KPMG made twenty-five recommendations across four broad themes.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has pledged to make “significant change” following an internal review of the organisation’s governance structure.
Undertaken by KPMG, the report calls for “significant change” and makes 25 recommendations across four broad themes: strategy, member leadership and Council, governance structures and supporting mechanisms.
Urgent recommendations included establishing a long-term strategy, restricting “member-led” input to specific areas of governance and making it more difficult for members to call “destabilising” extraordinary general meetings (EGM).
Other recommendations include better defining key roles within the organisation, strengthening the election policy and improving the union’s ruling Council works with regional boards.
An update of the College’s Respect Charter is also suggested by KPMG.
Progress has been made.
The KPMG report notes that, since the work was commissioned, the RCN has already started to strengthen its work on equality, diversity, and inclusion and organisational policies, especially relating to internal elections.
RCN General Secretary & Chief Executive Pat Cullen added: “With this report, KMPG is providing an outside perspective on our governance and the challenges that faced the organisation in 2020 and 2021 especially.
“In my first year in this role, I have tackled those issues and there is clear progress against many of the recommendations already. My executive team will continue to work closely with Council to prioritise this work.
“I am personally committed to ensuring we value and practise inclusivity in all that we do, improving our ways of working together – all to ensure that the voice of nursing in the UK is undeniably strong. This advice is a key part of the review and we are grateful to KPMG for their work.”
The College is set to publish the Carr Report later this year which will look at organisational culture.
