Simon C

I'm a nurse in the NHS UK. We have a 30 min lunch break - so no time to get to the canteen much less sit and eat in peace. I tend to drink a lot before work...very unhealthy stuff like triple shot iced coffee and high caffeine soda's. No time for anything during the shift while on the floor. Lunch is a VERY quick basic sandwich at best with a couple more iced coffee or milk. Nothing after that until home.

it is an unwritten law that nurses are not allowed to be sick. EVER. You may call in dead only with 6 months prior notice. I personally had a few more sick days than usual last year - due to problems after several minor surgeries at the very hospital where I work.....and I got the lecture from my manager. Then another sick day occurred and now I am on some kind of "watch" list. All this in the pretense of caring for the staff member, when in fact the only concern is covering the shifts. What happened to you is a disgrace. The fact they were unable to find a replacement when given so much prior notice is also a disgrace...I wonder how much effort was actually made? You should sue for wrongful dismissal. Something else has been bothering me for some time now with U.S. based employees posts of this nature where employers are essentially bullying them...and that is the lack of nursing unions. Do you not have unions affiliated with the licensing bodies? Are there no other unions for health workers at all levels to join? Here in the UK we have both, and they carry a lot of clout! Workers should be treated with respect.

I'm in the same camp as "heron" and believe the psych team should've been asked to see this patient. I too am astounded however at the total lack of support from your charge nurse or director as abuse must NOT be tolerated. I know of several occasions when a patients abusive behaviour has been such that the police have been called in! Both times it was an all female staff working night shift in a building away from the main hospital. Many times my charge nurse or matron would be asked to speak to the patients that were abusive in any way. I have been a nurse in both the U.S. and the U.K for over 40 years now and I can honestly say that while this type of behavior is not rare at all, it IS rare that you were left unsupported.

my experience in the UK has been significantly different to that mentioned. NHS managers have had mandatory healthcare assessments done on ALL staff which are then actioned. Anyone with severe asthma can work on a covid positive ward IF they want to...but if they don't then alternative posts are found for them. I am 61 years old and have various issues stemming from MOF years ago, including diabetes and a father 0f 84 at home I live with. He's had three heart attacks and is not too steady these days. My assessment was done and I was moved to another area. My manager herself has severe asthma and she has been working from home for 3 months now. We also have good union representation which helps a lot. I will NOT put my family at risk. I would quite happily just walk away from the job if proper support cannot be given.

The only input I can give is from my own standpoint. I became an LVN in California straight out of the USAF. I did various jobs in LTC too and I then was head-hunted by the local pharmacy chain to go work with them as a nurse "consultant" adding an extra nursing perspective on their drug regimen reviews and taking over the audits such as med pass. I also gave inservices and did a CNA course....all as an LVN. Then my lovely wife ran off with a family friend and my world imploded. I moved back to my birthplace in England expecting to carry on with my LVN career. WRONG!! I was shot down in flames. Their is no equivalent role in the U.K and so - having sent letter after letter to the UKCC governing body for nursing in England, I had no alternative than to quit trying. They wanted me to do 3 more full time years in college to become a British RN! I was fuming...and gave up nursing entirely. Then, in 2008 I had MOF...and somehow survived although it left me with fatigue issues and nerve problems. I had been made redundant from my job in telecoms when that happened and I decided to go back to nursing...no matter what the grade. I have been a "Care Support Worker" ( I LOATHE that title) since late 2008. So the bottom line really....is not to settle for the LVN....go on and get your RN if you want to see doors open to new possibilities...and should you even begin to contemplate working in another country....mark my words....your LVN licence won't get you a job.

I always find it best to take the person aside...away from the work area if possible...and clear the air. It is not conducive to the work environment to continue day to day when it appears you are both upset and anxious. If necessary you may need to involve a supervisor / manager. I hope you manage to get it resolved quickly and remain friends and effective colleagues at work.

In my 40+ years in healthcare in the USA & UK I have burned a few bridges along the way. It's not a smart move...each one of those events came back to bit me! I agree with everyone else it seems, work out your full year contract to the hour. Don't give them any way to give you grief. Leave with a smile on your face and a clean work record. Lessons I learned the hard way.

Here in the UK my local NHS Trust have been given scrubs of all sizes and colours - they were all donated by local people making them at home! When working within the hospital we wear whatever colour scrubs were available and they are ours to use as long as we need them....but we also have to launder them ourselves - which I vehemently disagree with particularly as I work on a 100% Covid19 ward now which means I have been relocated to the main hospital. This means I now have to pay for my parking every day, and do extra laundry to keep mine away from the rest of the family. Oh the joy....

Not overreacting at all....I'd be calling my union rep immediately here in the UK but I don't know how or even if you have any unions that protect nurses. In all my years of healthcare related jobs I have always been told that you do not touch anything unless you have been given full training and deemed competent. I agree that those of you with no ICU experience should be used in a more appropriate area. It makes no sense to force people into roles they are not trained nor competent in. It will only result in serious mistakes. It would not be a shock to see many of those nurses hand in their immediate resignation either.

That is outrageous!! Surely you are in a union? Unfortunately the muppets that create the rules for the workers are the clipboard carriers in carpet land. If that was a problem for me I would be straight onto my union, and also to the local press.

I am 60 years of age, diabetic (T2) and a near life ending experience already with multiple organ failure - I am an NHS care worker on the wards. I live with and help care for my 85 year old father who just yesterday was informed by the GP he has to isolate for 12 weeks. I am scared for all of us now, and going to the wards to work is causing me massive anxiety. I'm waiting for a return call from the GP myself to see if I should stay put or work....but in the meantime I have my resignation letter in back pocket should I be ordered to the Covid-19 wards.

you are making a very vague statement really as I'm sure not everyone is "mean". A lot depends on your own perception. It can be a very stressful environment to work in so perhaps some nurses are a little distracted or short tempered if they are stressed out. Of course burnout is another possibility. You cannot take on everyone else's work though and if their attitude is affecting their work (or lack of it!) then you must have a quiet word with them, or their immediate supervisor. There is no excuse to treat patients badly.