# NHS workers 'quitting to stack shelves because it pays more'



## Northerner (Dec 1, 2016)

Low-paid NHS workers are quitting to stack shelves in supermarkets because they can earn more money for less stress, the leader of NHS hospitals has said.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals, said workers were leaving because pay in the health service had not kept up with rises in some parts of the private sector.

Mr Hopson said the health service was struggling to hire and retain staff because pay restraint in the NHS meant pay was “starting to become uncompetitive in certain areas”.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/29/nhs-workers-quitting-stack-shelves-pays/


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## grovesy (Dec 1, 2016)

I am not total suprise D.


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## trophywench (Dec 1, 2016)

Are NHS exempt from 'living wage' laws then?


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## Amigo (Dec 1, 2016)

Can't see the pay being any better but obviously the stress will be less. However I expect the rewards could be less too unless you have a thing about orderly stacked tins!


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## grovesy (Dec 1, 2016)

Most probably more to do with stress.


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## HOBIE (Dec 1, 2016)

Is that why patients & visitors can not get parked because of all the staff cars ? . I don't see them all walking to work because they can not afford the bus. News paper story again ?


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## Lindarose (Dec 1, 2016)

At the hospital I work at staff have to pay to park in the staff car park. If they don't qualify to pay for a permit (and many of us don't) they can use park and ride then bus, cycle or pay the same amount as visitors to park. No special allowances here. 
I'm now going to look at the hourly rate at tescos to see if I might get more if I want to try for a career change


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## HOBIE (Dec 1, 2016)

I have never paid for hosp car-park & always walk more than half a mile to get there. So every time I see my team I walk more than a mile. I do it to help me & its cheaper


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## grovesy (Dec 1, 2016)

HOBIE said:


> I have never paid for hosp car-park & always walk more than half a mile to get there. So every time I see my team I walk more than a mile. I do it to help me & its cheaper


Most hospitals have charged everyone to park, for at least 20years.
In some areas if they did not drive they could not get there on public transport, for some shifts.


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## Lindarose (Dec 1, 2016)

That's excellent Hobie. Walking is great 
Bit to far for me to walk to work and shift times make it rather unsafe. But I certainly walk as much as I can.


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## HOBIE (Dec 1, 2016)

I once went to see a specialist who lived more than 10miles away from the hosp. He was South African & peddled every day on his bike. What an inspiration !  Who would you vote for ?


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## trophywench (Dec 1, 2016)

Oh - your hospital must be pretty rural - for at least a mile in all directions from ours there are double yellow lines along every road whether residential or commercial.  It's about three quarters of a mile from where you turn off the road into the hospital grounds to the main hospital building - passing by the Hospice, the Mental Hospital and the Private hospital before you get to a car park, and you may have to wait half an hour in the queue to get into it.  A 10 min walk from the furthest point to the hospital door, then a further 5 - 10 minute walk inside the building to the main OP clinic.  If you need other depts. eg Xray, or the Breast Clinic or the Bowel one or Dermatology then it's further.  Most wards (on the upper floors) are a four to five min walk along the corridor from the lifts/stairwell.

No direct public transport from eg Rugby or Nuneaton (we live near Nuneaton) so how do you get there from either in less than 2 hours if not in the car Hobie?  As it is, you need to get there about an hour before the appointed time, to guarantee you can get to the waiting area for the clinic in enough time.


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## MikeTurin (Dec 2, 2016)

Amigo said:


> Can't see the pay being any better but obviously the stress will be less. However I expect the rewards could be less too unless you have a thing about orderly stacked tins!


I suppose that on lower ranks the rewards on health service are also low, with more stressful chores to do. For the pay I suppose that the pay rises on public sectors are different on these of private sectors.


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## Northerner (Dec 2, 2016)

MikeTurin said:


> I suppose that on lower ranks the rewards on health service are also low, with more stressful chores to do. For the pay I suppose that the pay rises on public sectors are different on these of private sectors.


Public sector pay rises have been capped at 1% for years, and will be for years to come  The government keep bleating about a 'strong economy' with pay rising at 2%+, but that doesn't apply to the public sector who are barely keeping pace with inflation. If inflation rises because of Brexit and the lower pound, as expected, then public sector workers will be effectively experiencing a pay cut


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## mikeyB (Dec 3, 2016)

I've not been paying attention to this thread. Who, might I ask, are "NHS Providers"? Is this yet another all fart and no shit committee? I don't think they have got such in Scotland. I could be wrong, but if there is, they're pretty damn quiet.


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## Amigo (Dec 3, 2016)

mikeyB said:


> I've not been paying attention to this thread. Who, might I ask, are "NHS Providers"? Is this yet another all fart and no shit committee? I don't think they have got such in Scotland. I could be wrong, but if there is, they're pretty damn quiet.




*NHS Providers is the membership organisation and trade association for the NHS acute, ambulance, community and mental health services that treat patients and service users in the NHS*


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## mikeyB (Dec 4, 2016)

And what does it do? Obviously nothing to help low paid workers in the NHS. Most cleaning services are contracted out. It's these workers that are paid the worst.


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## Amigo (Dec 4, 2016)

mikeyB said:


> And what does it do? Obviously nothing to help low paid workers in the NHS. Most cleaning services are contracted out. It's these workers that are paid the worst.



No bleeding idea what it does my friend...google it like I did! 

Oh I spent 3 summers working as a hospital domestic but in the days before they were contracted out. Pay was low but standards high and we had supervisors who checked tops of doors and plug holes with a white glove. Imagine that now!


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## Ljc (Dec 4, 2016)

Amigo said:


> No bleeding idea what it does my friend...google it like I did!
> 
> Oh I spent 3 summers working as a hospital domestic but in the days before they were contracted out. Pay was low but standards high and we had supervisors who checked tops of doors and plug holes with a white glove. Imagine that now!


My two nearest hospitals still do this.


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## Amigo (Dec 4, 2016)

Ljc said:


> My two nearest hospitals still do this.



Wow, that's good to hear Ljc. On the far too many occasions I've been an in patient, I've been shocked at how little is expected of the domestics compared to when I, and relatives worked there. The domestics then seemed to feel very much like part of the ward team.
I'm afraid I'm not a fan of contracted services having seen what's happened since Social Services out sourced their services.


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## Northerner (Dec 4, 2016)

Amigo said:


> Wow, that's good to hear Ljc. On the far too many occasions I've been an in patient, I've been shocked at how little is expected of the domestics compared to when I, and relatives worked there. The domestics then seemed to feel very much like part of the ward team.
> I'm afraid I'm not a fan of contracted services having seen what's happened since Social Services out sourced their services.


I remember when I was diagnosed a patient spilled some food on the floor and it went under his bed - didn't think anything of it until I noticed it was still there a day later after the cleaners had been in twice and ignored it (you couldn't really miss it ). I pointed it out to a nurse and she cleaned it up. No idea whether the cleaners were hauled over the coals about it though.

In another non-hospital related incident I remember coming back to the office after Christmas and starting to smell something awful after a while. The smell got worse and eventually I realised it was coming from my computer keyboard - although it looked perfectly clean it became apparent that someone had thrown up over it and had cleaned it, but obviously not below the keys, and as it heated up in use, the smell started!  It was traced to an office cleaner who had thrown up over it at Christmas and had already been disciplined (possibly sacked). My main concern was that people might think the smell was coming from me!


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## Ljc (Dec 4, 2016)

Last year I spent three weeks in our local community hospital,  It was spotless.  Each room was cleaned twice a day and once a week we were moved to the day room or if nice and sunny we could go in the garden whilst our rooms  were deep cleaned.  The grub was good too


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## FergusC (Dec 5, 2016)

Northerner said:


> My main concern was that people might think the smell was coming from me!


What sort of life do you lead at work that people would think that you would walk around stinking of rotten puke!


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## Northerner (Dec 5, 2016)

FergusC said:


> What sort of life do you lead at work that people would think that you would walk around stinking of rotten puke!


Thankfully, the smell didn't follow me around, but hovered a couple of feet above my keyboard!


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