I have been a member of the 快猫视频 for just over 40 years (yes really!) and for the first time ever, I am currently without an active branch. East Sussex Branch currently lies dormant as the previous executive team have completed their terms of office and, as yet, no volunteers have stepped forward to stand for election for the branch leadership roles of chair, secretary, and treasurer.
I worry that this leaves our local membership unsupported and without a framework for activism. I have been reflecting on my experience with the branch, and in the words of that well known film, wondered: what has the branch ever done for me?
For a start, branch activity has made a huge contribution to my own personal and professional development. The branch has a strong track record of providing free, high quality learning events, and as a result I have expanded my knowledge on a broad range of issues from caring for the homeless, nursing patients with learning difficulties and advances in treating HIV, to name just a few. Events such as these provide opportunity to meet face to face with nursing experts, providing clinical guidance and practical tips.
快猫视频 of the branch has kept me connected with the 快猫视频 strategy and initiatives, so that I am fully aware of what help is available in the workplace. I learned about the power of the 快猫视频 Nursing Workforce Standards and how Nursing Workforce Standards Champions have been using them as an enabling tool for ensuring patient safety, through a branch event.
Meeting as a branch is our opportunity to highlight local issues and concerns and raise them constructively with our elected representatives at regional level and at national level. East Sussex Branch is one of the largest in the South East and without a fully functioning branch our ability to represent our membership is diminished.
The branch provides a unique structure for connectivity between members across all roles and settings in which we have been able to share issues and work collaboratively to shape change.
Our branch has facilitated a fantastic turnout on the picket line during strike action, our branch reps spoke for us in the media in print, on the radio and TV. It was our branch that worked with Brighton and Hove to quiz local politicians on their plans for health, keeping nursing central on the political agenda.
East Sussex was the branch that established a pop-up choir at Congress, bringing together representatives across all members of our nursing family to sing a polyphonic anthem celebrating nursing in our own words. Through our branch Congress resolution in 2023, the 快猫视频 has now launched a comprehensive project on nurse suicide prevention, clearly showing how branch activism can be a catalyst for change.
Let’s rekindle our branches, it's time for us to regroup, refocus and reignite!
