Just a rant from a nurse

[Bestkindaparty]

I know there's a 101 threads about the nursing strike. But I just need an anonymous forum to rant.
I left home at 6am this morning and I'm only just getting home. I need a shower because someone threw their hot coffee over me because I didn't answer their buzzer fast enough and they needed a pillow. I didn't answer it quick enough because I was performing cpr on a child with suspected strep A. 12 hours into my shift without a break because we just don't have the staff.
All week on Facebook tiktok and other social media all I've seen is how disgusting us nurses are. How people will die because of the strikes all because we want more money.
Yes we want to paid fairly. We do not get paid enough for the training we do. 2300 hours of unpaid work and then other 3000 hours of uni. Plus all the responsibilities we have. Some people think we're just doctors assistants but its not like that anymore. But the main reason is we're tired of fearing for our pins (that we pay a yearly fee for) we're tired of not being able to care for people the way we want because there's not enough staff. The ratio is supposed to be 1 to 3. I can't remember when I've had less than 8 patients. We want to protect the NHS. We need people to join and to retain current staff who are leaving in droves due to burnout. What happens when there's none of us left?
We had no option but to strike. Nothing else has worked. We want to protect ours and everyone's future. Personally I don't want to cry on every drive to and from work because I'm scared someone will die due to me not being able to give the care they need.
If you've got this far thanks for reading

OP - You are angels. Nurses and other NHS professionals have had to deal with so much these past years. For what it's worth, I really hope you get a the pay rise you thoroughly deserve.

Have you ever considered emigrating if things don't get better?

Sorry but as a nurse this post has really annoyed me and shows incredible ignorance regarding shift workers in the NHS. Where is the handover factored in to these shift times? Are you expecting us to go in early or stay late to allow time for a handover of care? it’s not the same as swapping checkout operators in supermarkets or swapping over bus drivers. They can easily take over from each other and continue where the other has left off. It’s not as simple as that on a hospital ward!

Also, how do you expect staff to get to work or get home from a shift starting or ending at midnight. This is unsafe for drivers who often have to park some distance away from their place of work so would have to return to their cars often in badly lit areas. How do you suggest non drivers get to/return from work at this time? Would need to be taxis where I live as certainly no buses or trains run at that time!

sorry for the rant! There’s so much more that need fixed in the NHS than nurses shift times.

They won't respond. Just another person who can't open their eyes or mind to the situation

Really?

This is more than just about pay. The media may paint it as such but really, look at the bigger picture.

How many times have you heard in the last few years about ED waiting times? How many media stories about people dying waiting for ambulances?

You really think we just want a pay rise?
I want to go home after a shift knowing that the calls holding will be answered. Knowing that our patient that we handed over will be triaged and transferred in a timely manner.

I invite you to come out on a shift with me, you might change your mind.

I’m a nurse too, have just left the wards due to pretty much what you have said, it’s constant every single day. And a lot of people just have absolutely no idea what it is like and it’s the whole “you chose this job so do it, it’s not about the money, lazy greedy etc” and you just think, fuck off.
I’m an RMN. I worked on a ward of 24 acutely unwell patients with severe short staffing, so mostly 5 staff. 3 nurses and 2 NA’s. We were always, always chasing our tails, trying to provide vital patient care, IMing severely unwell patients and having to restrain whilst not having any staff to look after the rest of the patients. Things like care plan updates getting missed because we keep getting admission after admission with no staff to cope with it. Constant firefighting, constant pointless meeting and constant focusing on things like a health and safety inspection where they want to see how well we can wash our hands.
The priorities are all fucking wrong and I’ve had enough. I’m tired of going home and barely sleeping because I’m panicking I’ve missed something and worrying about what I need to do the next day, then getting emails from the manager reminding us to do our online health and safety courses that we have NO TIME to do because the phone never stops ringing, the door never stops going and patients never stop knocking on the office door with countless complaints/issues (not their fault due to being acutely unwell but we do not have the staff to handle this). For example we’d often have patients kicking off due to not having any cigarettes and they can’t get out to get any due to having no time off ward. So ward staff are expected to go and buy them for them. But we’re only on 5 staff for 24 people and the ward is always volatile with people kicking off. We’re always just left to deal with things. And the worst part is, when we do go and try to accommodate them like buying cigs etc, we’re then vilified if something happens on the ward while we’re away because then it’s seen as “why did you leave the ward when it was so short”, but then we get it in the neck from patients if we don’t.
Its so so awful and I never want to go back. I loved the job itself looking after patients but it’s everything else that’s the issue. You’re expected to do the work of 3 people.

I’ve skimmed through this thread and other than one bitchy post snapping at a teacher I haven’t seen anything but support so who the hell are the 10% that voted the op in being unreasonable?!

Another teacher here and another in full support of the nurses strike. After being in hospital with amazing nurses who were working their backsides off, short staffed, exhausted, yet never letting their work be affected. I witnessed verbal abuse and racial abuse from some very angry patients. The ward was short staffed every day and every day brought at least 1 new agency nurse because staff were off sick. I’m really not surprised with the working conditions.

Thank you @Bestkindaparty and other nurses for all you do. I am a frequent patient with long stays in hospital and I see the reality of it all. I support you in every way and I am so grateful for you

OP I support the strike.

the patient who threw coffee over you, I would support removing them from the hospital by force, frankly.

Johnathon Pie (YouTube) has just done a brilliant price on strikes - look it up.

I work in a school and support the strikes, being hit, kicked, thumped and sworn at isn’t what I’ve been trained and paid to do!

Ive handed in my notice.

100% support you. Thank you for all you do. You deserve so much more.

I’m not a doctor, but I support the nursing strike, you guys work fucking hard, I’ve seen first hand. I don’t agree with the Royal Mail one. But nurses strike is 100% due x

Sorry OP it's hell out there. I'm going to the private sector, I got a serious bite from a patient that needed antibiotics. They don't have capacity so no action will be taken, I've had tea thrown over me , yoghurt. Punched in the chest when administering a peg feed. Nurses are expected to be angels and work for low pay because they should just care. It's a graduate profession which should be treated as such , nurses pay for their own education. The government can't have it all their own way a highly skilled workforce with more responsibility and poor pay.

I support you 100%. I've spent a couple of occasions recieving medical care in hospital. Nurses are the life blood of the NHS. I'll never forget the student nurse who recognised I was having a rare reaction to a medical procedure, his kindness and his sense of humour that made a frightening and painful time much more bearable. I won't forget the HCAs who helped me either. You deserve so much more than you get. I hope the strikes are successful and you achieve better pay and conditions. Thank you for all you do.

Out of genuine interest, what would your suggestions be?

We are struggling to entice people into the profession. Abolishing student bursaries has all but killed off any ounce of attraction. Those that start training, are rightly questioning their options by half way through training. The drop out rate is eye opening.

Senior nurses are retiring, retraining or taking any viable route out.

Believe what you may, poor pay is not the primary reason we have resorted to striking. Patient safety, staff safety are paramount here.

The public deserve to be treated/cared for in a place that can safely meet their needs.

Staff deserve to work in an environment that provides the necessary tools that allows them to deliver the right care, at the right time but also safeguard themselves against burn out, verbal abuse and physical abuse.

It annoys me so much when the government talk about the cost of paying nurses in line with inflation. If we had better retention, we wouldn’t need to spend as much in bank nurses and on settling negligence claims, particularly around maternity, where I understand every year incurs billions in pay outs if you add it up over the course of the lifetime of those affected. That’s before you factor in the cost of having a sicklier national workforce. Not paying nurses a decent wage is like trying to save money on household costs by not fixing holes in your roof. It’s false economy all the way, done for political reasons not financial ones.

You have my support and many other I know.

The message needs to be reinforced that the wheel has fallen off and this is nurses trying to reverse this by making pay better which hopefully leads to better retaining of current staff and better recruitment which then leads to better working conditions and putting the wheel back on.

It would be unsafe not to strike.

Total support here. I was briefly in a hospital last week and a nurse went out of her way to be helpful and kind, sorting out a problem that wasn't her responsibility.

Im an ex patient, Heart attack early hours, lucky that I had an early 5am attack, first time in hospital ever, and out of the blue. By 6am I am having a stent inserted (which I watched on screen as Doctor performed procedure). Am OK now, but I know how much care I had from Ambulance crew, hospital, nurses and Doctors, all working in an understaffed situation, which puts additional pressure on all staff. Would I have had same outcome on a strike day? I don't know, but I do know that Nurses are in a hostage situation, they are drawn to a caring career and have the care and wellbeing of their patients at the forefront. If we do not look after our Nursing staff they will have to find other employment. They have families, bills, and lives to get on with. I don't want my Nurse having to deal with 8 patients, unable to pay bills as he she is underpaid and undervalued, having to go to food banks. This is the 6th richest country in the world. We are quite happy to vote through bankers unlimited bonuses, but when it comes to things we all need. Health, food, heat, water, where are we. NHS being run into oblivion, food inflation at 20%, heating a home becoming a choice of food or heat, where did all the revenue on gas, and oil go from North Sea? Look at Norway with the wealth fund they created for the people of Norway from their oil and gas, which is now allowing them to go green at a sensible cost to their people, and water! well how polouted do you like yours? Again plenty of bonuses for for water chiefs! YES I SUPPORT YOUR STRIKE FULLY, AND THIS ABUSE OF HEALTH STAFF AND HOW THEY ARE VALUED HAS TO STOP NOW.

1990s - teaching, nursing, medicine, police officer all seemed to be worthwhile jobs.

Now - my neice told me she wanted to be a nurse I said "why?" Not to be disrespectful of the profession but you are treated absolutely appallingly.

I am in one of the before mentioned industries and I see it every day it is sad.

Behind you love,

Wishing you a peaceful Christmas.

100% support. Grateful actually , for nurses bravely putting themselves in this horrendous position, and hopeful that the powers that be start to listen.

Fully support the strike. My co-workers would have the vapours if a customer threw coffee on them. I'm sorry you have to endure that.

It's not just because I want to be kind to nurses, though I do, but also self-interest! Who wants their nursing care carried out by people who are exhausted, burnt out, and demoralised?! Lots of us are behind you OP. Good luck.

I'm so sorry for the fucking idiots out there. I'd turf the coffee-chucker out the hospital, and hell mend them if they need treatment

I am 100% behind the strikes, I had a biologic therapy this week the charge nurse was chatting to me about strikes agreeing that yes they are very underpaid/valued but it was also about patient safety. They had a just about OK level of nurses but as she pointed out we have been there with alot less and things can go very bad very quickly but waiting lists are long and treatment has to be done at regular intervals, it's very expensive and could be wasted if its delayed. The pay is very poor and the "they knew what money they signed up to brigade" must see they didn't sign up to working for less and less in real terms and the people they are trying to care for being put at risk NO MATTER HOW HARD THEY WORK!

Total support from me. Both me and DH in the police. Police aren’t allowed to strike but I’m sure we would if we could!

Government are trying to get police to cover blue light driving for ambo strike (support that too). Hilarious, we can’t cover our own calls let alone step in to help ambulance calls. Plus, weirdly, police don’t have the paramedic skill set but hey ho!

social media is full of the type of idiots who voted in this shower of shit, and hate anyone the DM or Sun tells them to. Tories are always quick to blame anyone but themselves. Weird how MPs above inflation pay rises have been affordable since 2010, but no one else public funded.

I see the bigger picture. What will end the strike if not the pay offer that's being chased? The problems are deeply ingrained and this strike is not proposing to resolve them. What will get nurses back to work? Even your own union cites pay over and over again. You're deluded if you think paying more will get more in to solve the crisis in the NHS - the NHS can't afford to recruit more nurses even more so when faced by a vastly over inflated wage bill.