NHS overtime

Cooper18

Hi SarEl, yes, it's been going on for as long as I've known her - 10 years plus. But she objects every time! She has written out countless incident forms, written to her managers etc etc but all to no avail. She has suggested several very workable solutions but each is dismissed as impractical or not feasible. She got herself in a real flap about it after the dinner party thing and we had a long chat about it. She showed me the pages and pages of info she has sent to her managers. She's pleading with them not to make her choose between her duty to her patients and her duty to her family. But their standard reply seems to be of the "nothing we can really do" sort.

SarEl

Cooper18 wrote: »

Hi SarEl, yes, it's been going on for as long as I've known her - 10 years plus. But she objects every time! She has written out countless incident forms, written to her managers etc etc but all to no avail. She has suggested several very workable solutions but each is dismissed as impractical or not feasible. She got herself in a real flap about it after the dinner party thing and we had a long chat about it. She showed me the pages and pages of info she has sent to her managers. She's pleading with them not to make her choose between her duty to her patients and her duty to her family. But their standard reply seems to be of the "nothing we can really do" sort.

Oh dear. I am afraid the union are right then - there is very little they can do after ten years! The problem is that pages and pages of concerns and suggestions were not what was required. I am afraid an outright refusal and grievance genuinely years ago was. Difficult I realise for committed staff to do, but she has made doing this part of her contractual terms and it is going to be very difficult to undo now. And would still require her to refuse, which MAY be treated as a disciplinary matter, since she has created the contractual term that they can now hold her to.

I am afraid that at this point I have no suggestions to offer. I'll think on it, but I'm not hopeful of coming up with anything.

Cooper18

Oh dear is right. :-(

I think I might continue to be a sounding board to her but not send her to this thread as she might throw herself off a bridge! I guess I was hoping I could fix this for her, via you guys here, but that doesn't look likely with what's been said.

Despite that, I think she has been pushed into a corner and might take action herself. While I can't see her walking out I can see her demanding her colleagues share the burden. One of her suggestions was that the 3 staff have a "potential overtime" week or month, so that if there is a problem then it's up to them to sort for that week. And if no problems arise, then no problem! Just because she doesn't have children doesn't mean she doesn't have commitments.

Sadly I can also see her going to Occ H as her blood pressure has been on the increase for the last year or so and this might tip her over the edge.

whitewing

Is she the same band as the others?

If she has to leave, isn't it ultimately the manager's responsibility? Or is she the manager?

SarEl

Leave it with me to think over. But I'll need to sleep on this. Check tomorrow. But no promises.

Cooper18

She is senior to the others, but not the manager. The manager works in a different hospital!

While I see she has made a rod for her own back, she has also inherited this problem from the seniors before her. I know this isn't an excuse, just trying to offer more insight. "It's been done this way for years" was the mantra when she joined that department. So her seniors stayed late and expected their team to do it, now she's the one staying late and everyone else bogs off and leaves her.

I've just found a text she sent when she got home after the failed dinner date evening. She said "so sorry to let you all down, but only home now. Pizza for me I think! At least I didn't beat my own record of being there until 9.30pm! I hate my life!" 9.30pm?! 4.5 hours with no warning, that can't be right.

By the way, as a healthcare person myself, I realise I'm talking about a patient as if they are a burdensome lump of meat, and I don't mean it to come across like that. It isn't right for a patient to be left sitting for hours awaiting pick up. If my pals problem can't be fixed for her own sanity, it should surely be fixed for the patients.

Person_one

Cooper18 wrote: »

Thanks all.

The punters are sometimes in beds, or need piped oxygen so just dumping them elsewhere doesn't appear to be an option. Theres no A&E. I know she's tempted to just abandon them but her manager has told her she has a duty of care to them and would face disciplinary action if she did.

Hang on, patients on oxygen are being left in the care of one unqualified member of staff? With no procedure in place for what would happen in an emergency?

Surely this is a bigger issue than overtime, this is a massive risk to patient safety!

Yorkie1

One aspect which I wonder is worth exploring, relates to the fact that she is now a carer for dependent older relatives, which was not the case when she first started undertaking this work.

I know it isn't a case of one set of circumstances / caring responsibilities trumping another, but is there any merit in exploring this as a change of circumstances to argue a different work pattern / process now?

I am not an expert in employment law by any stretch; hopefully those who are experienced may be able to comment whether there's any mileage in this at all.

fuzzybear01

I would suggest she writes an incident form each time it happens if she actually feels that it is unsafe practice. Contrary to popular belief, these don't disappear into a black hole but actually get acted upon.

Cooper18

Person_one wrote: »

Hang on, patients on oxygen are being left in the care of one unqualified member of staff? With no procedure in place for what would happen in an emergency?

Surely this is a bigger issue than overtime, this is a massive risk to patient safety!

Yes, that's the gist of it sadly! She has pointed this out, numerous times.