Night shifts

[Chocolatebox11]

Has anybody done them before? I work in a care home and I’m struggling with them.
I manage to get enough sleep the next day so that’s not an issue, it’s the actual shift. It’s 10 hours with no allocated break and we aren’t allowed to sleep at all or else we risk being dismissed.
About 6/7 hours in I really struggle to stay awake. I’ve fallen asleep a couple of times, albeit for a few minutes. Some of the other staff do it , but there are other staff who will report you if you do.
I feel awful but really struggle. I don’t drink any caffeinated or energy drinks and don’t want to start for this.
Colleagues always tell me I look exhausted, they get tired too but don’t seem as bad.
Does anyone else manage them? I don’t mind the actual work, just feel so rough on the shift.
Has anybody had any strange side effects from them? I always get very bloated on and after a night shift.

@BarbaraofSeville

So there are some employers who have better conditions vodka, I bet your employer has lower staff turnover than those like the OP works for, who can't even manage the legal minimum entitlement?

Plus with employers being desperate for good staff, I can't see standing up for your legal rights barring people from working in the industry full stop, like a PP suggests.

A ratio of 1 carer to 10 residents, or when there's no cover 1 carer to 15 is deemed as 'better'? When 2 carers are needed for some procedures by law, and dementia patients likely have complex needs? That's not 'better' and if that's the standard we're aiming for then I despair. It does sound like Vodka gets the legal entitlement, when the staff are available to facilitate it. Some people can't cope with being busy all night, I can, it does take some getting used to and sacrifice to be honest. There's a reason night workers are more at risk from things like stroke and cancer, because it's bad for your body and mind, but some people can cope better than others. As you usually don't get any enhancement in pay for nights, there's very little that's attractive about doing nights over days.

And as I said as an employer can dismiss you before two years service without a reason, and many employ on a zero hour contract, it doesn't necessarily bar you from the industry, but you do find yourself on zero hours or 'let go because it's not working out' if you rock the boat.
As you say, better places do have lower staff turn over, so by definition, are harder to get.
The people who suffer are always the residents. And. No. One. Is. Listening.

For everyone saying no breaks is illegal it’s impossible to know based on the circumstances given. There are certain exceptions to the statutory break entitlements where continuity is required (e.g. safety purposes) one of which can be care home workers.

I work nights in a hospice so not a hospital environment but not a care home either. We work 12 hours and get 1 hour unpaid break. Most nights we get it and we cover each other. I honestly don’t know if we are allowed to sleep or not but I don’t as I feel worse afterwards but many do.
You should look if there are any hospices near you, we have lots of carers that work alongside the nurses and it’s much better than a care home but not as busy as a hospital and it’s not nearly as depressing and sad as most people think they are.

Certain ‘special case’ workers are exempt from rest break provisions within The Working Time Directives and can be legitimately asked to work through their rest-breaks if there is a genuine need for continuity of service around the clock, eg. hospitals, residential institutions, care workers. It is the same with the average 48 hour working week. For the majority of employees this is calculated over a 17 week period but for care staff it is over 26 weeks.

This is a typical night for our home
Drinks for resident in the main lounges, go to residents rooms and offer drinks.
Assist getting residents ready for bed.
Write in their care plans.
When most the residents are in bed, we have the hoovering to do in the main lounge. Clean the tables in the dinning rooms and set them up for breakfast.
We do 2 hourly checks through the night, change any pads that need changing.
Write in their care plans ever time residents are checked and in between when they call.
In the morning we get residents up, who want to get up, check pads that need changing.
I'm the only medication trained, so I do residents meds that need doing.
We also have to take the yellow bags out. As well as any washing that needs doing to the laundry room.

New carers can't believe how much we do in a night. Not every night is the same.

I’m struggling with there only being 3 of us or sometimes just me and one other person. 10 hours with the same people in a room (then together going to residents’ rooms) is so draining and they want to constantly talk.

Op how long have you been doing care for? How long you been working nights?

Nights only for 2 months, and about 6 months in care. It’s min wage too, I’ve got an interview though coming up for home care on 9.50 an hour and 10.20 on weekends which is good, days and evenings so might suit me better.

I was going to say maybe night shift isn't for you, doesn't suit everyone.

Ignoring the care home aspect.
I currently do nights 1) it’s easier if they are together and not spread over the week. 2) 3-5am is a known problem time and factors into a lot of road accidents at that time in the morning, personally I find that a hot drink and a paracetamol helps to take the edge of the headache I get at that time. Hot squash does it for me as caffeine at that time makes it difficult for me to sleep once I’m home. 3) no doubt you are kept busy, but I find it’s a necessity to physically move around as much as possible or the 4am slump is hell.

But no, nights are not easy and do take a toll on the body.

I’ve been working nights for years and some nights still find it tough…I prefer to do a stint of them, so 4 on 4 off as it suits my body better.
Everyone is different but I eat a small amount every 3 hours and have something higher carbs at 3 am to help with ‘the twitch’ or ‘the witching hour’ as we call it. Nights don’t suit everyone but I’m an insomniac and sleep better in the day, so they work best for me.

I tried to explain to the manager that maybe days suited me better than nights and if I could possibly swap over, but she was a bit like, well you do realise you signed up for nights were you aware of that. Not very helpful hmm

@Chocolatebox11

I tried to explain to the manager that maybe days suited me better than nights and if I could possibly swap over, but she was a bit like, well you do realise you signed up for nights were you aware of that. Not very helpful hmm

At 2 months you're still quite new to nights from a a changing your entire body clock pov, but I think you've given it enough of a go to know how it's affecting you. I find sleeping and eating as close to leaving home as possible helps, and allowing myself a bit of time to wind down after my shift when I get home. 4am wall is a bitch, but I try not to drink coffee after 5am and I also try not to fall into the sugar rush/crash cycle. Porridge is good and make sure you drink plenty of water. Ultimately though, if you're going to work nights you need to accept the downsides because there's not a lot you can do about it, and you don't really know until you start them how you're going to cope, people who do one or two cover shifts don't really get what it's like and can be quite dismissive of the problems of doing it permanently. Add to that that nights are hard to recruit and retain for and I'm not surprised you got that reaction to be honest. Maybe start looking elsewhere for day shifts, because the culture won't change, it's more than just your home, it's widespread, and although days are busy and can be hectic, you aren't fighting your need to sleep at the same time, so might be better for you as an individual.

I used to work 12 hour shifts in AE.
I only did it for a few months before getting a new job in the private sector not NHS.

Some people loved nightshifts and were full of energy. However I am not a good sleeper anyway because of my anxiety and I found it made me feel worse.
Once it got to 6/7am I would start to feel really down and tearful. Plus my commute was an hour.

I used to do them all the time as I managed a care home and used to cover if staff phoned in sick which was a lot! We had one sleeper and one waker on.

They are exhausting if it’s not a regular thing, especially as I had a baby at hime. I also used to spot check waking staff at least once a week. Instant dismissal if caught sleeping. Someone needs to be awake to check hourly on very vulnerable residents. I would also expect staff to tell if they found someone asleep on shift, it’s unacceptable. Our staff used to do their hourly checks and then take a break. They could in theory take as many breaks as they wanted.

I used to find the start of the shift was busy, getting people into bed, medication, sorting the washing etc but once the main jobs were done the tiredness sets in. I’d say if you feel you might fall asleep or are feeling rubbish then swap to days.

That’s what I’ve found, my colleagues seem to be full of beans. I also have an hour commute which doesn’t help.
I still think her reaction was a little unnecessary, it’s not unreasonable of me to struggle on nights.

AFAIK it doesn't matter. I'm not in UK but I'm pretty sure it's the same there. You join on your own and pay subs directly - even if your employer doesn't recognises them they can help you with legal issues,whatvto say to your employer if they try to change your T&C, if you get fired etc.

Sorry quote fail. That s about joining a union

I've worked nights for the past 7 year. I do 3 consecutive nights and we're also not allowed to sleep on shift or we're fired. I do 10 hour shifts and we get an hours break which we take when we can but I rarely do as I'm senior and usually just have to much to do. Try and pack some high protein snacks and drink plenty water. Between 3 and 4 is the time I hit a wall so I usually just either have a snack or get up and walk round for a few minutes to wake myself back up.

Seems to be a lot of us that hit a wall, between 3 and 4.

If I had even a 20 minute break where I could go and sit in the staff room or something it would make such a difference. It’s hard working with such extroverted people as the ones at my place seem to think you’re odd for wanting to be on your own for a bit. I guess I have to just not care what they think and try and get some quiet time.

Op, can you go and do some laundry- even if it’s just emptying a dryer and folding it up? Or go and start pottering in the kitchen, to give yourself that ‘break’ from others?

If I want a break from the others I either go for a smoke or go and do some tidying up.

I will try those suggestions. I’m back in tonight, thanks to everyone who replied.

I used to work 12.5 hour nights on a very busy NHS ward, we had a 1 hour unpaid break but were regularly too busy to take them or would take paperwork to do. I never struggled to stay awake as I was physically and mentally busy. I often preferred my nights split as the 4-5 hours sleep I got in between school runs wasn’t enough for consecutive nights.

I now work 3 12 hour nights a week in a care home. We have 1 hour paid breaks and are allowed to sleep. We are very busy at the start and end of the night but not in the middle so we take turns for our breaks then. But we do have a carer/nurse to every 6 residents and no laundry or proper cleaning to do. I prefer my nights together now as I can manage with just 4-5 hours sleep in between. I have always had a couple of hours sleep before starting my first night though.