AIBU to ask why emergency services staff work 12 hour shifts?

[Cuppaand2biscuits]

I'm just watching Ambulance on BBC 1 and appreciating the incredible work of our paramedics.
Just wondering why in such a physical and emotionally exhausting job do they work 12 hour shifts?
Same in midwifery, nursing, police etc.

I did a good 6 years of 12hr shifts for the ambulance service. Swapped onto 8hr shifts for maybe 2 years
Then realised the rota was written so you did a late, day off, back on an early. Took me about 60 attempts but I rewrote the rota so you did an early, day off then came back in on a late which made more bloody sense
So instead of finishing at midnight, getting one day and coming back in at 8am, you finished at 4pm, got one day and then didn't come back in until 4pm
Much paperwork later and they approved it, installed it for all 8hr shift workers and I worked that for a few years

As well as the reasons given by previous posters, the introduction and escalation of 12 hour shifts was also driven by the European Working Time directive being brought in which looked to cap the crazy hours which some staff (particularly at that time junior doctors) were putting in. It put in place minimum ‘breaks’ between finishing one shift and starting another. This meant that the ‘late then early’ shift pattern which people were doing at the time wouldn’t comply.

I've not heard of any 'sit around and wait for some action roles'
I've certainly heard of many 'demand outstrips resources roles' 100 cases stacking... 4 crews available is a daily not over exagerated occurrence.

8 hour shifts do not relieve that pressure.

It's crap, working 12.5 hours if that's not what you want to do is crap. I hate nights I feel physically sick after them but I do what i can in the here and now to balance home and work.

If one team has better working conditions or terms and conditions than another then clearly that's unfair. Speak up, gather support. Implement the change but I get It's easier said than done.

Midwife here I work 12.5 hr shifts get an hours break (sometimes not if too busy) Used to work early later nights but too costly for NHS with overlap of early late staff. Longer shifts better for continuity of care and we get more days off as working all our hours over shorter time. Most trusts now I imagine work these shifts. Yes they are tiring but we are not given an option even at Xmas it's 12.5 hrs.

Shift work is hard, whether it be 8 hour day shifts and 10 hour nights or 12.5 hours day and night!

It's tough to do a 10 day stretch of 8 hour days just to get every other weekend off. It's tough to work 12.5 hours. There is no easy option with soft work it's all tough.

I prefer 12.5 hours, lots do. Doesn't mean we hate our job and just want to be there less days. I love my job and work extra every week to support my ward. But I also enjoy being able to pick up extra hours and still get at least 2 days off to rest and spend with my family.

Re childcare: for anyone working shifts, childcare is a nightmare, not just those doing 12.5 hours.

I like 12 hour shifts because I can work a few more hours and have the next day off. Which means I get to take the DC to school. And yes DH and I do see each other.

I admire you all doing 12 hour shifts, I did a 12 hour shift yesterday with no breaks and I'm done in today

Yes, they can break people. Our 12.5 hour shifts involve 15 and 30 minute appointments throughout with one allegedly 'guaranteed' 30 minute break.

I've signed up for 20 in a row over the summer

Grand why? Why the fuck? Have you done it before? Are you a nurse administering drugs, or an HCA responsible for monitoring vital signs?

As stated above, I did 6 long days in a row, that ended me!

How do you think you can do this? How can management allow this?

I'm a nurse, my dp is a HCA. Until last December we were working 8 hour shifts, mix of earlies, lates and nights. Because my ward requires more nurses in the evening I worked more lates than anything else. We would also be rostered for up to 11 shifts in a row and yes on multiple occasions every one of them was a late shift for me. Imagine not putting your child to bed for 11 days straight... Imagine working 4 days, 4 nights then only 2 days off. This was the reality. Since our move to 12 hour days I feel less stressed, less tired. My relationship has improved and I see my son much more than I did before.

Shift work is necessary for my line of work but I'd rather do it this way than how we used to do it.

@mermaid no I work in security. So different. And yes I've done it before. I'll probably get a night off in the middle.

I used to work in a palliative care unit that brought in 12 hour shifts. It was mostly because the staff wanted it !! because it meant they got four complete days off most weeks and it made their work/ life balance better. The unit struggled to recruit staff because most recruits came form places where 12 hour shifts were in place and they didn't want to move and end up doing 5 x 8 hour shifts again. With 8 hour shifts you could often get 7 or eight in a row because of needing to work weekends.

I found the twelve hour nightshifts the worst, especially after looking after kids all day. The unit I worked on was manic some night and it was relentless all night. needless to say I am now doing a 9-5 job.

For many years in a previous job and with suppliers for my current one, there have been shift rotas based on 12 hour shifts. No shortage of people wanting to go on them (four on four off) than being on an 8 hours per shift five day week, and once on, no-one wants to move off from them.

Fair enough.

I guess it all depends what the work is, but a MRI unit in our Trust had to go to emergencies only because they imposed 12.5 hour (day) shifts on the staff who had, to date been doing a maximum of 9 hours per shift.

Just over half the team, having already come from 12.5 hour places, resigned as a result, citing patient safety (and bullying managers...)- that they weren't delivering the same standard of care for the last patient of the day than for the first (and never finished on time!). All went off to London.

So the maximum shift length they can make you work is now 10 hours.

As for 'sitting around', the same Trust is turning an imaging on-call into a 12.5 hour night shift. Apart from some quite dubious recruitment decisions made to find sufficient staff, this is to provide a scanning service for up to 8 patients per night. Eight 10, occasionally 15 minute scans.

Unfortunately, this has also caused several good staff to go 'Nah'. They have families at home who at least they see, while on-call!

Me and my OH both do the long shifts and whilst we don’t see each other that much we don’t need any paid childcare, one of us is always home and it saves us an undoubted fortune.

I'm a medical registrar and work either 8 or 12.5 hour shifts. My A&E colleagues don't work longer than 10 hours. They often ask me how I can make life and death decisions after the 12th hour of a night shift. I don't think I do it very well to be honest.

We do three or four nights/days (usually directly following 3/4 day shifts) and then are back at work on the 2nd or 3rd day. It's rough and I struggle with it. I know doctors back in the day worked longer hours, but the intensity was less. I frequently don't stop all night. Also I have two young kids.

I would support moving to shorter shifts, like A&E. I understand the handover issues. But there is no let up in medicine any more.

As far as family life, I am essentially useless between shifts. I am now part time (80%) and still work well over 40 hours a week.

I mainly use my annual leave to break up the longer runs of shifts.

80% is loads squidkid, I found 0.6 or 0.7 so much better, would finances not allow ?

I remember having a conversation with a non medic mate about 7 years ago when DC were 6 and 8 (so not tiny). We were both working 28 hours a week, the difference was I thought that was 2 and a bit days a week (2X 13hr shifts) so basically halftime and she (office job) thought it was 4 days a week (4X7) so 80%. That was a in a ICU job.

Doing 80% of an acute medical rota is 150 % of a non medical job.
I now do 48 hours mon-fri daylight hours with a bit of oncall. My health and family life is loads better