NHS manager burnt out - anyone with words of advice

Slashandcut · 2021-07-21T20:48:05+00:00

I just don’t think I can it anymore. It’s not even covid - it’s the pressure in general. I cannot slash anymore from my budgets. I cannot find more capacity or more staff or more clinics on less and less money. Nobody is motivated, the in fighting and the politics dating back 20 years which nobody even remembers why it started. It’s the fucking wastage. It’s working 16 hrs a day for not much more than I could get as a manager in a restaurant, I feel absolutely broken. And this is what has topped it off for me today, just a “gentle reminder” we need another 50k saved for our “cost improvement programme”. I feel done

Formaldeheidi · 21/07/2021 21:49

I have no advice but I’m with you and will hold your hand through it

Original poster

Slashandcut · 21/07/2021 21:50

We have a piece of equipment on our ward which is vital to our specialty. It costs £299. We have one. The lead nurse has to lock it up every night so it doesn’t go missing, people have to check it in and out. I had my request to buy another backup spare piece of equipment refused as “you’ve already got one”. And now I’m being asked for another 50k of savings

OP posts:

Polkadots2021 · 21/07/2021 21:51

I'm sorry I can't give much advice but just wanted to say you're amazing for what you do and it sounds utterly impossible fighting back against all the crap you are facing at work.

Original poster

Slashandcut · 21/07/2021 21:52

If we had two the ward round would take half the time. We would discharge people earlier in the day instead of 7pm at night. You would be able to split the team and have two ward rounds going on. But that’s not worth £299.

OP posts:

Auntycorruption · 21/07/2021 21:55

@Slashandcut

If we had two the ward round would take half the time. We would discharge people earlier in the day instead of 7pm at night. You would be able to split the team and have two ward rounds going on. But that’s not worth £299.

You need to present a business case to justify the investment.

Bed days etc can all be quantified in monetary terms and so you need to define the economic benefit as welll at patient benefit

But then you probably know this already if you're an NHS manager.

Mountaingoatling · 21/07/2021 21:56

Put yourself first. Look after you. A career can be paused, abandoned, changed...you are all you have and you have a responsibility to the genes / humans / gods / stars / society and educators / people who love you to get through or out of this. And sometimes it's out.

Out isn't giving up. It's not failing. It's not being weak. It's consciously rejecting being in a situation where you can't succeed.

Believe you are more than this role. Believe your responsibility isn't to poor leaders.

All the best.

atomicnotsoblonde · 21/07/2021 22:01

@Slashandcut

If we had two the ward round would take half the time. We would discharge people earlier in the day instead of 7pm at night. You would be able to split the team and have two ward rounds going on. But that’s not worth £299.

That's your cost saving. Cost it up. Show the numbers of discharges you can progress and what you need to invest to make that efficiency. Demonstrate the return on investment, extrapolated over 12, 24 and 36 months, it's recurrent. That's the CIP you submit.

You've got this, we're all exhausted. It's been relentless

Gooriddance · 21/07/2021 22:03

I can’t give advice because I’m just as frustrated as you are. I know how you feel. We kept not receiving vital supplies a few months ago and it was because the bill hadn’t been paid! How can an NHS department not pay its bill? What level of fuckery is this? Why on earth did they think it was a good idea to outsource this?

Don’t even get me started on our IT systems. The level of productivity could be increased 500% if we had a functional network that didn’t keep crashing all the time.

Ginfilledcats · 21/07/2021 22:04

Omg I've been in tears every night since I've been back from Mat leave. It's worse than ever. We have doctor changeover coming up, and I have no one on-call at any level whatsoever and no one willing to pick up extras. Well we have 1 guy who wants double the usual rate at £99 for an SHO!

I'm being told to prioritise staffing on the wards, whilst recovering RTT (but under no uncertain terms can I use WLI to do so), whilst completely transforming 2 services. I've been told we can't extend a locum consultant (the only consultant we have in that specialty at present) who's been there for 2 years, I'm having to write complaints responses despite having a "complaints" team that has more people in it that my divisional management team twice over), medical HR have decided it's not within their remit any longer to deal with visa applications/extensions so that's come to me too.

And then I'm told I'm doing too many hours. Oh also our managerial on-call has increased to 1 in 19 now too, and as the hospital has been on "black" for weeks, we're in most of the nights on-call so lose a lot of the next working day. I cleaned a bay last week and have pushed I don't know how many beds around the hospital to help with flow.

I've had junior doctors crying to me saying how unsafe they feel, and I can't do anything to help as I've tried every Avenue to get additional docs on-site to help.

I'm drowning and I don't know what to do to sort it out, DH keeps saying tell them you need more staff, like it's that easy!

Ginfilledcats · 21/07/2021 22:05

@Gooriddance

I can’t give advice because I’m just as frustrated as you are. I know how you feel. We kept not receiving vital supplies a few months ago and it was because the bill hadn’t been paid! How can an NHS department not pay its bill? What level of fuckery is this? Why on earth did they think it was a good idea to outsource this?

Don’t even get me started on our IT systems. The level of productivity could be increased 500% if we had a functional network that didn’t keep crashing all the time.

Omg the IT is diabolical!!! CAB has been down in our Trust for a week.

And what the F is up with NHS mail? Is a hamster in a wheel running it?

Namenic · 21/07/2021 22:24

I think looking on jobs boards for a career switch is helpful. It’s great to have an exit plan ready - so you can leave it it all gets too stressful. It was very liberating feeling that I could walk out and leave it behind - it kept me going for a few years. Then the right job opportunity came - which I couldn’t pass up. It was a big relief and work life balance is a lot better now.

YouAreNotAlone1 · 21/07/2021 22:25

@Slashandcut I just want to say you are not alone and also to say that the support services (finance,IT,HR) are burned out as well. How do I know- I am one if them- I was working 7 days a week,long hours. Had to keep answering the same questions again again only to be ignored when critical decisions have to be made- people who shout the loudest or part of a clique get things done the others have 0 job satisfaction and no career progression

I was signed off for stress- I’ve had enough a d decided to quit now- I’m looking at other roles but not in this place ever again