Heartbeat: Introducing Emma Barton – our new staff side convenor

October 16, 2020

Most staff in any hospital are members of a trade union or professional organisation, and this is certainly true of our workplace. With over 13 different groups represented, it’s important for managers to keep up to date with their collective feedback.

Emma Barton has recently taken on the mantle from Chris Rickards as our new staff side convenor and will continue the task of taking the views of all trade unions and professional organisations to decision makers in the Trust.

A clinical nurse specialist by trade, we caught up with Emma to find out why she has decided to take on this new and important role in our organisation. “I’ve been involved in unions and professional organisations for the majority of my career,” said Emma. “I have been a rep for Unite and enjoy helping and supporting colleagues at work.”

“Believe it or not, I also love reading through policies and help with their development,” she laughed. “I am excited to be taking on this role and very encouraged that we now have a huge number of new staff side colleagues from varied professions choosing to become reps.”

Emma would like to hear your views about how the service could be improved.

She added: “I welcome all feedback to ensure the service is as representative as it can be. I aim to set up a shared mailbox that the unions can use to communicate with colleagues, as well as them being able to communicate with existing members through their union. There are also plans for a monthly staff side newsletter which will feature the matters staff side are working on.”

Since qualifying as a nurse in 1998, Emma has worked in a variety of roles including in the community, the prison service and for local authority public health. Away from work, Emma spends time with her four children, grandchildren and her dog. She loves cooking and going to the gym.