Am I about to burnout? NHS.

[LazyMareofEastown]

I work in Primary Care in a theoretically quite "naice" role helping people with social issues and signposting to relevant support. In reality, due to the area I work in (inner city area of high deprivation) it's completely different to the description above. It's insanely busy and intense and involves dealing with patients who are more often than not in the middle of some kind of a crisis. Every single day I have people telling me detailed accounts of their experiences which cover a wide range of very difficult subjects (childhood abuse, sexual assaults, DV, high level mental illness, addiction, poverty, children being removed etc) on a daily basis.

Due to the complete lack of MH services I've ended up acting as defacto counsellor for patients (they know from start that I am not a MH practitioner) who just need to offload and have someone listen to them.

I am very good at my job and go over and above for people and I know that what I do has a positive impact on the lives of people in the community BUT it's starting to take a real toll on the rest of my life. I can't leave work at work. I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about things I'm convinced I've forgotten to do. I find myself focusing on awful news stories that reflect my patients lives and get really upset and down about everything awful in the world. I sometimes feel hopeless and am absolutely exhausted emotionally (had a child free night last night and went to bed at 7.30pm - slept till 6am). I cry a lot. My kids are living off pasta pesto and I never get the laundry done because I'm either at work or bloody knackered.

And the pay isn't even good 🥺

Very little support/recognition from management. Myself and my colleague/line manager are just trusted to get on with it and manage our own referrals and caseloads so we largely get left alone. Colleague struggles with similar feelings and we have daily supportive chats and debriefs where necessary which is good.

Can't go on like this much longer I don't think?

Could you possibly go part time? You are in danger of burnout for sure.

Sadly not Brutus. Single mum with mortgage so need to work FT.

I get a top up from UC which I'm thankful for but it depresses rhe fuck out of me that I work so hard yet still need a government topup to be able to afford to live 😣.

Am trying to look for jobs with transferable skills and better pay but am struggling to find any that don't require a related degree/professional qualification.

Yes. YES YOU ARE. re-route. X

Sounds like you're a social prescriber? Are you funded by primary care or a charity? Maybe you can look at charity jobs instead - probably won't pay better but potentially less stressful than what you're doing in working directly in Primary Care. You'll have loads of transferable skills

I work in Adult Social Care. I know the sort of role you're in. As social care services are overstretched you get used more and more... as you're service is signposted to as a sticking plaster. I can totally see how the role has morphed in these tough times.

What are your qualifications? In my LA we have roles for people who are not qualified as social workers but take on similar less complex cases. We don't get loads of applicants. The job whilst difficult is nowhere near as stressful as the one you're in and really rewarding. As good in terms of pension etc as nhs. Might be worth looking at?

Yep you do sound burnt out and it creeps up on you.

If this is social prescribing then I'm not surprised, sadly. Unless you're trained & qualified in something like OT/SW/counselling, with the professional supervision and CPD that those roles require, then you're in danger of burning out as well as not providing appropriate support for clients (because you're not qualified to, no fault of your own). SP was sold to us as a non-specialist role that didn't require any professional training, but that just does a massive disservice to everyone involved. It's OT on the cheap and it doesn't work.

(I did a very similar role before I retrained, so I speak from experience)

Get a nee job and take care of yourself.

Look for other jobs. And aim to get something where you can do nvqs in the workplace to become qualified and move up through the ranks.

Which bits do you like about your present job?

Often employees will pay for nvqs

Is it community navigator/social prescriber?

I’m a therapist in the NHS, so it’s my job to here all the gory details of peoples trauma, and to help them recover.
But I probably get paid getting on double what you do for it. And I rarely think about clients at home as I have the appropriate spaces to take those issues.

Honestly, I don’t think allowing this level of offloading is helpful for either you or the clients. It’s not the appropriate place to get into it. You need to find ways to gently close this down before they start getting into it and steer the conversation back to the present.

Focus on the here and now, help them set goals, be solution focused, look forwards.

I know therapy is hard to access in the NHS, and of course you want to help people, but you trying to fill in as de facto counsellor is not helpful or ethical.

Do you receive clinical supervision? My colleague supervisors the community navigator team in our area, there should be access to something like this.

I know it feels rude/unnatural to pause people or redirect the conversation, especially if they’re talking about something difficult, but you have to be clearer about the purpose and limitations of your role.

Eg ‘That sounds very difficult, as I said I’m not a trained counsellor so we can’t go into it here today, but shall we look for some services that might be able to help?’

You will absolutely burn out at this rate as you’re trying to do a role you’re neither qualified or commissioner to do.

Hi I also work in primary care and agree, you sound burned out or almost there. Yes in the long term it would be good to look for alternatives etc but for now, please consider taking sick leave (probably a good few weeks at least) and speak to your GP for support, fit note, and treatment. There is still some free therapy for NHS workers if you look around which could be a good place to start, however for now I hope you will stop, take some time to rest, eat and sleep well, look after yourself before the job gets to you even more.

I know from experience myself and many patients I’ve cared for with burnout and work related stress, that there is a lot of guilt in taking time off when you’re unwell but if you don’t it will only get worse. It will serve you, your family and your patients better if you look after yourself now.

Good luck x

I'm a social prescriber in an inner city role, it isn't suggesting hobbies and new interests, it's dealing with all the "heart sinks" the GPs don't know what to do with. MH services are what's needed and not just 8 sessions of CBT. The social issues patients present with are insolvable.

I agree with a previous poster, social prescribing was a step down from social work for me and SW taught me about leaving work at work and boundaries. People will take as much as you're willing to give. So you set that limit.

Also remember that it's just a job. Give 80% not 100%. Take some time off sick with stress. Your employer will more likely take notice then of the systemic problems with this role and perhaps offer better supervision or adjustments to your role.

@niceupthedanceagain

I'm a social prescriber in an inner city role, it isn't suggesting hobbies and new interests, it's dealing with all the "heart sinks" the GPs don't know what to do with. MH services are what's needed and not just 8 sessions of CBT. The social issues patients present with are insolvable.

I agree with a previous poster, social prescribing was a step down from social work for me and SW taught me about leaving work at work and boundaries. People will take as much as you're willing to give. So you set that limit.

Also remember that it's just a job. Give 80% not 100%. Take some time off sick with stress. Your employer will more likely take notice then of the systemic problems with this role and perhaps offer better supervision or adjustments to your role.

This!

Hope you’re okay today op

@niceupthedanceagain

I'm a social prescriber in an inner city role, it isn't suggesting hobbies and new interests, it's dealing with all the "heart sinks" the GPs don't know what to do with. MH services are what's needed and not just 8 sessions of CBT. The social issues patients present with are insolvable.

I agree with a previous poster, social prescribing was a step down from social work for me and SW taught me about leaving work at work and boundaries. People will take as much as you're willing to give. So you set that limit.

Also remember that it's just a job. Give 80% not 100%. Take some time off sick with stress. Your employer will more likely take notice then of the systemic problems with this role and perhaps offer better supervision or adjustments to your role.

I applied for one of these roles recently and didn't get it ! I'm feeling like I had a lucky escape reading this.

Are you a social prescribed? If so I’ve sat in those multi disciplinary team meetings and they all sound very, very weary, so I don’t think it’s just you.

Emotionally draining and even the charities you signpost too just signpost back, it’s like a pointless merry go round isn’t it?