Nursing under threat in the UK

Silverdragon102, BSN · Mar 18, 2006

I never thought I would see the day, but yesterday one Trust announced job losses and now another organisation announces job cuts
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/18/nhs18.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/03/18/ixportal.html
Is nursing safe any more? Do you see a future for the NHS in the UK or are we adopting the USA systems thanks to government plans to privatise things?

no nursing isn't safe and the sad thing is less are going into the profession due to pay, nurses are leaving due to pay and stress and even more sadly is patient care will suffer

Owain Glyndwr · Mar 18, 2006

Is nursing safe any more? Do you see a future for the NHS in the UK or are we adopting the USA systems thanks to government plans to privatise things?

The NHS has been slowly going down the financial pan for the last few years and will continue to do so quite rapidly in the future. There is a huge lack of capacity and increasing demand issue that will take years to sort out which will drain resources even more under a 'free at the point of demand' service.

I think the NHS is, in the main, no longer sustainable in it's current form and revenue needs to be gained from any source possible. Private work within the NHS is potential rich tappings. I read somewhere some time ago that Trusts with private wings were accounting for huge amounts of cash coming into the host Trust to be ploughed back into the public services.

The NHS can not continue spending at the rate it is. It's inevitable, even under a Socialist Government, that there will be even more emphasis on private medicine in some form or other in the future. It may be the only way to save the NHS.

Hand's up those who, if they could, would invest in a decent private healthcare package for the sake of not having to spend 48 hours on a trolley in A&E followed by 5 nights in a 6 bedder with Mr/Mrs Confused who tries to get into bed with you every 10 minutes for the 5 nights? The food is rubbish, everyone's riddled with MRSA as you have to wade through 12 inches of grime to get to the nearest toilet which is shared with 20 others. Now, if 'cheaper' healthcare packages (with good food, no infection, floors you could eat your food off served by nurses in hats, and your own toilet to poo in) were available or the NHS gets worse, more people will access private medicine (on top of the push for greater community care) which will lessen the demand on the NHS and release capacity for emergency admissions/surgery. It's almost as if the NHS were getting bad on purpose isn't it??

As for nurses, treat them badly and they'll go elsewhere to work. Since it is now very difficult for today's nurse to get to the US and Agencies are in the process of being squeezed out, there are very few options available for the wantaway nurse. Private work will be an option with enticing rates of pay outside of AfC and nice hats to wear.

Conspiracy theorists of the world unite.

Cheers

OG

donmurray · Mar 18, 2006

The private sector is doing no better, dependent as it is these days on the lucrative waiting list initiatives. Numbers of PCT referrals are drying up fast in these straitened times.. One local onsite private unit closed last week, with the remaining staff being moved to their older, larger standalone unit to reduce costs.

debbieuk · Mar 23, 2006

hey all,

well as you all know by know i was soooo excited to finally get my pin number and job. but we have had a hospital wide meeting and beds are closing, staff are being re-deployed or made redundant!. my contract has been down graded from a permanent to a temporary contract and i was told either accept that or i will have no job. and it is not only me.

these are worrying times at teh moment. i live within the area of 5 big hospitals and all the students due to qualify in the next couple of weeks have no jobs. even midwives are lucking out and there is supposed to be a major shortage in middies.

now that all my local hospitals have achieved foundation status be are bidding against each other to drum up business and we are losing specialities within my department.

i am very worried but i keep trying to tell myself that at least i have a job.

oh well, what will be will be

CrunchRN, ADN, RN · Mar 23, 2006

Wow - I am so sorry to hear this. I was hoping we could have a health system more like you have, but it does not sound like it works anymore. It seems foolish to cut the caregivers though.

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Mar 23, 2006

It is really sad to hear of the problems the NHS is facing these days, before I left the UK I had to keep my agency budget to $5000 (pounds no pound sign on my comp) per month and was not allowed to exceed this as my trust was bankrupt. It was practically impossible to do this, just one RN down on nights for 2 weeks would use this amount of money up.

Fonenurse · Mar 24, 2006

my contract has been down graded from a permanent to a temporary contract and i was told either accept that or i will have no job. and it is not only me..

Debbie

Did you get the job and start it before they made this change? If so, please contact a union rep asap as they cannot do this to you! Also, once you have been doing this job for any length of time (2 years seems to be common) then you will need to be treated as permanent.

I sincerely hope that you get this sorted as they cannot change a contract status like that once you are in post - they need to negotiate it with you and your union representative!

Good luck - hope you do well, me, I wait for further news about possible redundancies at my place...

english_nurse · Mar 24, 2006

its shocking to think that there are nurses who may soon be out of a job due to bad financial management, i thought that this was a secure job, thankfully we are hoping to be in the usa soon!

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Mar 24, 2006

its shocking to think that there are nurses who may soon be out of a job due to bad financial management, i thought that this was a secure job, thankfully we are hoping to be in the usa soon!

Remember the grass is not always greener! I will prepare a list of do's and dont's which will make your transition smoother, please be prepared that it is not an easy life being a nurse over here, It will get better but....you will soon discover that nursing in the UK is no worse or better than nursing over here.

debbieuk · Mar 24, 2006

update

i went to see my manager and personnel lady and they have decided to make my contract permanent- so that is good news!

the down side is that they told me that my job is only as safe as anyone elses at our place (which is not good at the moment). they have brought in the time and motion people to audit us. people with clip board who have no hospital experience let alone theatre knowledge. as anyone knows who works in theatres just because one list may finish early does not mean they all do and vise versa.

today we had 2 recovery nurses hiding in our prep room waiting for our last patient because the time and motion man was watching them and writing on his clip board.

it is a world gone mad!!!!!!!!!