Daft to leave the NHS. Has anybody else?

Cheers40 · 2025-09-30T17:14:42+00:00

I am too band 6 health visitor. due to return after maternity leave. baby isn’t settling in nursery at all. eldest daughter has SEN (autistic with OCD) needs so needs slower mornings. Sometimes can’t be in school. May job is flexible as far as nursing goes. But is there more to life? has anybody taken the plunge and left NHS/nursing to be at home with their family? did you do any other work? I’ve contacted a couple of care agencies to see if the could offer one/two evening shifts a week so I would bring SOMETHING in. thanks so much.

LimeBasilandManderin · 30/09/2025 18:18

The NHS are so flexible, can you not discuss your concerns with your manager before taking the plunge. Is there any new roles coming up that maybe suitable. I wouldn’t rush to leave especially due to the pension.

Omgblueskys · 30/09/2025 18:58

Op consider part time for a few years so you can still pay into your pension,

Care agencies or nursing do really silly shifts, so 8am till 2, then 2pm till 8pm, really think about this,
You could try the part time, still have your weekends and evenings op, nhs do ' flexible working too, so you could do 9.30 till 2.30 , 5 days aweek that's 25 hours, and you will be OK gor nursery runs, then pre school runs,

Basically you ask about part time and you need flexible working hours together, depending how supportive your management is that is

Holdonforsummer · 30/09/2025 19:02

I left the NHS to work privately (I’m a midwife) and haven’t regretted it for a second. But the pension and sick pay are rubbish. It’s still worth it as the culture and workload is so much better. PM me if you would like to chat.

potentialdogowner · 30/09/2025 19:40

You mention leaving to be at home with your family, and that’s what I did. I was only band 5 though and left after 4 years qualified as it was just too stressful and I couldn’t give good care like I wanted. I’m now a SAHM and life is much better. I do feel bad sometimes that I ‘gave up’, and I’d have to do a return to practice course if I wanted to go back, but it’s been worth it for me.

Original poster

Cheers40 · 01/10/2025 07:27

Omgblueskys · 30/09/2025 18:58

Op consider part time for a few years so you can still pay into your pension,

Care agencies or nursing do really silly shifts, so 8am till 2, then 2pm till 8pm, really think about this,
You could try the part time, still have your weekends and evenings op, nhs do ' flexible working too, so you could do 9.30 till 2.30 , 5 days aweek that's 25 hours, and you will be OK gor nursery runs, then pre school runs,

Basically you ask about part time and you need flexible working hours together, depending how supportive your management is that is

Thanks so much for replying.
I am part time. They are really flexible. But I really don’t feel ready to put my daughter into nursery. I do realise how lucky I am-but the more distress I see her in-the more I just don’t think this is a natural way to do things. I did it with my eldest too.
id be happy to do a day a week somewhere but that doesn’t seem viable either. (Which of course I understand)

OP posts:

BlueDressontheLine · 01/10/2025 07:28

Cant you go on the bank and select shifts round childcare?

Original poster

Cheers40 · 01/10/2025 07:42

potentialdogowner · 30/09/2025 19:40

You mention leaving to be at home with your family, and that’s what I did. I was only band 5 though and left after 4 years qualified as it was just too stressful and I couldn’t give good care like I wanted. I’m now a SAHM and life is much better. I do feel bad sometimes that I ‘gave up’, and I’d have to do a return to practice course if I wanted to go back, but it’s been worth it for me.

Thanks so much for this. This is exactly what I want to do. I could work maybe a day a week and the odd weekend. I just don’t think my husbands wage would cover our life. Is this how you manage? Such difficult decisions.

OP posts:

DemonsandMosquitoes · 01/10/2025 07:51

Think about your pension! Get your DH to pay into a private one for you if necessary.
(NHS worker going at 55 next year.)

Nomorecoconutboosts · 01/10/2025 08:15

My second child (who is now an adult) didn’t settle at the nursery that her older sibling had thrived at. It was very upsetting at the time, I was in a band 6 community post part time.
We very successfully moved her to a childminder (with only one other child at the setting)
dh has always worked ‘normal hours’ and I was able to do more than my fair share of late shifts and he did all evening child stuff - pick ups, dinner, bed times.
My pension already took a hit from years of part time work however it’s not terrible and I’m glad I didn’t leave the NHS when the dc were small.
Have a really good chat with your manager - it may be that rather than lose you, you could have for example a 9.30 start on school days or some other compromise that works for everyone? I always found that when I benefited from a flexi working (in my case I had 2 fixed days off) I was always flexible to their advantage too. For example if the dc were with my mum during a school holiday week I would swap to suit others or pick up extra etc.

Nomorecoconutboosts · 01/10/2025 08:18

Re the option of one evening or similar? My friend is a night time carer non-NHS.
she works several overnights but as a one to one for a young adult with medical issues. I’m sure this type of care work is available and in some cases the client does direct payments. This might suit but I don’t know how you’d find out vacancies?

Richtea67 · 01/10/2025 12:23

Have you considered that you may need to pay back any enhanced maternity pay? I would be really considering all other options before leaving the NHS....can you reduce to 2.5 days a week, or job share? Could you start work from home some mornings if you are community based? How about a sabbatical instead of leaving completely?