To swap my shift with someone so I can do an agency shift for £££?

[Lighthousekeeping]

It's not like me to be so money grabbing. I got left high and dry a couple of months back and owe a cousin £1,000 so, I'm not doing this for fun. They've messed around with our hours at work so we end up paying back an extra shift a month and no one will do any overtime on the wards anymore. Some of my colleagues have started to do agency and have gone part time as there's that much agency work. I've joined but haven't been called. Until yesterday. I've finished nights so put myself available on my nights off fri and sat then I thought hang on, why don't I try and swap Sunday so I'm available all weekend? I asked a colleague same level as me which is totally allowed. I asked the person who does the rota and she said fine, what's it for? Now, she only asked that because she's my friend and wanted to know what I was up to. I just blurted out "the agency might ring me" and she shreaked "you can't do that!!". I would've thought you can't ring in sick and do agency bus as we are allowed to swap just so we can go out what's the difference? They have rang and booked me to work Sunday which will be the start of my next lot of nights so it will fit in nicely.

I wished I'd never said anything!

[lougle]

I'm on the fence. Before I qualified as a nurse (10 years ago, not nursing now) I worked for Thornbury Nursing services as an agency care assistant. I earned more on a shift than qualified nurses on the ward. When I qualified, I took a pay drop to work for the nhs as a nurse.

I once took a week long booking at Leicester Royal Infirmary to work on a ward that was an 'assessment unit'. It was, basically, an A&E overflow, to avoid breaching the 4 hour rule. It was staffed exclusively by Thornbury staff. Imagine that -4 staff nurses on £30 per hour, 4 care assistants on £13 per hour, rising for late shift and still higher for nights/weekends. IIRC the rate for bank holiday for a RN was around £42 per hour. It was stl cheaper for the hospital than the breach fines, while they built their A&E extension.

So, if the work is there, it's for the taking. In principle though, if there was no agency bill, hospitals could afford to pay nurses a higher general rate and give better care.

That's not going to happen now, though, and they really need to tackle the root cause, which is that nurses feel that their vocation has been downgraded to a job and they are far undervalued.

[Pobblewhohasnotoes]

and they really need to tackle the root cause, which is that nurses feel that their vocation has been downgraded to a job and they are far undervalued

I think the trouble is that the government sees it as a vocation and we then get taken advantage of. But we still have bills to pay, mortgages to pay off, just like everyone else. No wonder everyone does agency for the money.

[NutcrackerFairy]

Exactly Pobble.

If your skills are in demand and in short supply then it is only natural that those so qualified will want to better their financial situation by exchanging their skills for higher renumeration.

That's what those in all sorts of professions and roles do - IT, banking, construction.

Why should nurses be any different?

Nurses are not responsible for the poor management endemic within the NHS. We train for three years to be qualified and continue upgrading our skills and knowledge once qualified.

I think that level of skill deserves to be properly renumerated.

As someone else said, nurses also have mortgages to pay and groceries to buy. They might also quite to like to be able to afford to take a nice holiday here and there and perhaps also be able to have their children privately educated.

Sorry if that doesn't fit with the general public's perception of a drudge who does their public sector role purely as a vocation with no expectation of financial reward.

[MammaTJ]

The NHS paying agency rates is a shocking misuse of taxpayers money and one of the reasons why NHS funds are even more stretched then they need to be.

Many years ago, I tried to get bank work for an NHS trust. They would not offer me bank work, so I signed up for an agency. I worked full time, mainly within the trust I had applied for bank work with. I got paid vastly more than I would have done working directly for the trust, and they also had to pay the agency costs. Madness.

OP, YANBU though!

[SauvignonBlanche]

The NHS paying agency rates is a shocking misuse of taxpayers money and one of the reasons why NHS funds are even more stretched then they need to be
I agree but that's hardly the OP's fault, is it? If she doesn't do the shift, another agency nurse will.

[Lighthousekeeping]

I'm excited and nervous! My colleague has rang me to say she's definitely working for me and I can work for her so she can take her son back to uni.

My mistake was telling my friend who oversees the duty. Especially as she is loaded and wouldn't understand how I could owe someone a grand!

I've ha to buy new shoes, pens and a calculator. I hope they like me.

[Blondeshavemorefun]

dont see the prob personally

you swapped a shift so not letting anyone down and if you can earn extra money then even better

next time dont tell rota person why

[MammaTJ]

Next time think of a good excuse!