feeling bullied and very stressed

[brecken]

Hi everyone, I am posting on behalf of myself and some of my colleagues, we work for the NHS at our local hospital and over the past few weeks we have been taken off our main jobs to cover elsewhere in the hospital, we objected to this and were told we were not allowed to object that we worked for the trust and therefore we could be put anywhere at short notice, the thing is we were put on wards of which we had no knowledge of the treatment given ( specialised ) 1 of our girls was told to work over 3 differant wards in 1 night shift, has you can imagine this as caused untold misary, we are all very stressed, we are going into work and not knowing until we get there what ward we are working on, we all feel like phoning in sick, but this wouldnt change the situation would it?
We have tried to speak to our manager but she doesnt want to know and is not supportive at all, she told us just to get on with it.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what we can do next?

Thanks a lot, Brecken xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Allwood]

You should take it up with your union, I think it is unison that represent the HNS.

[poppynurse]

I think you need to check your contract of employment. I'm also in the NHS and my contract states that I will work where ever the trust needs me to . Is this a short term solution to staffing issues? Management have to consider the 'big picture' and ensure all areas of the hospital are covered.

The other issue that may cause concern is your registration - if you are being required to work in a specialised area that you feel you are not knowledgable/experienced in you need to make your manager aware (in writing) that you feel that you may be putting your registration at risk and object to the moves on those grounds. And make it clear when you arrive on the unfamiliar ward that you lack experience in the specialty. It very much depends on your experience and current work area as to what areas you could reasonably be expected to provide cover for, and also what capacity you are expected to work in. For example - if you are normally employed to work on a medical ward it may be unreasonable to expect you to work in ITU or paeds, but it may not be unreasonable to make you work on a stroke unit or EAU - do you see what I mean?

I know it's a pain and it takes you out of your comfort zone but it can actually be positive to work in other areas in terms of experience gained, seeing how other areas do things and taking examples of good practice back to your own area, building working relationships throughout the hospital etc.
I would also contact the union and see what they think.

[old_andrew2007]

Hi

Thats good advice from poppynurse, by writing to your manager you are highlighting concerns, this is just as the NMC suggest in that registrants should make known any concerns. (code of conduct)
However I would go further and contact the professional advice particulary if you are being expected to extend your practice
Professional Advice: 020 7333 6550
advice@nmc-uk.org

Regards

Andy

[old_andrew2007]

Hi

Any update

Regards

Andy

[paulgmb]

You should take it up with your union, I think it is unison that represent the HNS.

On the contrary, depending on your occupation there are 14 signatories (Unions) within the NHS!!

[chasin sunsets]

Afernoon, I have a meeting tomorrow morning with my boss (cant name names or company) and it is to do with the use of email at work (internal) it seems that I am being constantly harrassed by a member of staff and things only happen when i am off on holiday or sick leave. One member of staff even called peronbell to ask about my contrct, he got told and has in effect reported me for leaving at 4pm ona friday instead of 4-30 (37 hr week) I have been here for nearly 2 years and everything was fine until this member of staff joined. I have now got permission from management after fighting my case due to family issues. I asked for the flexi time policy to be considered and was refused, I am now looking for alternative employment. For some reason the person making probelms for me has the backing of the team leader and his manager (cant name hierachy either for fear of retribution) been called in on 2 occasions by the boss to explain my sickness, one was a cold, 2nd was a contagious disease (cant name it as fear of retribution!). I do know by the area union rep the turnover of staff is 48%. I loved the job at first but now have started becoming upset and taking things out on my family as I have no other means of dealing with it at work. The colleague! who has been causing me to be under stress loves confrontations and arguments. He will not however, go to a meeting with me and the union rep plus management. Please help as I am going to hand in my notice soon if things continue..seeing someone tomorrow evening about another job..

[old_andrew2007]

Originally Posted by chasin sunsets

Afernoon, I have a meeting tomorrow morning with my boss (cant name names or company) and it is to do with the use of email at work (internal) it seems that I am being constantly harrassed by a member of staff and things only happen when i am off on holiday or sick leave. One member of staff even called peronbell to ask about my contrct, he got told and has in effect reported me for leaving at 4pm ona friday instead of 4-30 (37 hr week) I have been here for nearly 2 years and everything was fine until this member of staff joined. I have now got permission from management after fighting my case due to family issues. I asked for the flexi time policy to be considered and was refused, I am now looking for alternative employment. For some reason the person making probelms for me has the backing of the team leader and his manager (cant name hierachy either for fear of retribution) been called in on 2 occasions by the boss to explain my sickness, one was a cold, 2nd was a contagious disease (cant name it as fear of retribution!). I do know by the area union rep the turnover of staff is 48%. I loved the job at first but now have started becoming upset and taking things out on my family as I have no other means of dealing with it at work. The colleague! who has been causing me to be under stress loves confrontations and arguments. He will not however, go to a meeting with me and the union rep plus management. Please help as I am going to hand in my notice soon if things continue..seeing someone tomorrow evening about another job..

Hi

I think you should start your own thread, it will help to get answers to your problem follow this link "How do I...?" A Dummies' Guide to this Forum

Regards

Andy

[chasin sunsets]

Ok, i will try to do it later, meeting in 45 mins.

[brecken]

Hi everyone,

Sorry It's been awhile, but it taken this long to sort things out, I took on everyones advice, regarding my working enviroment and the strees I felt I was under, I have had several meetings the first couple with the ward sister which I'm affraid had no positive effect whats so ever, it only made her treat me worse for having the gall to complain, the 2nd was with the Matron, but again to no positive effect, I then complained to HR that I felt my concerns were not taken seriously and that it was having negative effect not just on my working life but also on my home life, I ended up at doc's on antidepress tabs, It's suprising just how much help you get when you tell them you are thinking of bringing in the union, I had a very successful meeting with HR and my union rep, the solution was they asked me what they could do to make my working life easier, they said they would work alongside occupational heath to resolve any issues.
The result, I'm still working for the trust, but now in a admin role, I work Mon to Fri 8.30 to 5 on Flexi, I love my job and the people I work with, My boss is very highly respected for her fairness and compassion, in short a good result all round and I hope the ward sister and the matron have learnt from their mistakes in the handling of their staff's issues.

A Very happy Brecken xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[paulgmb]

Well done Brecken, a happy ending for a change!

[tiglet]

Well done! Which union was it?