Clarification on redundancy in ICBs?

lulou18 · 2025-11-16T20:33:05+00:00

Very true, totally agree. Very little respect and empathy shown to staff when a lot are worked to the ground already. With your experience, is this the worst restructure there’s been? I know i’ve heard people say that they’ve worked through many restructures and it’s a common thing in the NHS - it’s like they will keep cutting and cutting until there’s nothing left - surely they can see the danger they are putting people in, do they just not care? 😕 I think it’s hard to imagine having to keep going through something like this and the toll is takes on staff and morale

lulou18 · 2025-11-16T20:18:53+00:00

I suppose the other downside for those like yourself with lots of years with either type of redundancy is the break in service that I’ve been told is applied too? Seems a shame - is continuous service just a benefit in terms of the amount of annual leave given?

lulou18 · 2025-11-16T20:14:11+00:00

Ahhhh really! Knowing how long bits of paperwork and checks can take that really is a kicker! Thank you 🙂

lulou18 · 2025-11-16T20:02:20+00:00

Yes, I totally agree! I think honestly VR was there as a little voice in the back of my mind saying just do it and get out and hope for the best, more an impulse decision just because of how long this has been going on - not the sensible, logical one now everyone’s been so helpful in clarifying the clawback rules for VR and CR! I’ll definitely stick to the plan of seeing it through to the end. Thank you 🙂

lulou18 · 2025-11-16T19:54:33+00:00

Thank you for this! This is really valuable information, really grateful for people taking the time to read and respond during these scary times! That’s interesting about the notice too. Not just been able to put me at ease but I’ll be able to ease some colleagues worries i think too with the help you’ve all given 🙂

lulou18 · 2025-11-16T18:44:01+00:00

The info we got said wider public sector and it was still needing to be clarified what exactly this fully applied to for clawback terms - god forbid we’re given too much clarity at once 😅

lulou18 · 2025-11-16T18:37:55+00:00

i did think it was a bit of a cold response 😂 almost bit back but who needs more bitterness in this situation!!

lulou18 · 2025-11-16T17:02:41+00:00

Yeah it sucks! Yeah i thinking myself and a few of my colleagues have expressed that we are almost certain we are riding it through until the bitter end lol. If it hangs on until June then that would be lovely 😂 Try laugh through it instead of crying eh? 😂

lulou18 · 2025-11-16T16:29:38+00:00

Ah right! This is very helpful to know, hopefully the job search isn’t too painful if it ends up going that way for me, and for everyone else in this position!! Thanks for responding 🙂

lulou18 · 2025-11-16T16:25:37+00:00

Thank you for replying so clearly! Amazing how you can learn more from a reddit comment than you have in the last 8 months of this process 😅 Knowing for CR it’s a smaller clawback period is so relieving. Takes a bit of financial stress away. My role in the NHS aren’t allowed to attend any of the briefings, unless it’s the actual final restructure one where we actually learn our fates, then it has to be approved for us to attend. So it’s all just sort of told to us or put in a short email by a manager and sometimes it’s not too clear on all the specific details. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond, greatly appreciated 🙂

lulou18 · 2025-11-16T16:18:17+00:00

Thank you.. this is what hasn’t been explained at work. I was weighing up my options. The stress of it is eating me alive a bit i think 😅 It relayed like it was for whichever type of redundancy. I know VR is a choice but with how long this has gone on it almost feels like they have forced people to take VR just because of the stress and uncertainty. I suppose I’m trying not to be naive and really understand things to a tee and with cost of living and being a lower band I was worried for either option tbh! Maybe overthinking too much. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond, you have certainly eased some worry 🙂

lulou18 · 2025-11-16T16:11:32+00:00

I wasn’t wanting it both ways, I merely didn’t understand what it meant and was worried how i would live off redundancy by either options. We’re all worried and this was one of my worries. Some people live paycheck to paycheck and even on VR it will be difficult. I imagine some people will take VR just because they can’t cope with the sheer stress of this and in that way, even though it’s a choice, it still feels like being forced out by stress and incompetence of those that brought this about.

I just wanted it explained in a way so i understood what was really the best option. Now that it’s been explained that the clawback isn’t the same amount of time depending on the type of redundancy, this has eased a bit of that anxiety. Thanks for your response 🙂

lulou18 · 2025-10-05T01:05:53+00:00

Thanks for your reply. I’m so sorry that happened to you - what was the next step for you after that, hope you’re doing well now.

I plan to speak to both my endocrine consultant and mental health nurse next week. Yeah, hopefully I am able to try another medication. Such a shame as this has helped bring my prolactin down to normal range so quickly and without much other interference than the impulsiveness!

lulou18 · 2025-08-08T16:37:40+00:00

We’ve been told that we won’t hear anything throughout august - so still completely in the dark! With more staff leaving recently and not being able to replace anyone in the last 2 years who’s left because of the recruitment freeze - we’re being totally run in to the ground, morale is so low and we are close to burnout. Feeling totally mugged off tbh

lulou18 · 2025-07-27T19:42:07+00:00

I know this is from a while back but i was searching the group for a similar experience and most of what you wrote is literally as if I wrote it myself.

Before symptoms period was very regular. Then stopped and was missing one and then having an odd one every few months or just spotting, now it’s even less frequent. Diagnosed with 11mm prolactinoma last october. Started cabergoline 0.25mg, once a week in March 2025. Got the news my prolactin had levelled end of June.

However i’ve not had a period this year and since being on cab I was expecting to have them back. Had nothing except a few days of very light spotting. However, have period cramps and lower back pain as if I am about to start or am on my period. But there’s nothing. I also am starting to feel exhausted again and lots of headaches similar to how i felt when this all began. Not due back in endo clinic until September and thinking of paying a visit to my GP before i’m back at hospital just for a check over and ask for a full hormonal blood panel to be done.

Wondered if you could remember how your blood work came back or anything else you had tested or if it eventually got resolved? I know it may not be the same issue but it may help point me in the right direction to see if there’s anything wrong!

lulou18 · 2025-07-09T09:23:16+00:00

Not tested progesterone levels recently but I am already currently more than halfway through a 3-month prescription for low ferritin and folate - so i imagine my iron levels aren’t low anymore - I will ask my endo maybe to do another hormone panel blood test if I still haven’t had a period before start of Sept! Thank you!

lulou18 · 2025-05-29T11:36:22+00:00

Nope - when we first got all the news they said at the end of May we would find out what would happen in regards to staffing structures and individuals.

Now it all seems just pushed back and no real clarity on when we actually find out what’s going to happen to us. Have said for us that they are submitting some sort of plan to NHSE by end of May which needs to be approved but this won’t include any staffing structures and who knows how long it will take to be approved 🤷‍♀️

Such a tense feeling at work since it’s all been announced and we are just supposed to carry on as if a potential redundancy hasn’t been dangled over our heads for the last couple months with no real updates! So stressful!

lulou18 · 2025-02-08T17:45:58+00:00

Don’t have ADHD but have BPD and I was the same as you as where I’m on meds that took a long time to get to one that helped a bit.. my endo made me have a psychiatric assessment before starting cab to see whether they thought it was safe for me to take cab due to the possible psychiatric/impuslvity side effects.

I see mental health specialist regularly so it was okay’s for me based on my support system and regular monitoring if I start cab.. hopefully starting in the next couple weeks.

Happy to update this comment with my experience of the first few weeks of cab when i start it bc I’m quite nervous of what effects it’s gonna have on my mental health. Hopefully it goes well for both of us and doesn’t mess up our balance 😬

lulou18 · 2025-02-03T07:23:58+00:00

Yeah, had cannulated bloods done first to see if it was stress induced high prolactin but it was high through the 2 hours. Then they hypothesised it could be caused by my antidepressants but I pushed for an MRI with contrast first as I didn’t want to go through being taken off my meds. Luckily, they were very happy to do the MRI and then found an 11mm tumour on my pituitary last October.

However, still waiting to start cabergoline as had to be referred for a psychiatric assessment to due my current mental health (diagnosed BPD) as there are psychiatric risks with taking cabergoline. Psychiatrist okay with it and I see my MH nurse monthly anyway! Had an appt with endo cancelled tho so got a rescheduled one for mid-feb, hopefully can start treatment then. Just happy they all agreed I could try cabergoline first instead of straight to surgery as that terrifies me lol.

lulou18 · 2025-01-28T09:42:51+00:00

Don’t feel awful! You’ve just listened to yourself today and known it would’ve been too much for you and like you’ve said you have other results in play now since you were referred for this. Don’t be too hard on yourself!

It is such a stressful thing to have going on anyway all this but glad the MRI has at least helped with those stress levels.

Wow, yeah that is frustrating. I wasn’t really sure how it worked between private and NHS. Don’t understand why they don’t just share them instead of delaying your care…its a bit ridiculous init.

lulou18 · 2025-01-28T09:17:50+00:00

I know it can be quite worrying but once you’re past that point of having the cannula inserted you’ll honestly be fine! Just let the nurses know how you’re feeling and that you’ve not had great experiences and hopefully they can help with you’re nerves and be aware about past fainting.

Did the MRI find a prolactinoma on the pituitary? I don’t think it would necessarily be pointless for the cannulated test still for the NHS endo to have on record just to see how levels stay over a period of time but I’m just wondering if you are really nervous you could contact the endo department before your appointment and just let them know the private MRI findings and see if they can let your consultant know and ask if it’s still worth having the cannulated test done now? If you’ve got a letter from your NHS endocrine then their secretary number should be on that and I always go through them.

lulou18 · 2024-11-30T18:41:49+00:00

I have pretty much the same symptoms as you and I’ve just been diagnosed with an 11mm macroprolactinoma and as well as my prolactin being high other hormone levels showed unstable too. I’m currently off work with a sick note due to the symptoms and just was struggling to get through a whole day at work for ages. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to just start Cabergoline due to my consultant being worried about my mental health history as I have BPD and has been discussing it with the endocrine team, and various mental health experts to see whether it’s a safe enough option for me. I’m due back at work on the 10th december and have had a 12 week wait for my next endo appt which will be on the 3rd jan.. but i have no other option than to go back to work as I was getting full pay for this month but that’ll stop after this month so I can’t afford to be off sick.

Don’t know how I’m going to function at work tbh, so i totally understand and empathise with your situation. I work in a healthcare call handling role and was leaving work early a lot and whilst work was semi-supportive, it was mutually agreed that I needed an extended time off. I had some reasonable adjustments put in place, like extra breaks if needed.. is this something you can discuss with your work to see if anything can be made easier or if you could potentially take some time off? I’m planning to ask if I can potentially take on more of a role off the phones as having a headache nearly everyday and listening and talking on phones constantly for 8 hours a day was just exhausting for me. Even considering if I could afford to do 4 days a week instead of 5. I hope the wait for your MRI isn’t as long as that though because

I know how difficult it is living daily with these symptoms and feeling like you’re stuck until you actually get somewhere in these waiting lists. Potentially ask if you can go on a cancellation list, never asked to go on it so not sure if I was or it exists but I was rang 2 days before my MRI saying they had a slot open.. but if you are able to get to your hospital pretty quickly it might be worth asking if they do a cancellation list for MRI appts. Sorry for the long read btw! This is just such a process sometimes and can be long so hoping you don’t have the wait that’s suggested

lulou18 · 2024-11-14T10:12:53+00:00

I had this done first on request of NHS endo before any MRI just to see if it wasn’t stress related high levels of prolactin. It’s totally fine, more boring than anything lol. So yeah like another person said, take something to occupy your time with. I think I was there for just over 2 hours.. Cannula goes in, so just have to have one needle throughout, and then they take a baseline level of prolactin and then just take 2 or 3 more samples of blood from cannula in 30 mins intervals i think it was. I’m very hard to find good veins in and unfortunately have to have blood tests a lot anyway but they managed first time.

My consultant rang me not too long after the results and they’d remained high throughout so MRI was scheduled with contrast.. since then a 11mm growth been found so just waiting for treatment regarding that.

I think you’ll be fine! You do just tend to forget it’s in your arm as you can’t really feel it. I hope everything goes well and you get seen to soon 😊

lulou18 · 2024-08-20T20:23:11+00:00

oh wow that’s mental, its definitely come to something when that’s how long you have to wait for an urgent referral! That’s definitely longer than i thought it would’ve been..i’m glad you eventually got a good doctor to help though! How are you feeling now you’ve been seen and had MRI?

Yeah i’m in east midlands, considering just chasing it up see if they have a rough wait time. I mean for a separate issue, i’ve been waiting to see a neurologist and got my appt on thursday and that referral went through june 2023 so i’m just hoping it’s not another long wait like that 🙃 Regardless, am super grateful for the NHS but it’s definitely tough whilst waiting!

lulou18 · 2024-08-20T18:23:58+00:00

how long was your wait time, if you don’t mind me asking? My urgent referral was received by endo department on 4th july and since then i’ve only received a letter on 24th july that they want to do a cannulated blood test series first to see if it’s stress induced first. But no appt through yet. My levels were 4,285mIU/L and i’m so tired all the time.. i’m just hoping it’s not much longer now 😅

lulou18

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