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Peer pressure
Which nurses would you like to see in the House of Lords?
Nursing Standard is asking readers to name nurses who could become members of the House of Lords. There are only four peers who are known to be nurses, and only one - Baroness Audrey Emerton - frequently attends the chamber. By constrast there are scores of doctors, lawyers and academics. Our campaign, called Peer Pressure, aims to address this imbalance.
Read the Webwise review about the House of Lords appointment commission.
Your nominations
Our voices are not the only ones missing from the House of Lords
Bridget Ryan is not a lone voice. I too have been dismayed by the rush of names being put forward...
Read this letter
Who says going from the wards to the Lords is a good thing?
Mine might be a lone voice, but I am uneasy about the campaign...
Read this letter
Nurses would liven up the Lords and make a brilliant contribution
For their values, principles, experience, tenacity, commitment to nurses and service users - and possession of the requisite skills - I would nominate Malcolm Rae, Phil Barker, Jane Salvage, Kevin Gournay, Len Bowers and Tom Sandford...
Read this letter
Gay Lee has all the attributes to make the voice of nursing heard
Unlike some of the great and the good who have been suggested, and already hold prominent public positions, Gay Lee is a practising nurse...
Read this letter
RCN fellow would be an asset to the House of Lords
I would like to nominate Professor Robert Crouch. He is a nurse consultant in emergency care at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust and visiting professor at the University of Surrey...
Read this letter
Who would you nominate? Email us with your suggestions: letters@rcnpublishing.co.uk
News
Nurse leaders speak up for the profession in Downing Street
Baroness Emerton has pledged to continue lobbying for an increased number of nurses in the House of Lords despite proposals to cut the total number of peers.
A taste of life in the upper house
Entering the Palace of Westminster through the peers' entrance takes us to the centre of political life in the UK.
Baroness bids to secure healthcare assistant regulation
Baroness Audrey Emerton will make a final attempt to introduce the mandatory regulation of all healthcare assistants in the UK.
Nursing voice absent from debate
The paucity of nurse representation in the House of Lords was brought into sharp focus last week when no one with a nursing background contributed to debates about some of the biggest changes proposed for the NHS in its history.
Four people meet tough peer criteria in 18 months
The body responsible for recommending who should become a member of the House of Lords put forward only four new peers in 18 months.
Women under-represented in Lords despite new additions
Three businesspeople, two former MPs, two bishops, a BBC director and a lecturer were among those made peers in the past 12 months.
Seat in Lords could be reserved for healthcare worker
Peers and MPs investigating House of Lords reform are considering proposals to introduce seats reserved specifically for representatives from health spheres such as nursing or medicine.
Academics, specialists and leaders chosen as Lords representatives
There are 826 members of the House of Lords, but only four are known to have nursing backgrounds, so Nursing Standard has launched a campaign to strengthen the profession's voice in parliament.
Call for more nurses in the house of lords
A former Conservative health minister and leading advocate of nurse prescribing is calling for a nurse with up-to-date experience to influence legislation in the House of Lords.
Nominate a colleague to enter the House of Lords
Nursing Standard has been inundated with readers' nominations of nurses they would like to see represent the profession in the House of Lords.
The RCN Publishing Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal College of Nursing, the world's largest organisation for nurses. RCN Publishing produces one weekly, eight monthly and two quarterly nursing publications. Nursing Standard, the flagship journal, is the UK's biggest selling weekly for nursing. It is produced by RCN Publishing Company along with a suite of specialist nursing journals - Cancer Nursing Practice, Mental Health Practice, Learning Disability Practice, Nursing Children and Young People, Nursing Management, Emergency Nurse, Nursing Older People, Nurse Researcher and Primary Health Care. RCN Publishing Company also produce the RCN Bulletin, a major source of up-to-the-minute information for RCN members in all specialities, grades and working environments. With the latest nurse vacancies from trusts nationwide, it has become the most cost-effective nurse recruitment magazine available.