RCN Scotland To Achieve Top Standard Awards

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland has been formally presented with BSI Management Systems' registration for an integrated management system in Quality Management (ISO 9001:2000), Health and Safety Management (OHSAS 18001) and Environmental Management (ISO 14001) Systems. The presentation took place during a recent meeting of the RCN Scottish Board in Glasgow and was made by Tom Harland, Global Development Manager of BSI.

James Kennedy, RCN Scotland Secretary, said: "Achieving this registration represents the culmination of a significant amount of hard work by all of the staff of RCN Scotland. To be the first professional health organisation in the UK to have its quality, health and safety and environment management systems BSI registered at the same time is a very considerable achievement indeed. However, this is not the end of the road for us in terms of the high level of service we strive to provide to our members. We will continue to develop and improve our services to further enhance our status as the 'voice of nursing' in Scotland."

Tracy McFall, RCN Scotland Chair, said: "The achievement of BSI registration has been all about providing a better, more professional service to our 35,000 members in Scotland. All of the staff have engaged fully in this process and shown once again the tremendous commitment they have to nurses and nursing in Scotland and I commend them for their efforts."

RCN UK President, Sylvia Denton, added: "This is a very exciting period for the RCN. We have a large and rapidly growing membership and it is vital that we seek continual improvement to ensure we provide the highest possible level of service. RCN Scotland is playing its part in improving services to nurses working north of the border. The rest of the organisation can learn from Scotland's experiences over the last 12 months as we move from strength to strength across the UK."

Tom Harland adds: "This integrated management system award is truly unique in this field, demonstrating the professionalism and leadership of the RCN as well as providing the organisation with added confidence to represent nurses' interests vis a vis the Government and other relevant bodies. The implementation of these management system standards should also enable the RCN to become a more sustainable organisation, so it can serve Scotland's nurses for many more years to come."

-ENDS-

For more information please contact:

Ryan Norton on 0131 662 6173 or 07764 514 258 at the Royal College of Nursing, Scotland.

CONTACT BSI PRESS OFFICE: 
Wilma Tulloch on +44 (0)20 8996 6330 OR
Marc Edney on +44 (0)20 8996 6330