Leave the NHS?

[ficklemissfickle]

Sorry long post but wanted to give background: I have worked for the NHS since 1996, for the last few years within a particular specialty where I have had the opportunity to grow and develop. However, over recent months, I am getting more and more disillusioned with the NHS - my role is to support staff but it feels more and more meaningless due to the culture and pressures within. Added to this, I work in a small team with about 50% of the workforce who seem to be allowed to pick and choose what they do, are frequently absent and constantly bringing their personal issues into the workplace-I'm finding this is making me more and more resentful and petty and I don't like being that person - nothing is going to change and, in addition, we are now facing having to fight for our service as there is potentially a cost saving exercise of scaling us right down or outsourcing to a private company.
My job itself I love - particularly a specific component of it - my qualification is quite highly sort after and there are always vacancies within the private sector BUT I'm scared to leave the security of the NHS, potentially I have another 10-15 years of working, I have a NHS pension and the sickness benefits are generous. I just wondered if anyone has been in my position and how you found it???

Don’t do it. Our sick pay is one month full, one month half, and that’s it. Pension is not NHS. Plus we don’t get pat rises when you do, we hardly ever get them. And there’s no where for me to progress other than to take my managers job, she gets paid a band 6 when she does band 8 work.

This won't be popular wife used to be band 6 left had various jobs. Never matched sick pay ,pension , holiday and conditions.

I'm in exactly the same situation. NHS since 2000. Defeated and exhausted. I've put in over 20 applications for non NHS work in the past two weeks. I literally don't know which way to jump because, as you say, pensions and sick leave. But I canot do another 20 years feeling like I do because the sick pay is good.

I'm going to speak with my union and see if I can get some pension advice, plus I've asked staff wellbeing if I can access counselling to talk it all through. I don't know if either of those are options for you to help work through what you want?

No solutions, but lots of empathy.

I’m in private now because my NHS job was out outsourced. The NHS ‘lost’ the contract under review. I’d never have left if I didn’t have to, but my job was so specialised that I had to go with the work.

we are now facing having to fight for our service as there is potentially a cost saving exercise of scaling us right down or outsourcing to a private company.

Is there the possibility of redundancy? If so, worth hanging on a bit for that.

This is me currently a band 6 with at least 22 years to retirement. Worked NHS for 24 years.

I know the benefits are good but, is the cost worth it? I don't want to be stressed and near tears anymore. I cannot ever provide good safe care to patients anymore. We are 50% down staffing every shift.

It is scary to think about leaving, I have had a few informal visits to alternative employers and NHS staff are highly valued, we have a lot of transferable skills. Get out there and look. You have a job so no rush. The NHS is only going to get worse MUCH worse.
Your work place sounds awful, mine not so much I love my team but it's killing me.

Good luck.