• Question: What is the worst part of working in healthcare?

    Asked by EM5.66 to Adrian, Ali, Charnelle, Deborah, Kit, Phil, Rob on 6 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Robert Cullum

      Robert Cullum answered on 6 Nov 2017:

      This is a really tough question to answer and we might all give different answers!

      For me at the moment the thing I find really challenging is the constant pressure that the NHS is now under. We are often understaffed in terms of both doctors and nurses in A and E and we also see significantly more patients than attended even a couple of years ago. This is in part due to a shortage of GPs for people to see. This all puts everyone under a lot of pressure and means sometimes we don’t have the time or the resources to give people the full amount of care we would like, with patients sometimes waiting long periods of time to be seen or for a bed in the hospital. I find this really difficult as I chose medicine because I wanted to help people and sometimes it feels like we can’t do this to the level I would like.

    • Photo: Adrian Taylor

      Adrian Taylor answered on 6 Nov 2017:

      I’ll controversially say the Management in the NHS and the constant changes made by successive governments to the structure, Throwing more money into the NHS isn’t the best solution, what we need is stability and effective leadership. The idea that because someone is a good Dr or Nurse, they will make a good manager doesn’t always follow. Its hard to work for people less able than yourself, who don’t lead by example but rather by fear.

    • Photo: Philip Williams

      Philip Williams answered on 6 Nov 2017:

      I think the politics are the worst bit. If you spend too much time talking and looking at the big picture, it’s really depressing. However, if you focus on what matters – your daily talking to and helping patients – then it’s really exciting. Also, if you spend too much time talking with friends about how awful everything is, it does drag you down. If you spend your time talking to each other what you love about your job, or interesting conditions you’ve seen, then it helps you really enjoy your job.

    • Photo: Deborah Draycott

      Deborah Draycott answered on 6 Nov 2017:

      Not having enough time or resources to always give the care I want to my patients. My workload has increased massively in recent years due to the shortage of GPs, whilst taking on more responsibility and skills is something I have enjoyed, it has meant less time to give people the full care they often need psychologically and socially. Politics can make the job very demanding at times and at one point I considered leaving Nursing. However a change in direction has meant I still enjoy what I do most of the time.

    • Photo: Kit T

      Kit T answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      I agree with what everyone says, the main problems at the moment are the huge pressure the NHS is under. This won’t go away any time soon but it has a big impact on the morale of staff. The negative press coverage of the NHS and what some see as political game playing is also pretty unhelpful and creates a bit of a negative environment. Ultimately this leads to fewer resources and the inability to help people as we would like. There are lots of times I see patients in surgery for problems that are medically minor but might mean a lot to them like a skin lump on their face. I have to tell them there is nothing we can do because there is no service any more, or that they have to wait months for counselling which would improve their quality of life. It’s frustrating being limited by the system sometimes, but the benefits of being able to help the majority of people outweigh that.

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