A nursing campaign group has called on the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to reassess its response to the ongoing humanitarian crises in Palestine and Lebanon.
Nurses for Palestine has published an open letter setting out a list of demands for the college to take to escalate its response and is encouraging RCN members to sign it.
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The letter, published last week, asks the RCN to make an equivalent donation to the £100,000 given by the RCN to the World Health Organization (WHO) in support of Ukraine in 2022.
It also calls on for ‘organised RCN representation’ at various planned demonstrations and marches for the cause; to progress a previously promised humanitarian crises policy; and to disclose its current investment portfolio.
Maya Sacre is a trained mental health nurse and member of the RCN and Nurses for Palestine. She previously worked as a mental health link worker at a GP practice.
‘At the moment, in particular, there is essentially a systematic assault that’s happening on healthcare workers in Gaza and now in Lebanon,’ she told Nursing in Practice.
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‘There’s a huge assault on the dignity and the health of the population. And as for nurses, we stand for dignity and health for all. And for that reason, we’re taking a stand.’
Responding to the open letter an RCN spokesperson said: ‘We will reply to their letter in due course and, as recently as [last] Friday evening, released a new statement to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, condemning attacks on health workers, health systems, and repeating calls for adherence to international and humanitarian law.’
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In its statement on Friday 25 October, the RCN reiterated its calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Middle East, echoing its solidarity with healthcare colleagues across the region.
At RCN Congress 2024 an emergency resolution was passed to establish and implement an RCN humanitarian crises policy to ‘ensure equity’ in how the union responds to global conflicts and catastrophes.
