I love working in the NHS because..........................

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Aug 24, 2006

The holidays are fantastic. Where I worked the team working was second to none.

mabel u.k · Aug 24, 2006

Madwife I also love my team, I manage very experienced and clinically excellent nurses, I love working alongside them. I also admire the level of commitment and determination of the ward staff who despite funding restraints still deliver an excellent standard of nursing care. Our junior doctors are fantastic and never afraid to ask for help even though they usually know the answer.

I get really cross when people run the NHS down, it is a credit to the staff working within the wards and department and YES that includes the managers that we provide the service we do. I include managers in that because although many may not realise it they are in strategic meetings fighting the corners of the ward staff, they may not always succeed and usually have to deliver the bad news which makes them unpopular, but I know from the directorate that I work in they do fight for us.

I wouldn't want to work anywhere else

Nurse2BMonique21 · Aug 25, 2006

Id just like to say that you are a very lucky to have such a good team of staff working alongside you. However, call me too much of a realist but the majority of staff nurses are not getting this support. If you read sme of these posts you will see that sometimes times can be bad. Im a student nurse and it is not uncommon to see only one staff nurse and hca for 18 patients, and me the student who keeps asking questions. ( No wonder the attrition rates for student nurses are high) My fellow colleagues have advised me that nurses are so rushed off their feet , they havent got the time to learn us things and can be often ratty, and quite rightly so. From my experiences so far, nurses are exhausted . Its nice to see you are very passionate about the NHS, but you need to realise that its not all rosy in the NHS, thats why people are leaving.

mabel u.k · Aug 25, 2006

Id just like to say that you are a very lucky to have such a good team of staff working alongside you. However, call me too much of a realist but the majority of staff nurses are not getting this support. If you read sme of these posts you will see that sometimes times can be bad. Im a student nurse and it is not uncommon to see only one staff nurse and hca for 18 patients, and me the student who keeps asking questions. ( No wonder the attrition rates for student nurses are high) My fellow colleagues have advised me that nurses are so rushed off their feet , they havent got the time to learn us things and can be often ratty, and quite rightly so. From my experiences so far, nurses are exhausted . Its nice to see you are very passionate about the NHS, but you need to realise that its not all rosy in the NHS, thats why people are leaving.

I think you have completely misinterperated my thread, I have been nursing for a long time and contrary to your belief I do realise that nursing in the NHS is not all rosy. However with the constant battering the NHS and it staff get from bad publicity and poor morale I do believe that it is important to recognise and highlight good practice. It is very easy to get into a vicious circle, you complain about your workload your colleague does the same morale declines and very soon all that is left is poor morale and complaining staff. It is vital that we recognise and praise good practice, and support each other only then can we try to make things better.

I have already mentioned this in one of the posts, I do not like everything that goes on in the NHS but from the very start of my nursing carreer if I didn't like what was happening I got evidence and presented it to my managers to help promote change. I doesn't always work but there are times like my recent project that it does and it is these times that we need to recognise and shout about. As far as one qualified to 18 patients if this happened in my area I would be filling incident forms, putting together evidence and information to support an increase in staff numbers - clinical risk will get you alot you just need to know how to collect and present evidence to those with the purse strings. If I get staff asking me for authorisation for bank and agency I ask them to prove that they need it, I don't think this is an unreasonable request I need to justify the additional spend. As far as calling you a realist - you are a student nurse, I think you need far more experience of good practice in the NHS before you have a more comprehensive reality of the NHS.

My philosophy in nursing is if you don't like what is going on then make moves to change it, if you are not in a position to do that wait and plan to be in a position to influence change. If we all sit and complain but make no active effort to change our work environment then the NHS truly is doomed. however I do believe and have sufficient experience of excellent and motivated nurses who do want to change practice for the better and this allows me to maintain my passion for nursing in the NHS.

Don't become dispondent and miserable become a change agent and make things better.

M

xx

Owain Glyndwr · Aug 25, 2006

There has been quite a bit of negativity about the NHS and working in the UK on this forum

The NHS, and the Government(s) to which it belongs, certainly isn't promoting a particularly positive place to be working in at present is it?

Some of us on here feel that there are other work, career and family options available and, after some years of working in the NHS, we've got the opportunity to explore those options. I don't think that's being negative. It's positive.

I've done my bit for the NHS.

Cheers

OG

english_nurse · Aug 25, 2006

I think you have completely misinterperated my thread, I have been nursing for a long time and contrary to your belief I do realise that nursing in the NHS is not all rosy. However with the constant battering the NHS and it staff get from bad publicity and poor morale I do believe that it is important to recognise and highlight good practice. It is very easy to get into a vicious circle, you complain about your workload your colleague does the same morale declines and very soon all that is left is poor morale and complaining staff. It is vital that we recognise and praise good practice, and support each other only then can we try to make things better.
I have already mentioned this in one of the posts, I do not like everything that goes on in the NHS but from the very start of my nursing carreer if I didn't like what was happening I got evidence and presented it to my managers to help promote change. I doesn't always work but there are times like my recent project that it does and it is these times that we need to recognise and shout about. As far as one qualified to 18 patients if this happened in my area I would be filling incident forms, putting together evidence and information to support an increase in staff numbers - clinical risk will get you alot you just need to know how to collect and present evidence to those with the purse strings. If I get staff asking me for authorisation for bank and agency I ask them to prove that they need it, I don't think this is an unreasonable request I need to justify the additional spend. As far as calling you a realist - you are a student nurse, I think you need far more experience of good practice in the NHS before you have a more comprehensive reality of the NHS.
My philosophy in nursing is if you don't like what is going on then make moves to change it, if you are not in a position to do that wait and plan to be in a position to influence change. If we all sit and complain but make no active effort to change our work environment then the NHS truly is doomed. however I do believe and have sufficient experience of excellent and motivated nurses who do want to change practice for the better and this allows me to maintain my passion for nursing in the NHS.
Don't become dispondent and miserable become a change agent and make things better.
M
xx

i agree with OG ive done my bit for the NHS too.

last year my ward had a crisis, we moved from a smaller ward, with 12 specialist renal care beds, which we shared with a surgical ward, onto a larger ward as our hospital were having a shuffle around to try to reduce mrsa infections, the theory was that keeping surgical away from medical would help achieve this.

the ward we moved to was a 28 bedded area, but usually we only have 12 patients, so there were two bays that were empty, no prizes for guessing what happened as soon as our manager went on holiday!?!

i came into work one night to find an arguement going on management, unison, clinical site manager all there wanting to fill the two bays with patients i refused stating that it wouldnt be safe as they couldnt find me any more staff to look after these patients, tough luck said management the patients are coming, at which point two were wheeled into one of the bays. i tried to reason with them, i tried to present 'evidence' to them ie if you do this someone may die, but i might as well have been talking chinese for all that they listened to me. i can honestly say i have never felt so worthless in all my life that and subsequent nights where there were 23-28 patients with only 3 staff.

this went on for about 2 months, the hospital did pay for agency staff to help but to be honest the staffing levels were never right, the final straw for me was being punched in the face by a confused patient who loosened my front tooth, this was the same shift where a patient was found in the carpark having escaped from our ward, confused, no one even noticed he had gone as we were all too busy fighting the 2 aggresive patients in the same bay.

that night someone from the ward contacted our local paper and told them about the situation, within 24 hours the extra beds were closed, only because the local health authority got involved

may times the evidence was presented in an attempt to change things i.e the staff patient ratios, but we were ignored.

the newspaper article was what stopped this happening, so basically threats worked, presenting the evidence didnt! the day after that article the extra beds disappeared.

i used to love my job but that experiance finished off any expectations i have for working in the NHS

Belinda-wales, RN · Aug 25, 2006

I find it is difficult not to become dispondent and miserable and to become a change agent and make things better. If after three years training you have no job to go to or after loyal service you are made redundant and told to reaply for you old job get it back same job at lower band...

mabel u.k · Aug 25, 2006

My intention with this thread was to highlight that although the NHS is stuggling there is good practice going on despite this and to demonstrate that not all aspects of the service is poor. I do understand that there is great discontent within the health service and I have never disputed that - I have worked in the NHS for long enough to see both good and bad.

Unfortunatley it would seem that there are few that share the belief that there is good work going on. It is possible to make a big difference as one nurse and the small changes that we make contribute to make a better place for our patients to be cared for. Yes I understand why some would want to leave the health service and hope that the grass is really greener on the other side, reading some of the threads on the american section they seem to have their fair share of problmes. I will not apologise for want to stay and try to improve things in the small way that I can, and I certainly won't apologise for being proud of staying within the NHS.

Monique you ask how much experience do you need wel my comment was not meant as an insult merely to state that you have obviously had some bad experiences you need to find good experiences as well - they are there.

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Aug 25, 2006

I appreciate the sensitivity of this thread but can we remain calm and not evoke the TOS.

Thank you

plato353 · Aug 25, 2006

i could not wait to get out sooner:balloons:. Well there has been enough NHS bashing on this thread.

Its a free market economy out there chaps. UK nurses you can choose where you want to work( anywhere in Australia,New Zealand, commenwealth Canada,USA etc.)

Depositing good and bad experienses about the nhs on this forum should act as a learning tool in expanding your career path(ie avoiding pitfalls or grabbing new oppertunities). Currently i work in the commercial sector whilst waiting for my paper work to the USA.

To nurse monique 21 dont feel disheartened by comments regarding your age and not having enough knowledge. We all started where you are at i can remember. At least you show vision in my view by being able to comprehend difficult clinical situations. I sincerely think you will make smarter decisions about choosing a working place

Yes i see redundancies in the hospitals that i visit and yes there are good clinical areas. Just make yourself marketable even if it means having to work in a locations of great unfamiliarity should you choose to. Thats the way we grow in our profession.Ultimately you are tom nursing leaders.

Plato 353

Owain Glyndwr · Aug 25, 2006

Unfortunatley it would seem that there are few that share the belief that there is good work going on....Yes I understand why some would want to leave the health service and hope that the grass is really greener on the other side, reading some of the threads on the american section they seem to have their fair share of problmes. I will not apologise for want to stay and try to improve things in the small way that I can, and I certainly won't apologise for being proud of staying within the NHS.

Didn't say there wasn't good work going on - most of us deserting the good ship Sinking are still here in the NHS sharing your belief of good work. In fact, we're doing it with you on a daily basis.

Didn't say that I hoped the grass was greener on the other side and certainly don't believe that there aren't any problems in the USA, simply that the grass on the other side is a grazing option worth exploring.

The grass on this side is ever so slightly brown and wearing thin at the moment and will soon be bare earth unless someone starts looking after it.

It's got nothing to do with pride. It's about exercising the ability to bugger off and do what you want out there in the big wide world.

I wonder how many staff are genuinely proud of working in the current NHS? If privatisation crept in as it surely will soon in some form or other - the NHS is unsustainable in it's present form - would nurses feel any different about working in a semi-private or fully private environment under the same terms and conditions of employment bearing in mind that the physical working environment would be the same e.g. a ward, theatres, ITU etc????

Would it matter to most what the NHS means or would nurses carry on doing what they do?

OG