To consider leaving the NHS?

[Fedupnurse2022]

I’m just so fed up of unpaid overtime, staffing shortages, broken facilities and equipment and terrible pay. With the NI increase, my pay is actually going DOWN £25/month, and I won’t make an increment for another year…even then I reckon it’ll only be about 50 quid a month. With inflation rising and costs of everything else going up, I don’t know how to manage anymore. We are lucky to have two incomes (not high earners, but two incomes nonetheless) but have two young DCs too.

I love my work and am good at patient care but with staffing it often feels unsafe and I worry I’m putting my PIN on the line.

What do you do in the NHS and where do you work?

If you are a nurse and work on a ward, look for jobs in the community, in theatre or theatre recovery, dialysis, cath lab, endoscopy, chemotherapy, or ICU. A change is as good as a rest. And ward work, especially medical wards, is hell on earth.

Also go part time, and top up your hours as needed with bank shifts. Though this will affect your pension, but it was worth it to me when I worked on a ward. I did 30 hours, which worked out to two long days/nights one week, and three the next, and repeat.

And stop doing unpaid overtime! I stayed late every single shift in my first ward job, never again!

Also your pay will go back up when the NI threshold lowers in July, and we're meant to have a pay rise this month, no news of one yet though.

No, leave. If you’re not happy get another job, better than moaning about it but doing nothing

Agree with this. If you're going to keep being unhappy there is no point.

Think hard about what else you could do in the NHS. But also consider private hospitals. I know a few nurses who have moved to the private hospital in our town and are happier.

Would you have the same earning potential in the private sector? Would the terms and conditions be similar - Pay, sick pay, mat leave, pension?

Does your DH work Mon-friday? Could you work one long shift on Sunday with Sunday USH enhancement?

This is what I do. Zero childcare costs and I took home (with overtime from late finishes and compulsory cpd time) £19400 last year, on the middle point of band 6.

I left and it was the best thing career wise I ever did. I was on an 8b and intially took a hit in pay for a few years but it was well worth it for the work/life balance and decrease in stress.

I have worked for the NHS for 12 years in a finance role and am actively looking for something else outside the NHS.
NHS used to be a great employer in terms of its benefits (generous OSP, OMP, good pension, flexible working options)....but the wages are lagging so so far behind what you can earn in the private sector for similar roles that its just not worth it anymore. Esp when so many employers have better flexible working options these days the NHS is not as attractive as it once was....

Definitely leave. Lots non-NHS HCP jobs out there depending on your area.

Have a look at alternatives within and outside the NHS and make an informed decision. Don’t stay because you feel you “should” but also consider that there are worse employers.

I work in NHS and have done for 8 years. I would definitely consider moving to a different unit / department / Division OR find a job in another trust. You could look for something in the community etc? Everywhere is short staffed though at the moment.

i don’t think I’ll lever leave the NHS now I’m in.

the long and short of it is only you can make the decision. You have to focus on your happiness. You are replaceable at work but you aren’t at
home x

If you are a B5 nurse. I would look for an outpatients post or switch to 2 nights a week with 2 DC instead.

Definitely leave. The NHS is a terrible employer and is only getting worse

Agree. Compare pension and sick leave before jumping ship. Could you change roles instead of leaving the NHS completely?

Nope leave, I could double my salary outside of the nhs and not be stressed and abused everyday, stupidly I stay for the pension and job security but with the extra salary I could probably invest, I don’t know, it’s all a minefield.

@Jonny1265 , mind my asking where you went after leaving?

thank you to everyone for the replies. I’m just feeling so down and demoralised. I’ve already left the wards and changed to outpatients, I thought I’d have a better balance without unsocial hours, but we’re so short staffed and rammed with patients I’m regularly there 30, 45 minutes over and not had a proper break all day. We are promised time owing but it never comes through. And with costs of everything gone up it just feels like a slap in the face.

I wish it were as easy as walking out at the end of a shift instead of staying late but there would be ramifications for that of course.

And for anyone else who suggested looking around, where might I look? I’m in London and I’ve looked at some private healthcare jobs but the wages don’t seem much different and don’t include a pension…

Sounds like where you work now is badly managed.

Nursing Times has a careers fair on in June:
southeastlive.nursingtimes.net/London/en/page/home

I'd also have a look if there are any charity run hospices around you, there is onr near me which allows you to transfer your NHS pension and annual leave. A lot of private jobs seem to offer more money, but less annual leave and pension, so I'd be weary of that.

I left the NHS to work in a mainly privately funded hospice. Whilst staffing was better generally, it was still horrendous at times. The challenges and complexity of care for so many very ill patients was overwhelming and staff always off with stress etc. I still have nightmares about working there despite leaving four years ago !

I’m not saying it’s right, but there are an awful lot of jobs where you will find yourself finishing half an hour late regularly. If finishing on time is your main reason for changing jobs, you need to pick carefully.

Don't underestimate the importance of your NHS pension and other benefits. Private sector salary may be a bit higher, but doesn't mean you'll leave work on time, or have no stress, that is true of many jobs. I wish my private sector pensions were anywhere near as good as public sector pensions - I'm in my 40s and starting to think about moving into a public sector job, solely to improve my pension pot.

Reading this is quite depressing, a lot of the training for the NHS was subsidised, so jumping ship from one of the best things the UK has ever created will just hasten it's end. I get that the Tories have chronically underfunded it for years, but try and get shifts or a job in the NHS that will work for you

3rd year students, particularly, work their arses off on placement and form a useful additional member of staff. These students aren't being paid, they may get assistance through bursaries but that doesn't come close to actual pay, and certainly doesn't enslave then to the NHS for the next 4 decades!!

I had my paramedic degree funded by my trust, all they paid for was course fees and let me off rota for 7 weeks of specialist placements, I worked full-time as an EMT and studied (approx 16 hours a week) on my 'rest days'. 10 years down the line I owe them NOTHING!

Sounds very similar to victim blaming. It's not up to individuals to sacrifice themselves for the NHS-that is a government issue.