Has there been a huge NHS recruitment drive?

[Jobseeker19]

The government needs to show what they have been doing this past year to protect the NHS.

When we had the HGV driver crisis wages were improved and visas were given out.

I would like to know what they are doing for the NHS.

Have they encouraged people to join the NHS? What have they done to retain current staff? How many work visas for overseas staff have been accepted?

They can't keep threatening the NHS's decline as a consequence of not following order's whilst doing nothing themselves.

It seems like they are conditioning us to expect the NHS to fail or to put up with shitting or slow appointments because of covid.

No. They desperately need to remove tuition fees for nursing and reinstate the bursery. It’s put off thousands of potentially brilliant nurses. The course includes hours of placement including shifts etc and with the fees and no support it’s impossible for most mature students/parents. That would make a huge difference.

Locally there're advertising for ICU staff on facebook 🙄

No. In a local trust, they have "recruited new staff" but they're all on the NHS Bank (which is basically zero hours, great for filling the gaps but the individual is under no obligation to work - great for flexible working but from a NHS staffing perspective it is rather unreliable), because the money isn't there to recruit permanent staff. No additional funding has been given to recruit new perm staff - money just isn't there to pay annual leave, sick leave etc. So whilst on paper they have more names on the books, there are still many vacant shifts and patients at risk as a result.

Completely agree, OP. I'm sick to death of this government and its scientists threatening us with an overwhelmed NHS.

What are THEY doing about it?

No, and then they are intending to sack lots of unvaccinated staff next year. If there is truly a crisis then surely any staff member is better than no staff. Especially when vaccinated people can get and pass on the thing they are vaccinated against.

I believe they’re trying to recruit from abroad again. Which isn’t the most ethical practice in normal times, but in the middle of a pandemic?
There isn’t a political will at the moment to improve the NHS

I worked in nhs. Winter pressures are not.new and we.kmow.that for.years the nhs srtuggles.to.cope.
It.needs more funding Plus.. importantly with this ,more.streamlined management.
Also.more.contracted staff. In my team we.had banl staff on dble.or.wage .. not cost effecrive. Huge wastage in system too need looking at

Starting as a Trainee Nursing Associate could be a way in. A bit like the old SEN, a step up from a HCA, and a way to find out about the job before committing to a degree. Pays around £20k.

exactly what I've been saying. We are now 2 years in. It takes 3 years to train a nurse. So the argument that they can't use the Nightingales "because there's no staff" or "you can't magically train up medical professionals" isn't going to work for much longer. How long can you use that excuse? 2 years? 3 years? 4 years? We're very rapidly getting to the point where we COULD have had trained staff emerge, but they haven't done anything about it.

Because come April, there will be a huge exodus of staff who are forced to leave due to the mandatory jabs. Add in the sheer volume of people who will just say 'sod it' and decide to get a job elsewhere/retire, it doesn't take a lot to see that things are going to get a LOT worse.

@Nanoo1234

I worked in nhs. Winter pressures are not.new and we.kmow.that for.years the nhs srtuggles.to.cope. It.needs more funding Plus.. importantly with this ,more.streamlined management. Also.more.contracted staff. In my team we.had banl staff on dble.or.wage .. not cost effecrive. Huge wastage in system too need looking at

I still work in the NHS and yes winter pressures are not new and yes overhauls are needed but there’s never any change.

However in the 16 nearly 17 years in the NHS it is far far worse than ever. Staffing is beyond dire. Everyone’s knackered from the pandemic, people are helping by doing bank shifts and they can’t cover shifts even with extra pay.

The government don’t really do anything though do they? A nominal pay rise and then national insurance rise. Why would anyone want to come into the NHS right now is beyond me. A lot of us are trying to get out or seriously considering it.

@Seymour5

Starting as a Trainee Nursing Associate could be a way in. A bit like the old SEN, a step up from a HCA, and a way to find out about the job before committing to a degree. Pays around £20k.

Nurse associates are very jaded in my trust. They are expected to do much more than they expected to do. It’s basically almost everything a nurse does on a band lower pay. They also have to register too. Included in nursing numbers with similar workload. Also some have across negativity from nursing staff. My ward is very grateful for them tbh

Cheap nursing from the government.

There needs to be accountability for their lack of doing anything.

I should've at least seen one national advert for staff.

I've been asking the same question.
Many trained staff seem to leave the NHS what are they doing to encourage people to return?

I've concluded the NHS needs a complete overhaul but I can't think where you'd start.

There have been a quite few tv and print and social media adverts but no real incentive to train. Apparently, there have been more applications for nursing than ever. Great as that is, it isn’t the stat we should be watching as retaining them is the problem, both as students and as qualified staff

Part of me thinks that it is political as the Conservatives aren't known for their love of the NHS.

China on the other hand have been very busy training new nurses.

I’ve been thinking the same.

My cpn friend says they are continually asking them to work on the wards. She’s already working unpaid after hours catching up on paperwork as they are so crazy busy.

If she goes there how will her community cope without her? Who will help them.

They really need to hire more staff.

A few years ago if you came from some foreign countries with their nursing qualification you had to sit a conversion course here to be equally qualified. There were no conversion courses in Scotland at the time. So how can people who need that qualification get it if they come to Scotland?

More courses for trainees and people re-training or converting, cheap or free courses, better pay and conditions are reqd. That’s a lot and probably in the too difficult/expensive box.

SNP in control here but they have been no different but then they only have one agenda

Yanbu

Nope. In fact from where I work people are deserting the NHS like rats off a sinking ship. I don't blame them either. Those of us frontline nhs staff left are burning out at a rapid rate.

They haven't honoured a pay rise for exisisting staff and keep raising the expectations with minimal consultations e.g. bringing vaccinations targets forward by a month.

This is over 10 years in the making mind you. The government have cut the NHS funding and been slowly draining nhs resources and morale for some time.

I work for the NHS. Tye Microbiology Department has had over 20 jobs advertised this year, but there is a shortage of Biomedical scientists. We've had volunteers (paid) from research departments in the first wave but they've all gone back to work now.

Look, the NHS was trying to save money 2 years after it was launched, hence prescription and dental charges were bought in.

It is a victim of its own sucess, and sadly, those of us bought up with it (unlike my parents) take it for granted. We want to 'live forever', we take little responsibility for our own health as we assume the NHS will fix all our ills, and we want it NOW!

Funding it is a challenge for any govt; the whole concept was that public health and we as citizens, would improve our health with hospital care being there for illness.

Staffing has always been difficult, and what the public tend to forget is that the NHS isn't just docs and nurses, there's a whole army of staff (managers and others), so it's not just a questipn of recruiting/retaining nurses (and the whole bursary thing is disingenuous), we need untols staff of all levels and all professions.

I agree with @Nanoo1234. I also work in health.

They aren’t. Our ward is mostly agency which sucks if you are regular staff as agency nurses are earning loads of money while not knowing the ward so we have to pick up the extra work (I should go to an agency I guess).

No incentives to join, no incentives to stay. The government don’t want to support or save the NHS, they want us gone.

As well, what about the huge fanfare last year from Johnson about tackling obesity? That would arguably reduce pressure on the NHS too, but he's clearly got bored of that campaign as well now. It just seems to have whimpered to a quiet end.