AIBU to leave the NHS for the private sector?

[FlorenceNightshade]

I’m a nurse with years of acute experience but feeling totally fed up with the NHS and all the stress that comes with working for it.

I’ve an interview for a promoted post in the private sector (care home) this week. AIBU to go for it? Yes the NHS is a shit show just now but it’s also so precious and I’ve always been proud to work there.

Any fellow nurses made the change and have any insight?

I 'm retired now but did NHS, private and overseas work.
I 'd stick with NHS. Why not try day case surgery or specialist nurse if you want Monday to Friday, I did both, definitely not as stressful as ward working.
Don't be rushed into making a decision there's always nursing home jobs available. Good luck!

@50shadesofknackered thank you for your take on things! That’s a really good point about cover and staffing gaps thank you!

@stonebrambleboy thank you I think it is the grind of the ward that is making me want to leave. I just wish there were more 9-5 type options available in my trust

@50shadesofknackered if you don’t mind me asking how does your take home pay compare to the nhs for the same level of responsibility?

Have you considered primary care?

Jobs may not be advertised on the usual platforms as you’re employed by the GPs and not the NHS per se. No pay scales under AFC, so pay isn’t especially competitive but you can join/remain in the NHS pension scheme, and the work/life balance is so much better. No nights, rarely any weekends (except for Covid and flu vaccine clinics) and no bank holidays.

It’s busy and stressful and pressured but very rewarding and you can really get to develop relationships with your patients.

@Sidge I have thought of that but the vacancies I’ve seen lately need treatment room experience, smears, disease management etc. The hours for those roles would be perfect though

It's hard to compare and pay can vary massively between homes. I guess my salary would put me at the bottom of NHS band 8b (I have just goggled) but registered manager's are legally responsible for the home and the residents in it, so more responsibility in lots of ways than at this band in the NHS. You can also be in charge of managing every department, handling HR issues and recruitment, budgets and lots of other things, although of course, this all depends on the size of the home. Some of the larger care homes like Barchester will have different departments for this. Our nurses immediately earn around £4 more than band 5 nurses, the rate of pay is higher again for our senior nurses. Remember, the rate of pay is higher in some homes than in others, although in truth agencies are always going to pay more. It would probably be pretty easy for a nurse to walk into a lead nurse or senior nurse role in a nursing home as we have the same staffing issues as the NHS. Nurses are like gold dust at the moment.

@50shadesofknackered that’s interesting you say that because I got the impression the manager was delighted I was considering the role! I’m under no illusion that nursing homes are an “easy” option and I’m sure there are pressures there that are totally different to an nhs ward environment.
I just am scared of burning my nhs bridges if it’s not what I expected it to be if that makes sense

Yes it can be a vicious circle as they want experience, but you can only get the experience in that role usually!

Often worth applying anyway, especially if you have transferable skills. Many practices will train you up, especially when they’re finding it hard to recruit experienced staff.

@Sidge that’s a good point! Maybe worth a phone call next time I see a vacancy

I bet she was delighted that a nurse with your experience had applied and was seriously considering taking the role. There may well be room to get a higher salary if you were to mention that you would love to take the job but the only issue is the proposed salary... As I said, nurses are like gold dust everywhere. I think a previous poster is correct when they said that the NHS are so short staffed that nurses can walk back into a job with them so at the moment I don't know if it is possible to burn your bridges with the NHS. I guess the difficulty might be if you want to re-enter at the same grade or pay scale.
Another good tip is to always read a homes CQC report, this gives you a good picture of the home and the management. If that flags any concerns you can ask questions around that.

I work in day surgery, absolutely 100% recommend it. Yeah I miss night pay and weekend pay but the work/life balance is amazing. And we don't have to work Christmas as it's all Consultant led and they're not putting on lists on Christmas Day.

Is there any kind of Outpatient services in yyor area? Respiratory Clinics, Dialysis, Endoscopy etc?

Also, I just want agree with you that nursing homes are not the easy option. They are different to hospitals but can still be very stressful, especially if you are looking at a management role. Nurses in a home can deal with a whole host of emergency and non-emergency situations without the support of a Dr that is onsite and you know you can call for assistance at any time of the day and night.
Training is also something to look out for, ask what they offer and what they consider to be mandatory.

@ElspethFlashman I’d happily take a pay cut for regular hours and no weekends or nights! I think as you get older you realise what’s important in life and I just want to be happy at work and happy at home! Our day surgery unit has become a ward with 24-7 staffing so not really an option unfortunately.

@50shadesofknackered I’ve read the reports and before covid things were pretty good. I don’t want to be greedy but definitely don’t want more responsibility for lower pay. I’m top of my band so never going to earn more in nhs without promotion but grudge doing the senior role for no more money!

[quote FlorenceNightshade]@WeaningNewbiiee have you? What sort of role did you have? Very interested in people’s experience[/quote]
I'm a RMN was a band 6 but my new job is for a band 7 in the NHS.

@FlorenceNightshade not sure if someone's said but have you had a look at their Care Inspectorate report yet, and also the family's reviews on carehome.co.uk.
Agree with pp they will bite your hand off! Remember you'll also be responsible and have to manage dealing with any adult protection issues etc that come up.

I'm a mental health nurse so totally different area, but I did leave the NHS to go private.
I was a band 7 ( specialist clinical role- no management experience) in the NHS up until about 4 years ago, so pretty decent pay, and good pension, but quite frankly I was done in with it. So I walked away and initially took a pay cut as I took a deputy manager post in a mental health residential home. Quickly took over as manager and then moved to our sister company which is a more specialist service and the registered manager job attracted more money ( more than my previous nhs post).
Im happy with my decision to leave but it can be a rollercoaster at times. Things move at a rapid pace, the security of the nhs is much less and the responsibility of a registered manager post is huge. Do remember you can negotiate on pay etc. We are not used to this in nhs- it's the norm in private sector! You could land your self a really good deal...

@MichelleScarn thank you id never heard of that website so I’ll definitely check it out. I have a social Care background so a basic awareness of adult protection issues but I imagine I’m a bit out of date!

Also your user name

@milkysmum yes I had noticed that! No mention of salaries on the company website just average hourly rates. In my application there was a space for preferred salary which I left blank! No idea what’s reasonable. I’m top of my band 5 so just looking for a bit more than that really

I'm an RMN. I went from NHS (well prison service but NHS pay and conditions) to private sector over 20 years ago, then returned to the NHS a few years later, and regret working outside the NHS.

The NHS pension scheme used to have a special package for mental health staff called Mental Health Officer Status, which basically meant you could retire at 55. (Doesnt happen any more for new staff). But anyway to cut a long story short because I was over 5 years out of the NHS, i no longer qualify for this benefit. I could have retired by now!

When I was working privately I was in a medium secure unit. The patients were funded by the NHS (ECRs) but I thought they did everything to screw the fundholders financially. They were keeping patients when they could long be transferred to an open NHS ward, or they'd keep patients on close obs (1:1) when it wasn't needed, of course the fundholders were all charged for it. I felt all they cared about was ££££ rather than the patients.

From now on its NHS or not for profit organisations for me all the way.

@Spidey66 that’s really interesting thank you. The change in mindset from working for NHS to working for a “business” wasn’t something I’d given much thought to.
The pension and benefits difference keeps being brought up so I’ll definitely be checking that out. I’ll also email nhs hr and ask about leaving a full time role, staying on the bank and possibly taking another full time role in future.
Lots to think about

Scottish nurse here...have you considered joining the guild? In my old trust agency was kind of looked down on but the one I'm in now the vast majority of nurses are on the agency too. You could reduce your NHS hours, keep your pension and training benefits but be able to make some money on the side.

Alternatively just apply for whatever sparks your interest on the NHS jobs site. Even if its custody suite nurse/Community/school etc etc etc. The benefit to there being so little nurses at the moment is that you can choose whatever you want to do. If you want to be mon-fri could you be a PEF or even look into a more QI/research role. What about trainee HV? I once worked with an amazing nurse with the most varied experience and she said every time she sees a role that interests her she applies, don't get bogged down on what they require, you have your nursing degree and everything else you can be trained in....don't sell yourself short in wondering if you have the right experience, let the person interviewing you find that out. You have 9 years ward experience, that's an amazing asset to have and I'm sure you have a lot more skills than you think you do. Have a think about what you enjoy and maybe we could think of a route which might help you in it?

@Jent13c it’s the travel for guild and agency that I struggle with. Quite rural and I don’t have own transport but maybe that’s something to look into.
I sometimes feel like I don’t have a “passion” I just see jobs that sound good and go for them too! Like I never loved a speciality like cardiology or renal I just enjoyed a bit of everything!
I have noticed more and more that certain skills and experience are listed as desirable rather than required in job vacancies so you may be onto something there thank you

Honestly the grass isn't any greener.
I started off working I private sector as a nurse and it left me really broken and depressed. It's amazing how often money and budgets play into your decision making - this is ahead of patient need.

I couldn't believe my luck when I went to the NHS. Yes it's busy and understaffed, but nowhere near how bad private was. And I love being able to make decisions based on patient need, despite costs (as long as they are reasonable) rather than pre-agreed budgets.
Personally I would never ever go back to a private setting, but that is just me x

@purplepoppet92 yeah as a regular staff nurse in nhs budgets just aren’t something you think about! A patient needs a patient gets

Remember that you can leave the NHS and come back within 1 year and you regain all your benefits (sickness, pensions, redundancy). In terms of leave, once you reach a certain stage and increase in entitled days, you never lose it, even if you don't go back for 10 years.

So nothing to lose giving it a go but if you realise that the NHS was better and want to go back, don't wait too long as the time between applying for a job and starting the job can be many months.