r/nhs

Dear all,

I left the NHS at the end of April; at that time, I had 42 hours AL left unused. During the notice period, my group manager, Band 8b, asked whether I wanted to take the leave. I said I would like to work until the end of April instead of using it. I did not confirm whether this can be paid after leaving, just assume that. This is a mistake.

After leaving without receiving any payment for annual leave, I asked the group, and the manager refused to pay it as follows,

"Apologies  I should have clarified this earlier as I'm afraid there has been a misunderstanding. xxx was always free to take his outstanding annual leave if he wanted to, which is why it wasn't added to his leavers form on ESR. The policy is that outstanding leave is only paid in lieu if the staff member has asked to take leave and had this request turned down due to the needs of the service, which did not happen in this case. I'm sorry if he expected this to be paid to him but this is not something that I offered to him either verbally or in writing so he shouldn't have been relying on it. 

This might seem like a hard line but I do have a responsibility to follow xxx policies to make sure we are using our funding strictly for it's intended purpose, so I think I have to still say no on this one."

The relevant policy is "

9. Entitlements on Joining and Leaving 

• The Trust will make every effort to meet the needs of new employees in respect of commitments to holidays made prior to the commencement of employment. Managers should ask new members of staff whether they have any booked leave before the employee’s start date so they can plan in advance how to accommodate it. 
• All new employees will be entitled to annual leave plus Bank Holidays in the year of joining the Trust, on a pro-rata basis. On appointment, the Bank Holiday’s hours entitlement will be based on the number of Bank Holidays remaining in the current leave year. All employees terminating their contract before the end of the leave year will be entitled to accrued annual leave and Bank Holidays up to their leave date on a pro-rata basis. 
• An Annual Leave Calculator is available on the Trust Intranet to help with the calculation of annual leave and Bank Holidays entitlements for employees joining or leaving the Trust. Upon notice of termination of employment with the Trust, any outstanding annual leave and Bank Holiday entitlements should be taken during the employee’s period of notice. 
• Where in exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the employee’s designated manager, the needs of the service necessitate that requests to take paid leave during an employee’s period of notice are not approved, the employee shall receive payment in lieu for any leave outstanding. Where, following termination of employment, the amount of annual leave taken during an employee’s final leave year exceeds the amount of entitlement accrued at the date of the termination of their employment with the Trust, the Trust shall recover from the employee pay equivalent to the number of days/hours the employee has exceeded their entitlement by. Where possible this will be collected from the employee’s final salary. When employees change their contracted hours, this will result in a re-calculation of their annual leave entitlement.  "

Just in case, is it true that I can not take the money? Seems to me like it's a grey area, as I didn't apply for leave, and they have no chance to reject the leave and agree to pay me for the work.

Thank you very much for the help.

Best wishes,

I had my first nhs interview for a band 2 and I think it went horribly. I let my nerves get the best of me, I was talking too fast, I couldn’t word things properly. The 2 at the panel were really kind though and they did try their best to help me throughout it out. Has anyone else had an interview that they thought went horribly but still somehow managed to get it? The job is to join a waiting list so even if I think i managed to do at least okay I would probably be very far down that list.

Hi all,

I’ve received a letter from an paediatrics department at my local hospital , talking about a recent appointment with a baby. I am 21 with no baby!

It is all my information , address and has been sent to my GP. It details blood test results for the baby and observations.

Does anyone know what I do? Do I just ring them up and tell them this isn’t meant for me. This is a massive breach of GDPR so just unsure which steps to take. Any advice is much appreciated.

Thank you!

I see this a lot on American TV shows, where people without specific medical issues go to the doctor and they'll just run a bunch of tests and check for any health issues or areas where health can be improved.

Basically like a full MOT, but for your body.

Other than visiting the eye clinic on a referral from my optometrist a few years back, I've basically had zero contact with the NHS since I was a child.

Never had a blood test, urine test, physical check up or anything like that. I wonder sometimes if it's worth doing just to know if there is anything I need to be keeping an eye on, especially as i'm into my late 30s now and haven't always lived the healthiest lifestyle.

Is there a way I can request this from the NHS? Would I be laughed off the phone if I rang up my GP and told them nothing was wrong but I just want everything checked?

I have been in nhs 19 years this year and I have recently come to the conclusion that MY CURRENT management do not really care if you work or not.

As long as you don’t bring their reputation into disrepute or cause unnecessary trouble you are good.

I know this because I work in a team where it is openly known that a member of the team does no work and happily lets all their colleagues carry the load. Instead of addressing this or moving person out of the team they are protected as long as they provide mental health notes from the GP.

This then encourages the rest of the team to stop working which I did as an experiment. There are no consequences. Nothing happens. Management do not care.

Im going for a appointment at the GP Tomorrow for a bone age scan results and the pediatric is going to go deeply into my height medical i think and height trends ect, thats at least what i think BUT im currently taking a VARIETY of drugs which im not supposed to like arimidex to keep growth plates open ect should i bring it up or could that cause concerns or even medical intervention considering im underage, it would just be a great help to see any comments about this topic

I've been thinking about getting the copper coil/iud inserted, and my local sexual health clinic fits them, but I've heard that there is a wait list to get them taken out?

I want kids in the next 5-7 years, plus if I have any issues with it, I want it removed as soon as.

I’ve had serious fatigue for a long time now I’m young 21 healthy eater, not overweight or too skinny. I have been looking for the issue for years now. Always kept getting told was probably a mental issue but I knew it wasn’t I really felt something was wrong. Back in January I was having a stressful time as I couldn’t concentrate for my college work and was going insane, I didn’t sleep for like 3 days at one point had a bad panic attack went to emergency and explained how I’ve been feeling and been constantly told it’s in my mind when I knew it wasn’t. I got very lucky they did lots of tests for me and were very helpful and everything seemed fine, they told me all blood tests were normal. Fast forward to just now I called a doctor as things have just got worse now I just genuinely feel weak, and I asked my gp to check the bloods I have had done in the past so I can see what else I can check, and turns out back then they did get low red blood cells results. Why was I told everything was fine? My life has just got worse and worse and if it’s just like low iron I’ve been told it’s a easy fix, but I honestly feel awful I’m so mad my life could of been better so long ago how did they get this wrong.

Ik it sounds stupid but i really want to report her for this, even though it doesnt seem like a big deal it hurt me and made me mistrust the medical system and i think somone needs to know. I was seeing her in london going through the TAD (trauma anxiety depression) program opening up to her about my life and before i opened up about s particular thing i asked “you cant tell anyone about this without my permission if im not planning to hurt myself or others right? “ she said yes and explained it all to me ive heard it a hundred times before, so i trusted her, and outof all the things i told her she decided to break that rule over my self harm sobriety. I was a hundred days sober on our last day together(had nothing to do with her i only saw her 3 times in the last 40 days of my sobriety) anyways i was verry clear that i did not want my dad knowing because he would just take it as his own victory like he has done before even tho it was all me and i just didnt want him to find out, which should be a good enough reason and once again is well within the guidelines. But she told him. On my last day there she took him into a room and she told him and the first thing he said when we got in the car was “i knew going to this program would work look how long it kept you sober” or something like that and i was so mad at her and i know its stupid but i think about it so much and hell i relapsed over it and have been cutting almost daily the last few months sence he found out and it just feels so unprofessional that she didnt listen to me or take me seriously just because she thought itd be ok and i really wanna write a report about it because it just feels so wrong! but idk how or if its even a big enough event, Can somone help me??

I go to weekly sessions for anxiety and depression, referred by GP. Two ladies run the course but one of them went on holiday, so there is another lady. The topic was, what was something you used to do but don't do anymore, and what the reason was.

We took turns and when I said I don't go to the gym because sometimes I have seasonal affective disorder. Later on when we took turns again what we should do to achieve the things we used to enjoy, she looks at me and says "We live in Wales for goodness sake, we live in Wales." Someone in the group spoke up recommended I do the national exercise referral programme.

Why is my depressed getting downplayed at a place for help with depression and anxiety? Its a genuine depression in this country, People have SAD lamps, medication, etc.

I'm really annoyed that I didn't stick up for myself (well, I was completely taken left field from this)

When the session was finishing, she says "I can be chopsy at times" She is aware, but I don't think it is needed here in these sessions. Am I thinking to deep, should I go citizen advice? I've never complained about someone ever, I always let things slide but I can't keep letting people dig, I'm trying to speak up more.

So I am not going into the details here but basically I went to the gp for my sympotms and I did some tests. My latest test was on Monday and on tuesday the doctor that ordered it contacted me saying all seemed normal (honestly at that point just one of two result arrived ) but to do book because I still had symptoms. So yesterday I saw my doctor and he referred me urgently to a specialist plus a possible scan. Because the combinations of symptoms and previous findings they have to rule out cancer or something else serious.

Yesterday night I saw in my app that all the results arrived.

Today I received a message from my surgery saying they have reviewed my test results and To book a routine telephone call in 2 weeks time to discuss them with one of their doctors. I booked but I am a bit confused on what’s going on here. As I have already been referred why this routine call?

I recently learnt a GP I saw for several years who helped me a lot has retired. Is it appropriate to send a card to the practice that they could hopefully pass on, as a thank you/congratulations, especially if the retirement has already passed? Or shouldn’t bother?

Just a rant…

I had an interview for a job next band up.

In a thing I specialise in and have been for many years.

Didn’t get it, was second choice.

Feedback all positive, portfolio top scoring, just didn’t elaborate enough on one question, covered it but just needed a little more, otherwise no issue.

Today I find out they gave the job to someone who isn’t specialised in that field at all (small profession, we know who does what) l. They just so happened to work across the ways and know the team.

The specialism and the requirements were all essential criteria.

How does this happen? They are literally training g people to do a thing they have no idea about and their manager said to me they need someone who can hit the ground running….. que!?

How did they get that past HR. My boss is very confused because they had interviewed them before for a similar role and that was the reason they didn’t get it….

But this place are known for finding ways to hire the people they preselect.

So why put it out for external applicants?

A few from my team applied and we all feel like we were just given the run around so they could get through the formality of an interview.

Pissed off, gutted, butthurt

They told me to apply again as they think I’d be a great match for their team… talk about salt in the wound. Only the thing I do rarely comes up so it could be YEARS before another opportunity arises.

Also why would I bother? If I was so great why hire someone who hasn’t used any of the kit needed to do the job.

Feeling totally defeated. The specialism was outlined clearly in the essential skills…

I am so confused. I will get over it but seriously wtf

I got a 3 month pack, and was told to get a repeat after that. At 6 months I'll have an actually face to face review.

However, I've almost finished the 3 months. I've gone on the app, and it doesnt show any repeat prescription, and says that its unavailable to me.

Was I meant to do something first? Or is it just an app error?

Would I go to the GP receptionist to ask about this, or the pharmacy/boots I get it from?

A friend's GP has given advice, said to get a referral to a specialist at a hospital. Current options are all over 1 hour drive or nearly 3 hours on public transport. Is this normal? Is the problem that we're on county borders? Is there anything that can be done to push back for a more practical option? Should we seek private support instead?

Feels wild to expect sick people to travel that far for the help they need. I know the NHS is suffering but this feels absolutely mental! We are in the countryside but within an hour of several cities. Just want a sense check and any ideas that might make this easier to deal with.

During my last GP appointment the medic asked me repeatedly what my diagnosis was, even checking if I was "sure there wasn't anything else" when I answered the second time.

When she stepped out, I obviously shouldn't have but I looked at the screen and saw that there was a diagnosis of auditory hallucinations listed on my record and I believe this is likely why they asked so many times, alongside my family history of schizophrenia.

This was a misdiagnosis from when I was like 14ish and was ruled out at the time, I don't and have never had any form of psychosis or hallucinations, a practitioner misunderstood what intrusive thoughts were. How would I even go about raising this if I only know from looking at something I shouldn't have lol? Because I know that gets sent to every team I engage with on referrals and I really don't want everyone thinking that.

My wife was referred to ENT about a month ago by her GP for throat pain. This got much worse over the last weekend so on Monday Pharmacy referred her to local hospital urgent care who referred her on to a different local GP. This GP put in an Emergency throat cancer referral that she was mean to hear back on yesterday (We'd 20th) she did not hear back. Today she called and was told at least 14 days minimum to hear anything and there were no spots available. Is this normal? What should we do?

I went into the dentist today to see if I could get an appointment and they said sorry they only have private appointments available later today and that I could try calling at 9am tomorrow but it would be very unlikely I would get an NHS slot and that I would likely have to wait 4 weeks for an NHS appointment. They tried to put pressure on me to pay £95 for a private appointment this afternoon.

I'm struggling to find a definitive list of my rights as an NHS patient online results are telling me if the dentistry is clinically necessary then they are required to offer me an NHS appointment if they are also offering private ones. However, other results say only if they have NHS capacity.

I'm going in just before 9am tomorrow and could use some advice incase they fob me off again. Thanks