RCN urged to strengthen stance on humanitarian crises

Nursing staff in the debate made an emotional plea to the RCN governing council to strengthen its policy for how the college responds to humanitarian crises.

“Our brothers and sisters around the world are being murdered daily for delivering healthcare”

Geoff Earl

Putting forward the emergency resolution, which was passed, was Rachel Hollis, chair of the RCN professional nursing committee.

Ms Hollis said: “In a world which faces an unprecedented number and range of humanitarian crises, it is imperative that the RCN is able to respond in a transparent, equitable, consistent and coherent way.”

Among the crises flagged during the debate included conflicts in Gaza, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria and Ukraine; flooding in Brazil and Sub-Saharan Africa; and the ebola crisis in Western Africa.

“Nursing staff around the world risk their lives providing care within these dangerous settings,” said Ms Hollis, who also mentioned the mental health impact on nurses.

She added: “The RCN must demonstrate solidarity and give practical assistance to our colleagues and their patients across the world.

“We should do so in collaboration with partners and key stakeholders and as members of the International Council of Nurses.”

Mohammed Ibrahim, who is from the RCN cancer forum and is also a member of the external British Arab Nursing and Midwifery Association, backed the resolution.

He noted that his family in Lebanon had been displaced since October 2023.

Highlighting the RCN’s donation, in 2022, of £100,000 to support the emergency response in Ukraine, Mr Ibrahim wanted to see more consistency in the way the college responded to different crises.

“The world is watching, the time is now, let us respond always in a way that honours our nursing values,” he urged.

Geoff Earl, a nurse from the Lothian and Borders area of Scotland, warned that attacks on nurses and healthcare facilities in warzones were increasing.

“Our brothers and sisters around the world are being murdered daily for delivering healthcare,” he said.

He urged the RCN to campaign for prosecution of war crimes involving attacks on healthcare facilities, healthcare workers and patients.

“The world is watching, the time is now, let us respond always in a way that honours our nursing values”

Mohammed Ibrahim

Also supporting the resolution was Judith Ellis, vice chair of the RCN international committee who retired from the NHS six years ago to concentrate on carrying out humanitarian work.

Speaking at the debate, she said: “I’ve been an RCN member for 44 years and we need this humanitarian policy.”

She said that she spoke to nurses in Myanmar regularly and she heard reports on a weekly basis of nurses there being “captured, tortured and burnt alive”.

“It is a horrific situation,” said Professor Ellis.

She said the nursing workforce in the UK was “powerful” but she was concerned that “we don’t take seriously our responsibility to help our international colleagues”.

“So, the time has come for us to actually put in place a proper policy. We have lots to share,” said Professor Ellis.

Terri Porrett, a clinical nurse specialist in stoma care and vice chair of RCN council, is part of a colorectal medical mission in Gaza and speaks with medical and nursing staff in the region.

The RCN has previously collaborated with other global health orgnisations to call for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine and to condemn attacks on healthcare workers.

However, Ms Porrett raised concerns that the RCN’s response to the humanitarian crisis had been restricted by fear of being seen as antisemitic or supporting the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

“Nursing is a global humanitarian profession, and this humanitarian lens should inform our support anywhere in times of crisis,” said Ms Porrett.

“However, support for nursing and all healthcare staff in Gaza appears to have been conflated with religious and political alignment.

“Fear of being perceived as antisemitic, fear of being perceived to be supporting a terrorist organisation, I believe has impacted on our response directly in Gaza.”

She added that nurses in Gaza had “asked me to ensure they are not forgotten”.

RCN president Sheilabye Sobrany, also backing the resolution, said the humanitarian “horrors” seen in recent times had “reached its maximum peak with the Palestine and Israel war”.

However, she was concerned that nursing leaders were not speaking out as they should.

“I’m really sorry that many of us have been so frightened, particularly our most prominent nursing leaders have been silenced when they should have used their voices to stop this,” said Ms Sobrany.

Urging nurses in the room to “use your voices”, she added: “We need to implement a policy for guidance and support for our colleagues – our healthcare colleagues, our medical colleagues – who are dying in the front line, as we did in Covid.”

Charalambos Ataliotis, a nurse from County Down, Northern Ireland, said any new humanitarian policy by the RCN needed to be based on “the principles of anti-racism, equality and universal human rights”.

Before the vote on the resolution, chair of congress BJ Waltho called on RCN members in the room to show their support for all nurses around the world working in warzones, which led to a standing ovation from delegates.

The resolution was overwhelmingly passed.

Nurses take a stand in honour and respect of all health colleagues working in war zones #RCN24 pic.twitter.com/i3fEqFWjtr

— Gemma Mitchell (@gemmamitchell92) June 4, 2024