When I was a lad, a book called The Sex and Savagery of Hells Angels by Jan Hudson ‘did the rounds’ of schoolbags, never to be seen by parents but read surreptitiously. The book was an eye-opener to a world where men just went around bullying who they liked and having sex with any woman who came within their purview. What was not to like for a pubescent schoolboy? And we all wanted to be Hells Angels.
But now it appears that you don’t have to go to the expense of buying a Harley-Davidson and finding a nearby chapter of Hells Angels, undergo the humiliating induction ceremonies and lead a life of crime to have a life of bullying and sex on demand. It seems there are other routes and one of these is to work for the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). Yes, I did just say the words ‘Royal’, ‘College’ and ‘Nursing’. The RCN has long been a troubled institution caught as it is between the irreconcilable worlds of being a professional body for nurses (but not THE professional body for nurses which is, in fact, the Nursing & Midwifery Council) and a trade union. Over the years the trade union aspect has predominated while the professional aspect—once very important and prestigious—has dwindled, become vestigial and mainly been handed over to universities, in some cases through the appointment of RCN professors of nursing. It does also retain its highly prestigious fellowship scheme*.
These troubles have surfaced from time to time at both the macro level, at the HQ in 20 Cavendish Square, and also at the micro level amongst the various specialist interest groups that it runs such as the Research Society and the other clinical groups. It also functions as a publishing house and RCNi publishes the Nursing Standard and other specialist journals. The RCN has devolved bodies in each of the other three nations of the UK and these—especially in Scotland and Northern Ireland—see themselves as very independent bodies. In Northern Ireland it veers more towards being a professional body and in Scotland and Wales it veers more towards being a trade union.
But now the contents of the proverbial bed pan have really hit the fan with the publication of a report by Bruce Carr KC who has just published his Independent Review of the Culture of the Royal College of Nursing, already being referred to as the Kerr Report. It comes with the incredible health warning by the RCN as follows: ‘Please note that this document contains distressing content’. And it’s all there: bullying; financial unaccountability; trolling on social media; lack on inclusivity; and sexual misconduct.
Being a salacious sort, I homed in on the last one. Apparently, it is quite common for men working in the organisation to have ‘Congress wives’ which means that they ‘have congress’ at the annual RCN Congress and, it seems, on almost any other occasion they have the energy for. These are married family men and while much of this is consensual—and even the author of the report seems to find that acceptable to some degree and certainly quotes people who do—this is being done on the back of hard working nurses who pay their RCN dues monthly. There is clearly a highly alcohol based and sexualised culture at the RCN Congresses and there is ample evidence that this extends beyond the usual consensual sex between two (or more) people who go to Congress expecting nocturnal activities to relationships with power imbalances such as very senior staff preying sexually on young nursing students who attend the Congress to lend a helping hand and end up ‘helping out’ in other ways. It may be consensual, but it is not right. There is reference to people’s ‘moral compasses’ going astray and even instances of people being asked to entertain spouses while hubby gets his piece on the side.
I leave you, if you can stomach it, to read the report. I just wonder if Florence Nightingale could ever have envisaged such a mess. The RCN is now in a process of reform. About time.
*The author is a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing and has been a member since 1987.
Lead Correspondent | David Clews is the Lead Correspondent for UNN, with over 20 years of political/campaigning experience and a wealth of social media and communication skills David gets to the heart of what is really important to the real people of the UK.
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