Professor Pat Cullen is seeking nomination to run for Sinn Féin
The General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has announced she will step down with immediate effect in order to seek election to Parliament in the general election.
Professor Pat Cullen has spent three years as General Secretary and Chief Executive of the UK’s largest nursing union, overseeing waves of historic industrial action when nursing staff in England went on strike for the first time in the RCN’s history in December 2022.
Ahead of the general election, Cullen is seeking nomination to stand as Sinn Féin candidate for the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency. She said it had been an “honour” to champion nurses’ rights and that she is now ready to lead as an MP “working to better the lives of workers, families and communities.”
In a statement she said: “This election is an opportunity to vote for a new and better future.It is also an opportunity to support better funding for our public services and to reject years of cruel Tory cuts which have targeted frontline services, particularly health.”
Commenting on her resignation from the RCN, Cullen said she “owed the RCN members a debt of gratitude”.
“This was the hardest decision to make, and we have achieved so much in 3 very different and difficult years,” said Professor Pat Cullen.
“I hope my legacy here will be to have helped the nursing profession use its voice and campaign for change, for ourselves and patients. I owe RCN members a debt of gratitude.”
Paul Vaughan, Chair of RCN Council, said: “Pat has been a tremendous leader for our profession and put the College on a journey to a brighter future. She has been fearless in rooting out longstanding cultural issues internally and speaking truth to power in the health service and politics alike.”
The RCN is seeking applicants for its permanent General Secretary and Chief Executive as the union looks to advocate for nursing over the next five week election campaign period.
Professor Nicola Ranger said: “We will ensure every party and candidate knows the value of nursing and RCN Congress next week is the ideal opportunity for that.
“Pat’s vision for the return of the RCN Institute of Nursing Excellence will be a lasting legacy as it provides support to many thousands of nursing staff. She has progressed the profession in so many ways and we’re thankful for her incredible hard work to advance the cause of the College.”
(Image credit: Good Morning Britain / Screenshot)
Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward
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