The Trolley Dash
What do you get if you take one Regional Officer, a ULF Project Worker and lots of sandwiches and snacks?......the RCM ‘Trolley Dash!’
An innovative idea from an RCM steward, the trolley dash is an excellent and fun way to recruit new learning representatives which has been rolled out across several London Hospitals.
With support from the Union Learning Fund, the RCM aims is to recruit and train a network of union learning representatives to support learning and skills development within the workplace.
“It’s a simple concept” said Imogen Fluery, ULF project worker; “we bring the RCM directly to the Midwives and Maternity Support workers. We take a trolley of food to provide staff with well needed lunch snacks during their shift and talk about the benefits of learning and the role of union learning representatives.”
Both Imogen and Carol King, Regional Officer for East London have been visiting various labour, post natal and antenatal wards in hospitals in London to promote the work of the project and the value of learning in both a professional and personal context.
“The trolley dashes have proved really successful in helping us engage with midwives and maternity support workers in their workplace, and recruiting new union learning representatives” said Imogen.
At University College London Hospital Elizabeth Garrett Anderson wing, RCM ULRs Irene Gregory, Marlene Kirk and Fola Ajayi organised speakers and information stands from London South Bank University for their Learning at Work Day. They discussed the different courses available for Midwives and maternity support workers and of course, held a trolley dash around the unit!
Other workplace events were held across England to celebrate Learning at Work day with over 200 RCM members attending.
A variety of activities were arranged including workshops on stress, time management skills and mini massage. Most events had stands from local colleges and universities where members could discuss their specific learning needs. In addition, there were representatives from the Trusts’ training and development departments.
