Working for NHS is AWFUL

[Bugtimefedup]

I know people moan about using the NHS as a patient but as an employee working for them it is horrendous.

I know the only way out is to get a new job and I have been looking. Just need to vent after having another request for annual leave rejected.

I work in a large hospital as clinical admin support. Staffing has been cut to the bone. What staff we have left are being asked to do more and more and more til we’re all burnt out.

Full time staff who leave are being replaced by part time staff. I can never have a Monday off as leave as we have so few staff.

Reception staff used to just have to check patients in and rebook for very busy clinics and deal with queries which is a full time job in itself. Now they have to do that plus answer the phone, input referrals, monitor and action a department inbox, cancel clinics and book interpreters.

I am not a receptionist but due to lack of staff I have to now cover reception and all the above work PLUS do my own day job.

I am stressed and de-motivated. We are worked to the bone for a low wage. We are not allowed time off for NHS appointments. If we’re lucky enough to be given permission we must then make up every mi it’s of the time taken.

My manager messages me in my day off with changes to my work day for eg telling me to travel to a different clinic the next day with no notice.

If we are off sick our manager calls us sometimes twice a day and demands to know if we’re going to be in the next day. I have been off sick in the past with a sick bug and woke after a sleep to numerous text messages and missed calls from her.

We have no union so nothing we can do. If we complain our manager treats us worse and punishes us ie refusing our leave, not letting us have time off for training.

I don’t know if most people realise what an awful employer the NHS can be.

I honestly believe this is part of a plan to wear down public healthcare and privatise it.

I honestly think they’re trying to sicken us off.

Those going on about Unison. They’re not all they’re cracked up to be. I cancelled my DD when I had to attend a grievance meeting in my own. Total waste of money.

We are getting more and more pressure, as you say leavers aren’t being replaced and we get email after email about how we are going to have to make cutbacks hospital wide.

We definitely don’t get time off for NHS appointments including if they are at our own hospital - always have to make the time up. Envious of those who do.

Still love my job, but the whole of the NHS will be finding it more and more difficult as time goes on I fear.

I’m clinical in the NHS. In a department of over 150 staff. Our manager is excellent. We have none of the issues you describe. I work for the NHS Scotland though.

I wonder if it could be worth looking at vacancies in a GP practice/health centre. It sounds like changing locations would be helpful. I am sure you would be valuable as a staff member within a health centre .Surely you can join Unite or Unison?

Your union is Unison! https://www.unison.org.uk/at-work/health-care/

NHS admins do have a union. It is Unison.

Nah, screw that. I hate this culture of "telling" on people continuously for the smallest thing. It dilutes actual serious incidents!

I work for the NHS. My manager is great. It’s a management issue.

This is a management/leadership issue not an nhs issue.

You need to raise this with your people/hr team.

The NHS isn’t one massive organisation. Every Trust is its own entity. It sounds like there’s issues in your service, possibly wider cultural issues within your Trust. That doesn’t mean working for the NHS is awful. My Trust is great and always gets high scores in the staff engagement survey. If yours isn’t good then you need to look elsewhere.

Yes, I think this is the way a lot of companies are these days.

The same happened in my last job. We were being asked to do more and more with no explanation of how we could manage that (and with no more pay even though additional money had been provided to run extra projects). Eventually, disillusionment and unhappiness set in and a formerly excellent team totally fell apart! Almost everyone resigned in a short space of time (many with no new job to go to - which says a lot about how people felt)!

But I think so many jobs are like that now (especially jobs on the front line or low paid jobs).

My new job is pretty poorly paid for what it is but the pension and flexi-time perks are amazing! No grovelling around for a few hours off for a health appointment.

In the past (and probably quite a long time ago), I would have loved to work for the NHS - but not now!

You say you have no union. Why?

This is not an NHS problem, I speak from 37 years experience.
This is not an NHS admin problem, I’ve managed NHS admin staff for over 20 years.
You do have a union, you have chosen not to join it - a bad mistake.
You evidently have a bad manager, I’m glad to hear you’re looking elsewhere but don’t rule out the entire NHS, there’s many other opportunities.

I retired from the NHS ten years ago and it was just like your experience. I was so relieved to retire. People tell me it is worse now.
It used to be a lovely place to work but management style changed completely along with staff cuts.

Our clinical admin support are the same. The entire admin dept staff have resigned three times in a row, the latest lot are all under unison.
Join unison ASAP they have large legal resources and they really kick butt where we are. We are all with unison admin and clinical staff.
There is absolutely no way you should be called repeatedly when you are off sick that is totally against policy.