To be annoyed that a nurse in intensive was cough and spluttering next to patients

[Somethingsosimple]

I’ve had a very long stressful day as a member of my family is intensive care following a major emergency operstion. They are very frail and elderly. When I arrived to visit there was a nurse taking her temperature that was obviously not very well. She kept coughing and sniffing. I heard her complain to another member of staff how unwell she felt. It clearly states that you shouldn’t visit patients if you have coughs or colds but surely nurses shouldn’t be working in intensive care if they are unwell. I dread my relative catching a nasty virus as well as recovering from major surgery.

Had a briefing about this yesterday- not clinical staff but we are patient facing- in summary it was: unless we are dying we are expected in. Short staffing has a knock on effect on the clinics running to standard etc etc.
We have had many team members off recently with virus things but generally most trek in and show up even when they unable to speak -as happened this week. Really isn’t ideal.

Three separate sickness periods in a year would trigger a sickness review, this could be three separate days across the year.
We've just had a couple of nurses fired for sickness related issues as they've had too much time off. The NHS are not kind if you need to take sick leave.

There's also the guilt of not coming in as a nurse, your colleagues will have to pick up the slack as there's often no one else to cover your absence.
I'm a nurse and currently on sick leave due to SPD in pregnancy, I'm on crutches and in agony if i walk for more than a few minutes. I work on a busy ward where reduced duties just isn't possible. I feel awful that I'm not there because i know how short staffed they are, and that's one less nurse to look after your family and friends.
I even struggled on for longer than i should have, against my GP's and physio's advice saying that I'm risking long term damage if i don't stop, so that there's enough staff to look after the patients.
I'm sure if the nurse could be off sick, she would.

You are right of course, but our NHS trust's sickness policy is draconian so most people come into work if they possibly can. I want to best for my patients, but I also can't afford to loose my job.

NHS staff are generally scared of sickness policies, truthfully though you’d have to really take the piss to get to a point where any disciplinary action was taken or actually be unfit for the role you’re in.

This might have been true 5 years ago but it is not true now. I know several nurses who have lost jobs over sick records.

Our trust's policy is that if you are off more than twice in a year your sickness will be monitored. If you are sick again in the next 3 months you will have a final warning, if sick again then they can make you redundant.

The most infuriating thing is that injuries caused at work count towards these periods of sickness (I am in an area where assaults from patients are quite common).

I, like everyone I know, come to work if I possibly can, in case you get a very serious illness or injury in the future and need to 'save' your sick days for that.

It isn't her fault as the NHS sickness policy is draconion, you are allowed very little time off. I had to leave in the end after 30 years as I had a chronic spinal condition. I was in HRs office every 5 minutes being dragged over the coals for daring to be ill.
Staff are forced to come in with bad colds or whatever and I remember a colleague collapsing at work once she had come in so sick.
Imagine being really ill and being forced to come in and work a busy 12 hour shift for fear of being disciplined?
It's bloody stupid.
I do think though that she should have said nothing in front of staff or patients, kept her mask on all day.
I found the private sector far more friendly and considerate.

When I worked in the NHS, I had a planned op that they were well aware that I was having. They kept me on the Rota for a night shift the same night as the op until my husband phoned them to say that under no circumstances would I be in and I had been signed off. They then had the nerve to complain that they were short staffed that night because I was off, and to complain that my husband phoned instead of me. Baring in mind I was in bed In hospital, not fully recovered from GA.

So yes it really isn't great, but if a member of staff phoned in sick with a cold they would be penalised

Well an update to an earlier message I put on here. A member of staff who came back in to work when still ill from end of virus (and had to use her inhaler to be able to speak to patients as she felt so dreadful) was admitted into the same hospital via A&E. She has now been off another whole week because of this. Madness.

well this is all just totally nuts!

Pay more taxes to train more staff & have more staff & campaign for more flexible working practices if you don't want this 2 happen.

I’ve worked some shifts when I’ve been really ill and I dread to think what the parents must think as I cough, splutter and sneeze around their infants.

Managers do not take kindly to you being off sick at all and sometimes you feel that unless you are on deaths door then you are expected in.

When it comes to infection control hospitals like to portray that it’s a topic they’re hot on.....until it affects their staffing nurses.

I went home with sickness one day and I was still asked to go in the next day so the ward wouldn’t be short.

If every nurse took the day off if she was suffering from a cold or viral illness etc then the wards would be very bare....

Some NHS trusts use the Bradford scoring system. (There are others).

This applies a multiplier to the number of episodes of sickness x the number of days, so by the 4th episode every day off sick is equivalent to 4 days off sick. If someone has had a run of minor illnesses they can easily trigger disciplinary action.

If the nurse wasn’t well she shouldn’t have been at work, but that doesn’t mean anyone could have covered their shift, or that she wouldn’t have been in trouble. It’s shit.

I hope your relative recovers well.

I took 2 days holiday last week because I was too poorly to work or be near patients, I couldn't take sick as I had had 2 days in December for a mgraine. I hadn't previously had time sick since Jan 2018 but as I had had 3 episodes in the previous 12 months they would have disciplined me further and I can't risk it. I took 2 days holiday in spring last year for the same reason. It isn't fair, it's genuine illness but the rules are disciplining after 3 episodes or so many days you only need a couple off things to happen to risk losing your job and they do do it

Aside from the draconian sickness policies ICU staff are highly specialised and there isn’t a cupboard of them waiting to cover sickness.

Spluttering nurse or no nurse.....

I'm an NHS worker and I have to say our dept is very good with sickness. No issues at all.
NHS staff in my experience don't ring in sick unless really dying as they know others will have to carry on for them though. These kind of winter colds etc are everywhere, its hard to avoid them.

Fucks sake you think she wanted to be there

I hope your family member is OK . I understand your feelings, and also the pressure an intensive care nurse might feel to not let the team down.

Wow interesting thread. Sorry for your family member and yanbu to be concerned. I was coming on when I saw the title to say I cannot abide people coming into work and sharing their germs, especially vomiting type things. However I was not aware of these kind of sickness policies in force. How stressful for all of you working in Nhs.