NURSES must be “front and centre” of plans for the future of healthcare in Jersey, a senior union leader has told the Health Minister during a visit to the Island.
Professor Nicola Ranger, general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, met with union members, Health Department officials and the minister, Deputy Tom Binet, during her two-day visit. with whistleblowing and pay among the other topics raised.
“I had a brilliant meeting with the minister, and stressed that nurses should be front and centre of everything the department wants to achieve,” she said. “Involving members of the profession is a really key factor – nurses can make or break how well patients are looked after overall.”
In contrast to many of the discussions with UK-based members of the RCN, Prof Ranger said salary levels had not featured as the number one concern for nurses in Jersey.
“Pay isn’t the dominant factor here and the impression I’ve gained is that in general our members feel they are fairly rewarded and their skills are recognised – I wish that recognition was seen more often in the UK.”
One feature of working in a relatively small island was that it could make workers hesitate before raising concerns, Prof Ranger noted.
“The fact that people know each other well can be a real positive in some respects, but when everyone knows everyone and who’s related to who, it can make people hesitate before speaking up, and that’s something I spoke to the [Health] leadership team about,” she said. “It’s essential that nurses can pass on their concerns and my sense was that management understood this.”
Although several of the meetings took place in the Education Centre at the General Hospital, the visit included RCN from other settings, including those working as mental health nurses and for Family Nursing and Healthcare.
Making sure there are enough staff with the right skill levels in all healthcare settings had been another important topic during the discussions, Prof Ranger said. She highlighted the programme for training “home-grown” nurses as important to ensuring the Island had a sustainable workforce, but also recognised the contribution of those nurses who had moved to Jersey from the UK and further afield.
The general secretary subsequently travelled to Guernsey for similar talks, including a meeting with Deputy George Oswald, who was elected as the new president of the island’s Health and Social Care Committee earlier this month.
“The RCN represents more nurses than any other professional body and it’s really important to get out and talk to our members and hear what they have to say – we could become quite ‘London-centric’ otherwise,” she said.
Professor Nicola Ranger
- Started her career aged 19 in Surrey, south-east England.
- Subsequently spent time working in Pakistan and USA, with the latter stint leading to an expertise in gunshot wounds.
- First appointed to a chief nursing role in 2014, and during Covid pandemic was chief nurse and executive director of midwifery at King’s College.
- Took up management role with RCN in December 2022 and appointed general secretary and chief executive in July 2024.
