To think my current work situation in the NHS is an absolute joke *MNHQ tweaked title at request of OP*

[MooreFoolYou]

Props to all NHS workers in the areas that were hit hard by Covid, I'm not denying for a second your hard work. What annoys me, is that hospitals in areas that haven't been affected are barely running and it's just a joke.

I work in a hospital that covers a large county, we've had 3 confirmed Covid cases. Ever. Yet almost all 'non essential' departments are still shut. Deployment has ended, as it's just not needed. Covid is not impacting us at this time. I have no work to do, as my department is shut, yet still I come in everyday. I'm literally coming in to sit in the office reading a book or even watching Netflix sometimes. There's loads of us that have nothing to do! You walk on to a ward and there's 12 nurses just twiddling their hands.

Why are non essential departments still closed when there is nothing else to occupy our time? Can the NHS really afford us to just bloody sit here? It's been two months of this! Why are patients having non emergency surgeries cancelled, why are non urgent referrals being postponed indefinitely, why are we turning people away to sit here with nothing to do?

I'm just fed up of it! I'm paying someone to look after my child whilst I do absolutely nothing. I've been told I can't work from home as the cost of getting me a laptop is too high, so I must come in everyday to just be here. With no work. Zero. What is the point!

They haven’t implemented video appointments because they are busy. They’ve started them to reduce footfall and to try and keep hospitals safer for those who really need to be there.

I don’t know where you are but hope you can find something to do.

I'm happy to hear some hospitals aren't the same. I can only talk about my particular hospital, in my particular health board. But here atleast, it's an absolute joke.

I'm a nurse and have got a few nursing/doctor/occupational therapist/physiotherapist friends who work across six different trusts, we are all back from redeployment and trying to pick up the pieces from the months of disruption. Definitely no one I know being paid to read a book or watch Netflix, so sounds like your hospital is an exception.

Thank you for speaking out on this. As PP have said we desperately need to have a grown up conversation on funding the NHS but no-one wants to break cover to do it. Even if we get back to "normal" the NHS will just trundle on in the same way, costing everyone a shed load of money but still not able to provide the service that I'm sure the majority of staff want to.....

@RegularHumanBartender

Do you have a dental hospital where you are? Some of them have emergency appointments via 111. Dental pain is horrendous. Some dentists are open for emergency things now. Hope he gets better soon.

I agree, it's disgusting and don't get me started on the perks / discounts being offered to NHS workers, most of whom haven't been on the front line of all this and some haven't even worked for 6 months!

I had a zoom physio appointment and in my experience it just doesn't work.

I've had the same. Tried to do respiratory physio via zoom and had the Physio asking me what muscles I was using to breathe - how do I know?

Had a private Physio session last week, because I'm isolating, and that was just hilarious - at one point I was laying on the dining room floor with my phone on the table and the Physio yelling instructions at me with neither of us knowing if what I was doing was correct.

My hospital is creeping back up to pre lockdown levels of activity. We've restarted elective surgery for some of our specialities. Our medical wards are consistently now full. We've not had a positive covid case for weeks now though.
I think some of our admin staff are still working from home, but clinic, theatre, recovery staff etc re-deployed have now gone back.

Thank you. There is a dental hospital in Manchester, about 35 miles from where we live but they won't see him as he isn't an existing patient. I've tried dentists as far as 50 miles away from us in a desperate bid to get him some help, but nobody will see him. I am at a loss. He is 55, he has a heart condition, he has angina, he could have an infection spreading around his body, but nobody will see him because corona.

@RegularHumanBartender

That’s awful. Your poor DH.

Well done for posting this and saying what loads of people are too afraid to say. I have friends who work across different departments (patient and non-patient) and they say the same re not busy at all and that they don’t understand why things aren’t starting up again. One even said the extra perks are a joke and that’s from someone within the NHS who enjoyed the perks initially but now thinks it’s all become a bit much.

@AlrightTreacle

I'm happy to hear some hospitals aren't the same. I can only talk about my particular hospital, in my particular health board. But here atleast, it's an absolute joke.

I'm a nurse and have got a few nursing/doctor/occupational therapist/physiotherapist friends who work across six different trusts, we are all back from redeployment and trying to pick up the pieces from the months of disruption. Definitely no one I know being paid to read a book or watch Netflix, so sounds like your hospital is an exception.

I'm glad to hear that. We are a rural hospital, so maybe things are taking longer to get back to normal here rather than major cities, but we cover an extremely large area and patients here should still be a priority. We're lucky to have missed the worst of Covid, but it makes it even more frustrating as it just doesn't seem worth all the distribution when we are pointlessly turning people away despite the fact there's nowhere to redeploy us too. I'm not patient facing, but me and a lot of other admin staff are being told to sit tight and find things to pass the time, be it ESR training or just reading a book. It's just a frustrating situation. I doubt doctors and nurses are passing the time the same way, but the ones I have spoken to are bored and fed up of the current situation here.

It’s so frustrating, I work in a GP practice and we are slammed as all the patients who can’t be seen by our local hospital are coming to us for care. And patients are annoyed and are being even nastier than usual to us, I’ve seen several members of staff in tears the past week.

The chairs have been removed from my GP surgery's waiting room. Small thing I guess but it communicates 'Fuck you, patients, you and your comfort and health are less important than protecting the Precious System' very effectively. I have seen many more instances of this mentioned on here. I can well believe people are in the OP's position.

Must be lucky in our area. Family member of mine has a face to face appointment both in October and November for the two conditions she has.

I wish more people like yourself would speak publicly about what is going on however I totally understand why they don’t having seen the vile comments directed at someone who did.

So many seem to think the NHS can do no wrong and nothing will open their eyes to look at the bigger picture.
These are likely to be the same people who are fully convinced that all the excess deaths are purely down to COVID 19 and can’t possibly be people who have sadly died of other things due to everything in the NHS being largely cancelled.

@Gilead

Interesting first post. Even the N and N who have had the fewest cases have had more than three.

I have name changed. I'm sure MN can confirm that if need be. I've spoken about situations in my job (non Covid related) in the past and didn't want to say something potentially damaging to my role on an account that could maybe be linked to me if a manager was to see it.

My health board has had more cases than 3, but apparently my hospital has only had 3 inpatients with confirmed cases.

I think people in some areas are being shunted around from Gps to 111 to minors to a&e and are unable to obtain help and no one in government is taking charge .

But we must protect the NHS. Even if people are dying from everything else but Covid.

The whole thing is a shit show, I can't take ANY of it seriously.

During Covid I have had multi appointments due to preganncy all face to face. I have seen my GP twice face to face. I have had video appointments. My son has had an eye test and glasses by NHS eye hospital. My parents belonging to another practice have seen a GP face to face. I have had jabs too. I am in awe of our frontline workers... I really do hope you are in the minority OP and that this is a mismanagement in your local trust as others seems to be working above and beyond to try to facilitate things moving forward. Can understand why this situation frustrates you.

Please blame the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary, no-one else.

Normal operations and treatments would have been back sooner or be back now, had there been a timely response to the pandemic in early to mid-March. There would have been perhaps thousands fewer people in hospital with Covid 19.

It’s not all areas. We’re in a heavily hot area. DW is a nurse in a clinic setting (sexual health, contraception and HIV). When was redeployed to a covid ward for 4 months and the clinic only offered minimal services. Now she’s back in her normal job, the clinic is back open, lots of consultations are over the phone but they see patients if it’s necessary.

And my son had to go to A&E at the weekend with a broken arm. A&E, children’s ward and orthopedic surgery all operating as normal, as is the fracture clinic he’s going to next week.

Seems insane that other areas aren’t functioning

I'm slightly concerned as OH has a condition that doesn't show symptoms until it's terminal. Preventative procedures to check for the condition need to be done each year. It's now 9 months overdue...

*heavily affected not heavily hot