To be actually really worried about you? NHS related

[Itsonthestairs]

As a highly skilled NHS nurse of 15 years I had to leave my job due to the stress and not being able to provide the care I wanted to, I was burnt out following covid (my mum died), I have definaly save a fair few lifes in my clinical time, I loved my job and I was good at it (emergency department background). Reading the posts on MN has really upset me recently, the disrespect, dislike and darn right hatred for healthcare professionals really worries me. My friends are on their knees and this abuse doesn't help, people are getting crap care because there is no staff and this awful attitude is just adding fuel to the fire. I'm really worried about you, me and our families future healthcare.

Private is the way forward I’m afraid.

I agree with you sadly

You have to remember the silent majority who are actually really grateful and nice.

I was getting "crap care" in A&E BECAUSE of the crap nurses. Humanoid uncaring creatures. There were plenty of them around and not one with a chance to give me some pain relief (apparently ain't a moment for that in the 13h I was there) or triage despite me being in acute visible distress.

Only strange how it all appeared (plus a cup of sweet tea, somewhere to lie down on, my first triage and even a Doctor ) when I called for an ambulance from the waiting room...

It's not finance that's the issue with the NHS - it's the fact that no one cares! Lessons will be learnt and all that....

Privatise. The crap nurses would lose their jobs and everyone would benefit (including the remaining employees).

You are right and I am very grateful for those wonderful patients and their families. That sounds really patronising but it's true, the last couple of years the patients and families were the only thing that got me through, my husband begged me to quit, I had changed and its such a shame. I feel a deep sense of guilt for leaving because of the huge skill set I have to offer.

Privatise. The crap nurses would lose their jobs and everyone would benefit (including the remaining employees).

how do you figure that out? Privatised services would use the same staff. There isn’t some mythical pipeline of nurses to feed the private sector.

I did 21 years as an AHP, I was burnt out, my mental health was terrible and I was physically unwell. The job had changed beyond recognition from when I qualified, completely process and target driven and very little focus on quality of care. I still have nightmares sometimes that I’m back in the same job.

The NHS is far too top heavy, the management needs to be streamlined and the waste in the service is criminal. Sadly I can’t see a long term future without rapid radical change.

I can only speak for myself OP, but I am in awe of healthcare workers. I’m mindful you have all been through so much. Perhaps sadly people are in a heightened state of alert given the staffing shortages and almost expect poor care (which is not a reflection on you but policy and management decisions). They then become frustrated v quickly and lash out.

I confess the only NHS workers I’m frustrated with are GP receptionists. In my experience they need basic customer service training and wouldn’t last a second in the private sector. In their defence, they are no doubt under pressure- aren’t we all?

Those on the front line deserve our utmost respect and I’m so sorry you’re burnt out, it’s our loss. 💐

As someone who's spent all day crying about the "care" I received today - Even dh commented how horrible the nurse was to me - I don't think the answer to the NHS crisis is to attack upset patients when they dare to speak out about their experiences.

Having said that I was very polite and won't be complaining. I'll just be silently gutted I have no resolution, no information and have been treated like poo. With even less trust in the hcps than I did already.

Thank you for your kind words. I totally agree, its a vicious circle, were all stressed with the aftermath of covid. I am also trying to see a GP about something routine and the thought of even trying to get an appointment fills me with dread. I can just see this amazing NHS when I qualified (I couldn't even get a job for 2 years because it was so competitive), turning into such a aweful mess. Its so very sad for the staff, patients and their families.

I'm really sorry you had such a terrible time today. It not acceptable, care and comparison is at the heart of nursing. I can only apologise and I hope you are feeling better soon

How do you figure it out? Like private businesses do: customers complain and the horrible employees (particularly those who are rude and break their own company policies) get sacked.

We don't need more nurses. Loads of them were there in the A&E twiddling their thumbs, laughing, feeding cops sandwiches whilst I was dying in their "care". We need quality, not quantity!

I also recognise good when I see it - can't fault ward nurses and I shed a tear when we eventually parted.

I have two simple terms to describe pure hell within the NHS :
Maternity Care
Emergency Care

Both seem to attract the unfeeling. I suppose they're impossibly harsh environments for anyone with even a shred of empathy for human suffering...

Well… you’ve got seven comments so far, and two are from people with legitimate reasons to feel like they got short shrift from NHS staff. Of course they’re smart enough to know it’s not all NHS staff, but if your only NHS experience in the last, say, 12 months, was a bad one, or if all your experiences in the last 12 months have been bad ones, you can only speak to what makes up a majority of your experiences and hypothesize about the rest. These commenters can only say: “100% of my recent NHS experiences have been terrible; it is possible that a majority of NHS nurses are good, but I am unable to tell that based on my experience.” I think calling that an awful attitude is way more than a bit unfair. BUT you’re stressed and burned out and you see it from your point of view. Not from the point of view of a patient who was mistreated in A&E by a nurse who didn’t seem to care and is in tears, but hasn’t put in a complaint. I’m sorry your job is taking such a toll on you, OP, truly. But I’m also very sorry for @crabcakesalad and @QueenCamilla

The NHS needs better management and a complete revamp. But we need a private-public hybrid model. Privatization just can not the answer. Because if people think they can’t afford fuel this winter, wait until they have to pay for health insurance to the tune of a few extra hundred pounds up to a thousand pounds every month, it doesn’t cover everything AND you have to pay for prescriptions separately and extra for surgeries and extra as a deductible at the beginning of the year and…

Thank you @Itsonthestairs I will have to work out a way forward. I'm not sure what that will be yet. I do have an amazing mw who I'm hoping will help me navigate it.

I do know something about burn out too and I'm sorry you are going through this. You must put yourself first, rest and heal.

Absolutely I completely agree, I will be completely bias to my professional attitude. I expect my fellow colleagues to work with the same aptitude as I do and it really hurts to hear such awful experiences, but I know I had to leave because it didn't matter how much I cared or wanted to do my job to the best of my ability I just couldn't.

I'm glad to hear you have an amazing MW that gives me some hope ❤

I'm not one of them, OP.

Those who are hurling abuse are pond scum which is why I often refer to this place as Scumsnet

I will be complaining. I was outright tortured in the A&E for 13 hours. I just want it on the record, who knows how it might help one fine day.
However, at the moment, it will go nowhere. Because NO ONE gives a damn. The managers won't get paid less even if I die on one of those little, hard plastic chairs.

I relate to the helplessness and actually hate the NHS bestowed upon me like a sack of rotten spuds.
Can't go anywhere else, can't complain...

You have to remember there's a privatise the NHS lobby that dominates MN threads but all genuine research shows the majority want and support the NHS.
It doesn't suit the Tories because they want to sell off the contracts to their cronies. But most people in the UK cherish the NHS and the staff 💐

Sadly I don't know if she'll stay OP. My last amazing mw had to retire early due to stress 😢

@QueenCamilla feedback is important, please tell them. I have given feedback before but I don't think anyone wants to hear it at the momeNt.

I agree with @AlexandriasWindmill and don't want a privatised hc model here. Just a better NHS that is patient focussed.

You're right about the tories 🤬

Sadly though at the moment, private seems the only way of effectively accessing care. Infuriating that I can't use my insurance for maternity care though. It's a total sh*tshow for women.

Re privatisation, I confess I’m insure how it would work. There are so many models. I feel torn; I long for our NHS to “work” and for our HCW to be rewarded and respected. At the same time, I have a problem with the blind reverence for the NHS. It’s a shit show yet some sections of society view it as a sacred idol. It’s broken, it’s been broken for a long time and will continue to absorb any amount of ££ thrown at it without benefit to the patients.

OP it is really sad that there is so many bad experiences. Ive had both positive and negative experiences in emergency care and otherwise.

Sometimes i think its whose on shift as I've had amazing care from nurses in a and e many times but sadly I've been and the nurses have laughed at me and basically made out i needed to toughen up when i actually had a life threatening issue.
That being said the care I've received from the maternity side since 2020 through 2 very difficult and high risk pregnancies from midwives, nurses, consultants etc has been outstanding and cannot fault it. Myself and my children wouldn't be alive without the care I've had.
We've recently had to use the service a lot with our 2 little children and honestly the care has been outstanding on each and every visit.

Its really sad that a few nurses or nhs staff can end up making a bad name for so many as they are such a minority but seems to make the most news.

Thank you for your service. 🤗💛

my family’s recent experience (paediatric cancer care, big teaching hospital) has been nothing short of excellent.

when the NHS is at it’s best, it’s still utterly brilliant. I’m beyond grateful.