To consider working for the NHS?

No you're not mad. The pension will be excellent.

The restructure coming might mean it's short term but it sounds like you have very high demand skills.

I'd go for it if you fancy it.

I worked as a Local Authority paediatric social worker. I loved it, having found a way to stand up to bullying by autocratic Consultants and equally bullying Senior Nurses. I got on with almost all the House men/women, the orthopaedics team and the people in psychiatry. I found that by standing up for my professional role and by being in the firm's team meetings, I was respected.
Later in my career, I moved to a highly reputable mental health hospital and found the same tactics worked better and more quickly.

I actually think this role would be okay. If you can choose a role where you can make a positive impact to individual patients on a day to day basis (this role really would) then you'll get a lot of satisfaction. I love that part of my clinical role in A+E. The upper management shit is just unbearable. I just wouldn't swap a 130k job with benefits to much less pay for much harder frustrating work like OP. I'm sorry for your I'll health at the moment, it's admirable that you want to use your experience to make it better for others.

I've worked in various aspects of NHS IT nearly all my life. I moved in because it felt soulless in private sector. Stepped out briefly, missed it, came back. I've not been bullied and I find NHS workers nicer than those I worked with in private companies and HR/policies much more supportive on sickness, various leave, flexi working etc. I could earn more elsewhere but I'm proud to be where I am. I can only speak for up to B7 level but there is a lot to be said for working with people who care to help patients. What have you got to lose by trying if you are feeling a calling to do so?

Just be aware it takes time to learn the NHS, everything from finance/funding to procurement to planning to HR is different to private sector and arguably more difficult for managers, there is a big structure to learn within and across organisations, the roles and how they fit together, specialities, care settings, all the targety stuff like 18 week/two week waits and the complex rules around it all. I saw a BBC programme years ago where a well known private sector consultant came in and tried to solve problems, hit barriers at every turn- infection control, fire safety, clinical governance, information governance, there are a zillion internal police forces to stop you changing anything in a way that might cause trouble. Utterly fascinating if you enjoy well intentioned complexity. Why not enquire if you could take leave from your current job and shadow someone for a week or arrange a chat with someone in a similar role? I don't know what's possible at that level due to confidentiality but HR will want to get good people interested/in.

The IT is mind bogglingly awful and staff can be very set in their ways. It's like stepping back into an 80s work environment so if you are coming from tech you might find it very hard.

I'm an anaesthetist partner works in cybersecurity says you couldn't pay him enough to work in the nhs the IT and its staff are so bad

To offer a different perspective; I am relatively new to the nhs after joining sept 2023 in a non clinical manager role though lower level than director and my experience has been amazing

I am also in a Yorkshire hospital and I have genuinely enjoyed every day, I work closely with execs but as I’m in within the HR sphere also get quite involved with staff and managers across the board and I can only think of 1 person whose personality style I don’t mesh with

workwise I manage my own diary, can come/go as I please office wise and work from home as I choose. There is no micromanaging as at the level I am at I am just expected to get on and do my work and it would become clear when projects didn’t progress if I didn’t do that and I really like the autonomy I get

is there the option to go visit the Trust and get a feel for the place?

The pension is no longer great. Better than lots yes, but it isn’t the gold plated of yesteryear. They are slowly eroding any kind of meaningful benefit or perk of working for the NHS.

Great pension. But your mental health will be shot.

It's so bad that I quit before I even had a new job to go to.

My trust is currently going through a corporate restructure that started beginning of September. Now, 5 months later we “might” be about to get our letter stating what our ‘provisional status’ is. 5 months we’ve all been suffering with this high level of uncertainty and the communication from above is awful. They are treating us like total shit and are about to end people’s careers. Avoid working for the NHS at all costs. Workers mean nothing to management.

Thank you! 🙏🏻 i just can’t stand the thought of someone else crying as much as I have in the last 4 weeks. I want to help. I’ve had so many questions but nobody in the NHS to actually talk to.

Don't worry about that so much. I am in a clinical role in the NHS, and whilst there are a lot of problems I do get a lot of job satisfaction. I work with a generally lovely team. I think senior management would be really hard. The NHS needs people like you. So it is worth exploring.

This thread is such a shame! I’m going through ovarian cancer scare at the moment and I’ve realised how lonely it is.

I was really contemplating changing my career once I get the all clear to a non clinical cancer support role (I’ve seen a role advertised!) - I would so love to help people who are struggling on, like me!

But I don’t want bullying, toxicity or shite IT! 😭

I’m NHS medical so not really my area but I’d be worried the actual job might be very frustrating. The IT is atrocious and I’m sure there’s lots of good things that could be done, possibly relatively easily but I’d be worried about your ability to do them because the system is so unwieldy, because of issues with budget, procurement, systems speaking to each other and general glacial pace of change and red tape.

I honestly think you're mad for considering it. I'm an 8c in NHS (clinical). But I have some input / dealings with upper management for some non clinical service improvement hours. It is toxic, change is slow and frustrating and it is full of bullies. Everyone is so pressured they take it out on each other and no satisfying long term differences can be made because you're too busy firefighting all the urgent problems. It will burn you out trying, I'm considering a huge pay cut just to work outside the organisation.

I wouldn't if I was you

I left a Clinical 8b role to work in the prison service at the same level

Different set of problems but I'd not go back to that old Etonian versus just out of business uni toxic culture if you paid me

I'd celebrate what you have and find satisfaction elsewhere

^ This sums up my own experience.

Oh before I forget, you need to add to that good old fashioned hirachy within and across departments. It's really hard to get anything efficiently done.

Further to the earlier post... you wouldn't even need to work with a charity. You could approach your local secondary school and tell them your would like to offer one of their female/ethnic minority/ low-income family student work experience. Alternatively, offer yourself to their careers days talk. I personally think you are more likely to make a difference this way than working for NHS.

Remember to factor in pension contributions if you are opting in. The percentage is set based on your pay with no option to decrease or increase. You could still pay into a SIPP but beware as the pension is defined benefits the growth is seemingly random (I know it’s not but it is very complex and you have no control over it) and can breach AA if you are on a high band.

Don't do it. It's a lot of stress, a lot of back biting, a lot of bullying and very little reward for a lot of "the NHS has too many managers they're all shit". I'm trying to escape a similar role to the one you're looking to jump into and honestly do not do it.

I work in an Ops role in a trust up in Yorkshire. There's massive amounts of pressure coming from every angle. The NHS in my experience is an extremely frustrating place to work, it is impossible to sack underperformers and is very cliquey, verging on toxic. Wouldn't recommend it.

29% contributions towards your pension so that is an important factor providing you are actually employed by the NHS and not a contractor. However, no bonuses or perks really. Depends how old you are and how much flexibility is important to you at the moment.

Sorry forgot to mention, you will start at the bottom of the banding, there is no negotiation as it’s not private practice and your salary is paid for by public funds.