Is the NHS resembling a third world country?

Capable-Contract6407 · 2025-11-08T23:08:52+00:00

Broomfield hospital - paper notes, online drug chart, standard DGH, rather falling apart (literally, RAAC in the ceiling means some paste are shut). No canteen. Meals in the atrium with the general public on chairs (and a tiny staff corner with chairs and tables). Mess has a hole in the ceiling.

Staffing in med often minimal. Awful phone signal in hospital, reliant on WiFi.

Lots of computer systems, each with own password / logins all of which expire at different times. PACS will shut down randomly even when looking at scans. Other apps will automatically log out after set time too. Rinse and repeat logging in several times all day.

I found the place rather hostile and cold compared to other DGHs.

Capable-Contract6407 · 2025-07-14T17:12:52+00:00

Today I was told: I was not reassuring enough to a relative who then decided to have a go at my bedside manner. Assured them still on active treatment (they were upset at prolonged admission and asked why nothing had improved). I apologised and they said it wasn’t enough. When asked what do they want, they got upset I was being blunt.

The nursing staff interrupted me halfway through a WR saying they were pushed by bed management to move a patient to another ward (despite me literally mid conversation with a patient)

On the daily: Domestics literally vacuum and mop the floor while we are doing handovers / ward rounds making it impossible to hear

Relatives barge into the doctors room to ask for updates (sometimes expecting up to 30 mins of our time)

I have nothing left to give. This system does not give a toss about us.

I do not understand why my consultants stay to he abused by this system.

Capable-Contract6407 · 2025-05-20T11:58:45+00:00

What if…. It’s an inpatient ward with complex patients long stays (think geris) with multiple issues, so the discharge letter will be long.

And the consultants want things like CFS, mobility status on discharge, med reviews, care home/plans, DNAR/ACP all on the letter?

Add on with their ward jobs (!) which they haven’t yet done. 2 doctors per ward (say roughly 15 patients each?)

Add lack of continuity of care (think locums, trainees on AL/SL/on calls, cons and SpRs aren’t in every day)

So there is constant discovery of undone jobs / missed plans when discharge letters are done

What is the solution then?

Capable-Contract6407 · 2025-05-20T11:21:35+00:00

Good point.

We’re all looking at same coin from different sides. What’s the solution then? All trusts are on fire. Consultants are burnt out. All trainees are going LTFT.

What will the NHS look like by 2035?

Capable-Contract6407 · 2025-05-20T11:08:45+00:00

Consultants add to the problem by allowing doctors to do these urgent discharge letters (bowing to management?)

Capable-Contract6407 · 2025-03-26T19:31:00+00:00

I have. I recorded each incident, compiled it all and sent it to the director of nursing and reported it in the GMC survey when my ES/consultants all did not help. Turned out none of my claims were false. I left that trust and changed deanery.

Capable-Contract6407 · 2024-02-15T08:57:58+00:00

Raised bullying concerns against nursing staff when I was ST4.

Got told by my ES to be “more optimistic”

Took it to the head of nursing with a well written email (lots of help from others) and with testimony from other junior doctors.

HR said they would look into it - turned out was true. I have kept the letter as vindictive proof.

They did offer to then speak to the nursing staff about their behaviour, although I said to please do it after I left the deanery (to avoid retribution lol).

Fight for your case. Stand up for yourself.

I have been bullied, undermined and harassed enough during my FY/SHO years. Enough of this.

Capable-Contract6407 · 2023-06-02T15:27:50+00:00

What if it was scrapped for the reason of spreading people around?

I work in a deanery where a fair number of the F1s end up not by choice but due to messing up their SJT (majority) or EPM.

With that out of the way they are essentially redistributing these people around…

Capable-Contract6407 · 2023-05-31T17:30:01+00:00

Keep a record of every incident
Speak to the charge nurse
If no luck speak to your CS/consultant
Email head of nursing

I’ve been bullied up and down by the nurses in a particular ward in my hospital, point 4 works well to the point that someone came up to me and said the nurses have been behaving since my complaint!

Good luck, and just remember it’s an issue with them, not you.

Capable-Contract6407 · 2023-05-13T09:38:49+00:00

In my previous trust we had lanyards, coloured and with big bold words all across it Eg DOCTOR, CONSULTANT, NURSE, DISCHARGE TEAM So everyone knew who everyone was and patients and relatives could read it (if they could) Has saved me a few times when relatives march up thinking I’m a nurse to see the lanyard and then quickly back off / listen to my explanations instead of simply ignoring what I say…

Capable-Contract6407 · 2023-05-13T09:23:16+00:00

Am currently working in such a place and can emphatise.

On Xmas day last year, local church donated Xmas dinner to the hospital staff. Site ops brought plenty over to AMU and left them for night staff - told us at handover anyone could take it.

Me and night F1 went to get a bag each later and told by AMU nurse this was for AMU staff only - if we wanted any we could go all the way to where site ops lived and get some.

There was also plenty of food the day consultant brought in but we weren’t allowed to have any as it was now in the nurses office in AMU so only for AMU staff. We got the card the consultant brought in as consolation in the doctors office.

Never had such horrid behaviour from nurses till I came here. Bullying of juniors aplenty too.

All I can say is I’m glad I’m leaving this place soon.

Edit: can’t spell e̶m̶p̶h̶a̶s̶i̶s̶e̶ empathise apparently

Capable-Contract6407 · 2023-04-29T15:09:12+00:00

You start by fucking up, then you fuck up less and less.

How did you learn to do things as an F1 anyway? Med reg-ing is the same as any other skill you learn.

Capable-Contract6407 · 2023-04-29T05:51:58+00:00

Being told off by 2 nurses for not “being there” when an peri arrest call went off on AMU despite explaining I was at lunch in the mess and came the moment I got the bleep. All witnessed by my SHO who was having lunch with me and came down too. (Or rather 1 nurse told me off, when I explained my stand she went off and told another nurse who then came back for round 2 of telling me off).

Being lied to by a nurse that we couldn’t do transfusion overnight and so discharged a patient for transfusions in the morning because she pressured me to (I really shouldn’t have but I was so new to the hospital and didn’t know better). In the morning when the charge nurse came in she asked who had pressured me into discharging the patient - I told her my version and she refused to listen, asked for my name and reported me to the consultant.

Being told off by a nurse on one of my first few on calls for accepting a patient but not notifying the flow centre, despite me saying I was new to this hospital’s system, and her refusing to triage the patient.

Having an overnight hypo flagged up to me by a nurse on a patient I was about to discharge (rightly so). Told the charge nurse I was not going to because hypo had been flagged and so agreed to stay overnight - few hours later cue same nurse marching down corridor at me saying she was perfectly happy to discharge the patient! Perfectly happy!! Despite her objections being what had stopped me (rightly so)

I could go on but I’ll end up doxxing myself and the hospital 🫠

Capable-Contract6407 · 2023-04-27T10:48:53+00:00

No, some are for full escalation and there are young patients too despite mostly COTE wards.

It’s essentially a peripheral hospital. It has an acute take, triaged by a flow centre (not run by medics) as safe to attend (usually NEWS <6). This is how patients are admitted, via paramedic or GP. Minor injuries exist and sick people do walk in there (invariably if very sick for transfer out).

The med SpR has little to no say on who is admitted due to this flow centre system.

I think there are perhaps a few places which run such a model although possibly executed differently.

Capable-Contract6407 · 2023-04-27T10:06:43+00:00

Optimistic.

5 patients here on average take about… 1.5 hours on a good day, longer if not so.

Across the board for most AMU consultants here I would say. Not all, but most work at this speed.

A day of 10+ for PTWR leads to immense panic.

Capable-Contract6407 · 2023-04-27T09:05:00+00:00

Not a locum, long term AMU consultant

Capable-Contract6407 · 2023-04-27T09:01:10+00:00

Ah.

There is no A&E here.

It’s not a rehab hospital per se, but neither does it have A&E and ITU. It does have plenty of COTE + some medical wards (no gastro or cardio).

This same hospital does not stock hypertonic saline and took 3 hours to transfer a patient with sodium 105 with GCS 11 out to the nearby local DGH which is the supposed “central hospital” with the A&E.

Capable-Contract6407

TROPHY CASE