAT DOES A PERSON DESERVE BY
BEING A PERSON ?
What do they
deserve from
you?
RESPONSIBILITY
Right
Maintain
standards
skill mix
YOUR
ROLE
Right resources
Seek advice as
required
S PEAKING UP FOR NURSING
Poor Care
• Someone handling patients roughly
Education and
training
• Changing to e-learning model is not fit for purpose
Resources
• Lack of moving and handling equipment or poorly
maintained equipment
Staffing levels
• Changes in staffing levels will not allow for call bells
to be answered promptly or monitoring of patients
effectively
When did
it happen?
What
evidence
do you
have?
Where did
it happen?
How did it
happen?
Who was
involved?
What
happened?
RCN S TRATEGIC PLAN 2013-18
Promoting
excellence in
Practice
•Use our knowledge and profile to demonstrate to the public how nursing
contributes to safeguarding health and wellbeing
Nursing
development
and education
•secure the future education of nursing staff in higher education and
actively promote mandatory preceptorship and clinical supervision
•lobby for provision to keep nurses updated, addressing post-registration
pathways and education and tackle workforce planning and staffing levels
that have a negative effect on patient safety.
Shaping health
policies
•Draw on the best available evidence and expertise to contribute to
change in health and social care policy
•Share intelligence and work collaboratively within the RCN and with other
organisations
RCN S TRATEGIC PLAN 2013-18
Representing
nurses and
nursing
• Increase the number and visibility of our accredited
representatives
• Improve local member engagement in decision-making
• Enable nursing staff to engage with the RCN
• Recruit and retain health practitioner members
An effective,
value-for
money
organisation
• Emphasise the benefits gained from our dual role as a
professional organisation and trade union
• Actively listen to the voice of members and put them at the
forefront of developing and delivering our work
• Support greater engagement with HCA’s and students
• Extend our work on environmental and corporate social
responsibility
HCA’s – regulation and training: Code of Conduct, Uniform, registration and common
national standards for education and training
Leadership: Supervisory role of ward and community nursing team leaders
Paperwork and Administration: Many staff feeling that paperwork is taking precedence
over providing care
Safe Staffing Levels: In order to safeguard patient care, the RCN believes now is the time
to set more clearly defined standards and that mandatory nurse staffing levels must be
adopted by providers, regulators and commissioners of health services
Principles of Nursing Practice: These eight principles tell us what everyone can expect
from nursing practice, whether they are colleagues, patients, or the families or carers of
patients
Education: The RCN believes that the vast majority of our nursing students receive an
excellent standard of education and we want to share this good practice across the UK
Professional Attitudes and Behaviours: It’s key that we understand and promote good
practice in terms of how patients are treated
‘To survive and actually thrive in nursing, we will all need to pull
together as a profession and begin by working together at the
bedside and being great team players willing to support each other.
Something magical happens when we give to others; wonderful
things begin to come back to us in far greater ways than what we
have originally given.’
Val Gokenback (2012)
T HE VAUGHAN C HALLENGE
Paul Vaughan, Regional Director, RCN West Midlands
T HE VAUGHAN C HALLENGE

Reflect – what could you
do differently?

Now you have decided
what you are going to do
differently – WHO are you
going to tell?
The Vaughan
Challenge:
When you go
back to your
workplace,
give people
permission to
challenge you
and ask for
permission to
challenge
them

Tell people at home
what you are going to
do!

Tell people at work
what you are going to
be doing differently
S OMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE THIS
T HE
Francis Inquiry: what
does it mean for you
and your practice?
BIG C
ONVERSATION
C OMPASSION
‘Compassionate
action involves
Create
Similarities
Be
present
Treat as
you want
to be
treated
Flip your
perspective
Appreciate
working with
ourselves as much
as working with
others’
Pema Chodron
Compassion
TOP TIPS FOR DEVELOPING
YOUR PRACTICE
CPD
Communication
Skills
Be heard
Share good
practice
Assertiveness
Skills
Develop your
confidence
Use of
Information
Look after
yourself
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