Petition calling for crunch meeting about suspended RCN election ‘reaches 1,000 signatures’

Signatories call on college to hold EGM after prominent presidential candidates are disqualified from standing

The organiser of a petition calling for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) at the RCN says it has reached 1,000 signatures.

The petition was set up in response to the college's suspension of its presidential election – after two candidates were disqualified over allegations relating to election rules.

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Petition will now be sent to RCN general secretary Donna Kinnair

The petition’s organiser, RCN mental health forum chair Ed Freshwater, announced today on Twitter:

‘We have the required 1,000 signatures. The EGM petition will be submitted today to the general secretary of @theRCN.’

The college will now need to verify that all signatories are RCN members.

The RCN was contacted for comment. 

The last time there was an EGM at the RCN

The last EGM to be held by the RCN was in 2018, to vote on a motion of no confidence in the college’s council.

The meeting was called amid controversy over how the college communicated the NHS pay deal in England to its members.

Members at the meeting held in Birmingham passed a vote of no confidence in RCN council. 

In 2018, an independent review into the college's handling of the pay deal was accepted by council.

This was followed up by a separate review by the Centre for Public Scrutiny, which was published in June this year.

It made a number of recommendations around engagement with members, governance and culture, all of which were accepted by RCN council.

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