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

Im another (by the sound of OP post) ED nurse.

Just home from dayshift, left the house at 0630...
Haven't seen my 13 month old for three days now, asleep when and go and come back.

Helped to resuscitate an 8 month old, deal with somebody so intoxicated they couldn't even hold their own airway together and comfort a family who have just lost their loved one to a AAA - all in the space of an hour and a half.

Treacherous. The general public should not have to put up with this substandard of care, I barely have the time to pee on shift.

It's so sad. I used to love my job, I still do at times, but at the moment just holding it together on shift can be so hard.

Take care everyone- AND DONT GO OUT ON THE ICE/TO TRAMPOLINE PARKS!

@Bestkindaparty similarly I couldn't do your job. The endless round of patients - the ones you know shouldn't be there. You guys are literally on your feet all day! At least we get to sit down en route to a call!.
We are one patient at a time (unless cohorts at hospital)
I can't imagine how it feels to be a nurse in an ED.

Let's stick together my friend, let's hope we can promote a change xx

I have had to seek medical help from my local hospital this week as I have a DVT and I support the strikes 100%. Thank god for you and I hope you get the pay you deserve. The NHS is broken at the moment and I admire all of you (yes I know there are bad eggs as in each profession),

@Bestkindaparty
I support you, so does everyone I know, so does every caller on the radio phone ins I listen to.

With you 100%

Everyone I know supports you. 🌸 x

Fellow nurse here. Sadly, striking is a necessity not a choice now.

It is alarming the conditions we are working under. It genuinely feels unsafe the vast majority of time. Staff to patient ratios are stretched, the acuity of patients higher than ever before.

The face if nursing has changed over the past 20 years. The role of a nurse has evolved. Nursing is not a vocation, it is a profession with highly educated individuals.

In my area of work, I am seeing a raft of young people with late cancer diagnosis. It's desperately sad. The spill over from Covid is still very much evident. Primary care are been battered. The whole system is collapsing around us.

I have the privilege of working with the most dynamic, compassionate team who are being held together by professionalism, hard work and the will to delivery care to the best of our ability but the cracks are there, we can only work with the tools we have at any given time. We are exhausted.

I salute the work front line A&E doctors, nurses, paramedics, security etc are subjected to.

Having thankfully never required A&E treatment myself to date, I have had the misfortune of two A&E visits/hospital stays this past week. Once with sepsis (Parent) and myself with an anaphylaxis.

Both times, care was superb in a trying environment. Triage looked like a war zone, it was chaos. I have never witnessed patients being actively treated in reception. Staff been bombarded by stressed relatives, verbally abused at times, all the while, remains calm and measured.

I feel fortunate that in my time of need, an ambulance crew arrived within minutes, I am aware that an anaphylaxis is a medical emergency and they were there. Delivered prompt intervention and monitoring. The relief I felt was immense. In times of need, the NHS pulls it off.

Despite the current climate, I am incredibly proud to be part of this wonderful but broken machine. Please keep your chin up, you are doing an important of job in the most trying of times. We need to stick together 💪💪

Me too. This country is being systematically starved of everything that makes it function, it’s terrible.

Current NHS patient here. I have been in hospital 3 weeks now with the Strep A infection. I've been in 2 different hospitals as I had to be transferred for surgery. The nurses/HCAs/porters/admins have been without exception amazing and made this very difficult time so much better and more bearable.

They are the ones that have scooped me up after difficult news from the doctors, they're the ones really guiding me through pain management; and they're the ones helping me hide my scary chest drain when my 6 year old comes to visit. That is all on top of the actual medicine; so making sure I get my 7 rounds of IV antibiotics and have all my regular obs on time.

From what I've seen at one point or another most people make awful patients. They hate the pain, the uncertainty and the lack of control and they react accordingly. But none of that justifies throwing a drink at someone; let alone someone sacrificing so much to help care for you at your weakest. I'm very sorry this happened to you.

We are very lucky in this country to have the NHS, and people like you prepared to be there for us. Thank you so very much, and know the vast majority of people support you.

Not one thing you've put in your OP will be solved by a massively above inflation pay rise. The strike is not the way to solve the problems in nursing. It's appalling that nurses are striking for pay. Same for paramedics.

AHP here in namby pamby 8 hour day community role. Take my hat off to you. Fully supportive of the strikes 💙

I work in senior management of an acute trust. Although we’re concerned about the impact of the strike, I’ve not come across and manager or director that doesn’t understand and support it. It’s so bad and our hospital is on the brink of declaring a major incident daily.

Fully and completely support you.

The working conditions are ridiculous now. I had nothing but amazing care when I had my baby and again after when we had to go back into hospital.
a while ago I wanted to go into nursing, did the access course to get the qualifications, passed with a distinction in every subject, and didn’t get a place in university. I am so glad now that I didn’t get on the course.

enjoy your wine 🍷

100% behind you here and, to show it's general public support, have always worked in the private sector.

I have been in the hospital a couple of times in the past two years with my little boy (born with a chest infection, then, more recently croup) and the staff were so supportive and so kind. And also, obviously, dangerously overworked. Hopefully the strike will be a wake up call.

Thanks for all you do 💐

I’d be really interested to hear your suggestions for what would work?

Thankyou for all your work and care. You deserve far better pay and I hope you get it.

Theluggage15 · Today 21:16

upinthenightjustwanttosleep · Today 21:11

100% support the nurses strike. I'm a teacher and unfortunately public sector workers always get the raw deal, no furlough, worked through lockdown, pay freeze, low recruitment and retention and we continue to get bad publicity and sh*t on. Wishing you luck with this awful excuse for a government I really hope their days are numbered.

Yes those lucky people who had to survive on 80% of salary, those people who lost their jobs and businesses, and loads of people worked through fucking lockdowns on a lot less pay than fucking teachers. Got a nice pension too haven’t you?
Yes we do. We also worked when you were able to stay home and be safe. We didn't have that option. Not an angel but a highly qualified professional who wants to earn a fair wage
If you think we are so lucky join us. Become a nurse. Be abused financially and physically. See how easy it is to lay out a child. Hold the hands of someone who has been told life changing news. Carry the scars of working in the currency of pain.
If you can't imagine doing that then vent your venom somewhere else

I hear you and support you. Family full of nurses and lots of experience of being on the receiving end of care, both for myself and my DC. I hope that things get better for nursing staff.

Ok so what are you suggestions for retaining staff and recruiting new nurses which are needed to ensure the NHS doesn't fall apart

I support the nurse’s strike 100%. You do a tremendous job, under very tricky circumstances. 💔

A teacher here and I support you all the way!
I am so sorry that you have had such a terrible day! It is totally out of order for someone to throw a hot drink over anybody, let alone when they are trying to do their job…a very tiring, draining and often emotionally exhausting (CPR on a child) job. I wish people that did not work in these positions could just see how hard it can be! I honestly don’t t know how you guys do it! My job feels tough enough (10 hours with a 15 minute break, rude and aggressive parents, a pupil throwing a pencil case at your almost 8 month pregnant belly with no consequences, roughly 20 hours unpaid hours every week) but you guys have it so much worse and in my opinion you are angels! I had a three week stay in hospital just before and after my daughter was born recently and the care I received was second to none! You could tell all the midwives were exhausted, drained and had too many patients but regardless, when they got to you they had a smile on their face no matter what you needed. I am truly grateful.

Ive never really had strong feelings about striking until recently but now I realise how important it is. As you have said, if we don’t stand up for these industries there simply won’t be enough (even less so than now) staff left!

Please put your feet up and pour yourself something nice x

Children's Safeguarding Social Worker here, I absolutely support you. ❤️
Also on my knees with the pressure, unmanageable caseloads, lack of stress and daily threats of violence and abuse.

@Bestkindaparty I’m waiting for these solutions with baited breath too!

I fully support you, you hit the nail on the head when you said about protecting the NHS for everyone, I work for an ambulance trust and just like nursing we are losing paramedics and call takers faster than we can recruit them. The vacancies for our trust sent out every week are pages long, and it will get worse.

I hope you have a peaceful evening and thank you for all you do every day.

Husband medically retired MH nurse. Remember him coming home from shifts. He was attacked by patients a few times ( nature of beast sometimes in MH). Today he was on receiving side of NHS as he took ill ( he's fine now). Paramedics and nurses were fabulous even though so busy.
Daughter is a paed nurse. I work in public sector, so we all support nurses here xx
Government pay lip services to nurses and yet their working conditions and pay are shite. Good luck with the strike, and to teachers and rest of people striking.
As a public sector worker, they think we do nothing but pen push, and apparently we have gold plated pensions. Honestly drives me bonkers, but we have our pay sorted.