To leave the NHS

[Jennywren100]

Just that really. Worked in the NHS nearly 20 years. I'm a senior doctor in a front line speciality and I just don't think I can go on. There is no option to move into private practice (there is no private practice in my speciality in the UK), but feel sad at the thought of chucking in nearly a quarter of a century of training (if you include medical school) and experience.

The list of reasons for leaving is varied and long and I know many colleagues feel similarly to me but either have better coping mechanisms than me, care less, or for various reasons leaving simply isn't an option. And I know my department is actually better than many.

I already work part time and took extended leave over the summer to see if a break would help. It hasn’t. My colleagues love me and value me - they regularly tell me, so it’s not about feeling undervalued in my team. It’s about being completely overwhelmed in a failing system......and the public having not one scoobie of an idea that their beloved NHS is about to implode as they daily pour through the doors with an ever increasing list of demands and sense of entitlement and an ever decreasing sense of responsibility for themselves.

I feel like I will have wasted most of my life if I leave but I spend my day being super nice to patients and relatives and come home and am grumpy and miserable to DH and DC - the people who mean most to me in the world. Its all wrong. I have absolutely no idea what I would do if I left. There must be other MNers who feel like this?

I left and I am much happier now. I could never go back to that stress and overwork. My colleagues who remain all tell me how awful it is and I was lucky to get out.

I don't work for the NHS.
Have read this thread and feel heartbroken, scared and appalled.
Thank you for all you have done and all the people you have helped.

Just reading previous posts where people have said they wish for minor accidents so they don’t have to go to work. I know exactly what you mean.

Doctors are in great demand overseas in other first world countries and once you get outside the Uk bubble you will realise there are better resourced countries, better organised systems, and more respect for doctors than in the Uk. Doctor friends moved to Australia for precisely this reason to practice and have never looked back. For whatever reasons, and despite best efforts of its staff, the NHS peforms poorly compared to many other countries healthcare systems. Despite what we might wish, it simply is not wonderful and is not the envy of the world. but there are alternatives for you if you want to stay working in your field. It just may not be in the UK.

What do the nurses leaving the NHS go on to do? What Career path do you chose? Desperate to leave but no ideas for what to do then

Remember I did a counselling qualification but am now working in a Safeguarding role in a school and I love it. I really like working in a school environment (could never be a teacher though! I don't know how they do it) and I feel it gives me a good work/life balance. I also get to use the skills and knowledge I developed working with children and families in the NHS so I don't feel like I wasted those years. I have former NHS nursing colleagues who've gone on to work in the voluntary sector, in HR, admin roles, higher education, a couple who've had hobbies that they've turned into businesses and one who is in a civilian role with the Police.

YANBU. I've been a GP for 30 years and I'm counting down the days till I can retire.

My dd has been talking recently about wanting to do the NHS managerial grad scheme after university. I've been doing everything I can to talk her out of it.

Do you think moving trust would help? I'm a Consultant in a large city hospital. It is busy but has a strong management team. For example juniors fighting with the A&E team over admissions would not be well tolerated.

Agree it is a shame Australia is so bloody far away. My DH is Australian and so it would be a natural step for us but I'm reluctant . I spent a year doing emergency medicine in Australia after house jobs. It was great. One shift we had 12 residents, 6 registrars and 3 consultants on the floor. Specialties weren't allowed to refuse an admission if the ED consultant had deemed it appropriate.

Wanted to thank all of you that work or have worked in the NHS. You have literally saved my life at least once. I could never pay tax to cover the treatment I received, and you can't pay for kindness.

Nhs staff here, married to a doctor, family were all nurses.

My daughter’s friend is considering a career in medicine. Nobody in her family works in the NHS, I know exactly what she’s letting herself in for, she hasn’t a clue.

The NHS is incredibly wasteful. I work in a small department. I have five senior colleagues who don’t work clinically and are paid a lot more than me. I don’t really know what they do. Two of them had their jobs invented last year; nobody knew why they were needed. The jobs weren’t advertised. One is on long term sick. They are all sitting on jobs bleating about how long it is until retirement. They don’t go on the wards EVER. They make decisions about patients without meeting them.

The nhs can’t afford to make them redundant, so they ‘reorganise’ (purportedly to save money) and invent a job for them elsewhere. It’s scandalous and the public should know.

I am inclined to agree with Meesh. My dd has had some MH problems. CAMHS were useless "due to the government and no resources" The reality, staff who weren't at work before 9.20 or after 4.45 in a 9-5 service, who chewed gum, who didn't listen, gave incorrect information and told me a 17 year old was too old to have ADHD.

It was a shambles. The local council gave it an additional 2.3m after a review to secure improvements. This was spent on another tier of bureaucracy and the service got worse. The extra tier has been identified as not performing The local teams have not improved. There is a recovery plan, they want more money. Giving more money last time resulted in a worse service.
And so it goes on.

Ding dong the witch is dead. I say bury her and introduce a continental system like in Germany or France.

Time to stop making excusea.

Hi I can’t thank you enough for what you and your colleagues do. I’ve recently spent time in a&e with both my elderly parents, the care and treatment was wonderful. Please be very proud of yourself but if you have to leave it’s their loss 💐💐

I'm incredibly grateful to the doctors who saved my life when I was a child and the one who delivered my child in a very difficult situation.

It's so very, very sad that doctors in the NHS are under so much strain. As if the strain of being a doctor wasn't enough. Doctors make life or death decisions. They make decisions that can impact a person's long term health. That is the weight of the world on one person's shoulders.

OP, I think there is no shame that the added weight of NHS inadequacies have left you struggling. You must do what is right for you now. However the amount of love and care you have given in your life so far is worth so much more than you know. Be proud of what you have given, it is more than enough. Now focus on your health for once.

Fairly newly qualified GP here - really nice to read posts from other doctors on MN....as usually its mostly GP bashing threads! I always at a lot of the nhs/health posts on here as its such a juxtaposition, no one can seem to criticise the NHS but if they are talking about their own health problem/how its managed its always "demand this, and demand that"

The public have no idea how to self manage or take self responsibility and its exhausting. They think nothing of having a go at me for being 20minutes late but then coming in with a list of 4 things, and "oh can you just check my baby whilst I'm here, she's snuffly", then arguing about not needing antibiotics, and then complaining about me when i try to limit what we cover in an appointment! The sense of entitlement is extreme.

And all the posts about "its the conservatives fault there aren't any resources", well yes maybe, but actually the crux of this whole point is - the NHS cannot and was never designed to provide everything

Im regularly asked to do house calls to the elderly as they are anxious about being lonely, or young mothers who want visits for children as they don't drive/have transport, don't want to walk, or to sort out social service issues, and its just not sustainable. And people are amazed that you've not waited at home for them - as "they were just popping out to the shops...." -"well you have to come back and see me doctor as its my right"

AAAARGH, and breathe. Sorry for the bitterness, I've definitely burnt out a few years ago - actually i think it was an unsupportive A&E post that was the final straw! - and like you, had a break and still don't feel better. Who knows what the answer is?

I think the Govt need to re educate people

It’s shocking the entitielement
And the complete lack of comprehension
And the time wasted

I want us to charge for appts (with caveats) and some prescriptions too

Genuine question: do you think some people don’t value the NHS because it is free?

Don't apologise, vino. Much of what you say appals and astonishes me. When I had housebound parents aged 96 and 98 I had a hell of a time getting them added to the list of patients for whom home visits were authorised. Their practice just didn't do them for 99% of patients. It's shocking that people have these expectations of their GP, small wonder you're pissed off.

I understand completely. I'm sure your doing a wonderful job.....could you take a side step for a year out into another area of work...I.e one of our consultants has been involved in IT systems to shape it up for healthcare staff and patients. He's had a year doing this and said it was very much needed.

Have a look at the possibilities within your trust...find out what projects, agenda the trust or adjoining ones...see if you can do something else for a year. Take that year to see how you feel before making any big decisions.

Burnout + Big Life Decisions = potential BAD Moves

So don't rush anything❤️

I'm a senior nurse in a speciality and love my job but there is no let up.

Summer used to be the quieter months but this year for us, saw an ever increasing demand.
Staff shortages, lack of resources, fudging by management to make an unworkable situation work....in turn putting us in shocking positions....add the unrealistic expectations of those we care for....burned out here too.

I think this summer has been brutal and we can see already the ramping upto the busy period.

Watching this thread with interest.

I think the issue with a free service is that it ends up having no value. Patients don't understand how an hour of my time is costing the NHS at £75 because to them it's free as are the often very expensive dressings.

I'm not sure what the answer is though.

The other issue of having a free service is that people are expected to be grateful for something inadequate. Most GP's at my surgery are fabulous and we do not abuse the service. But I do object to hca's who need three stabs to take bloods, endless lost or wrong orescriptions. My hospital conzultant is marvellous but the outpatient services around her are dire. There seem to be 4/5 people in the reception being not v polite and efficient, and chatting a lot while people are waiting. The outpatients where I have an annual infusion usually has three nurses, last time two failed to cannulate me, they weren't very good and weren't very respectful. Never seen more than three patients there at any time so not exactly understaffed.

Mental health nurse here. Disillusioned and burnt out. I got a pay ‘rise’ of 6.5% over 3 yrs despite my petrol bill increasing by £20 a month over the last year and despite my 10yrs experience we got the worse pay deal. I’m fed up of the DNAs- 5 in a day last week I.e much of my day as we allocate 1hr appointments. Week before 2 band 6 nurses Sunday overtime travel 25 miles for patient to DNA. I reckon that cost the NHS about £750. I’m fed up of ‘entitled’ people who take no personal responsibility. The aggression. The long hours and constant need to do overtime to survive- every single week. Taking into account immigration we should have an extra 10 members of staff but we were given 0. We aren’t ever fully staffed. Morale is low- I no longer stay late for free. Ever increasing caseloads and an explosion of people with personality disorders. For working full time I take home £200 more than my patients on benefits yet my travel is £160. Psychology services are non existent, waiting times for specialist services 2yrs. In fighting between various services within same trust when you try to refer a patient. Nobody returns calls or emails. I spend hours doing admin and admin tasks as our admin won’t do it

I absolutely hear you, last poster. Every last word you said.

The procurement function could be much better and secure better savings and prices. It is bananas that PCT’s are buying things just for their hospitals, when a centralised function would benefit from volume buying, less admin burden, and a shared stock should supplies need to be reallocated. Sophisticated machinery is amazing but expensive; centralising would allow for less commercial staff, but the chance to employ more skilled and specialist ones also to negotiate effectively etc. The NHS could always do with more money, but spending what it has now more effectively would make a world of difference. OP, as others have said, life is too short and you need to do what is best for you and your family. Are there any other jobs which would utilise your skills and experience?

OP, I wish you well whatever decision you take as you should ensure your own good health and that of your family first. However there are people like us who do recognise the care you give and, because of the time spent in hospital could see the pressures. So our thanks to you all and I've written to the hospital to say just that.

I have been in the NHS since 1978.I am a nurse and the last few years are the worst it's ever been.We have lots of agency nurses,doing their best but each hospital gas a different computer system and way of doing the enormous amount if paper work on the wards.We skip meal breaks,those boards you see saying how many staff are on duty are incorrect,if a few nurses are moved to help other ward shortages they are double counted for each ward.We work extra shifts to cover urgent shirt falls and to pay our bills (first time I have ever had to do this).We are nullified by the public and press for every error,this applies to Drs too.I have 4 years until I retire and don't know if I can stay that long.Iwill still need to work part time as even on a full pension I will be pushed but it will not be as a nurse.I am tired of being always tired and me and my family don't deserve this. And my phone has merged my paragraphs!