What is it like to work in the modern NHS? A recent national survey revealed staff felt undervalued and unsafe. When we think of NHS staff we tend to think of Doctors and nurse but other groups with in the NHS have also seen lots of change not all of it welcome.
Frank (not his real name) has been an ambulance driver for over 30 years and has the long service medals to show for it. He swapped a dull job in a supermarket for the excitement of the ambulance service. The job has never been well paid and he has routinely done extra shifts to make up his money. The service has changed dramatically and Frank who puts experience and common sense above academic qualifications has got left behind. People like Frank use to be the back bone of the service now they are a square peg in a round hole.
When I started all you needed was a clean driving licence, now it’s all young men and women with ambition and degrees. Being an ambulance driver is a bit like being in the trenches during the First World War, long periods of boredom sitting in a lay-by, broken by periods of adrenaline pumping unwanted action. The work ranges from ferrying “old dears” to and from hospital appointments, dealing with the unpredictable behaviour of drunks, joking one minute, aggressive the next, drug fuelled violence and traumatic road accidents. It’s an unhealthy anti-social job. You spend more time with your partner than your wife, hours on end just the two of you sitting in the vehicle. You can’t even go to the toilet without the other knowing. You end up being like an old married couple. Shift work makes it difficult to have a normal social life. I use to like to go to the pub for a drink at lunch time if I was on a late and it wasn’t my turn to drive but you can’t do that these days some member of the public would report you.
The shift system plays havoc with your bowels and sleep patterns. Most people don’t last long on the front line, the ambitious go into management and the older ones leave on the grounds of ill health, usually a combination of a bad back and stress. Sickness levels are high reflecting the fact that most of us feel undervalued and unsafe. Performance targets mean there is a lot of pressure to get to the scene within minutes but if you get caught on a speed camera you’re on your own and an endorsement can mean you lose your job.
You never know what to expect when you answer a three nines call but some people ring for an ambulance for a cut finger or to help them get back into bed. Some people seem to think an ambulance is a right as opposed to just getting a taxi and taking themselves to casualty.
Management is distant, always seeking to change working practices and get us to be more flexible. They don’t want ambulance drivers and ambulance crews anymore as it’s cheaper and quicker to have a paramedic on a motorbike but it’s not always about how quickly you get to the scene, it’s what you do when you get there. Being the first at the scene and on your own makes you even more vulnerable as there is a growing amount of violence towards staff. But if you say the wrong thing to some drunk that has just thrown up over your shoes and told you to F OFF when you suggested he/she may need to go to hospital to have stitches for a head wound you are the one facing disciplinary action.
Blair McPherson
Director of Community Services