'This will be the final nail in the coffin for nurses working for Betsi. We already work on understaffed ward so we are lucky if we take a break. This will mean lots of nurses moving away from the nursing profession and I will be one of them. I absolutely love being a nurse but will not have my health threatened by the trust putting more pressures on me. Betsi are showing their true colours in my opinion, they care more for finances than patient or staff wellbeing. Maybe if they put money into their frontline staff by making wards safely staffed and not paying companies to come up with stupid ideas then they might save money in the long run.'
Nurses have come forward in their droves to talk about the impact of proposed changes to their breaks.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board are currently consulting on plans to force nurses and Health Care Support Workers to take an extra unpaid half-hour break during shifts.
Critics of the plan such as Llyr Gruffydd, Plaid Cymru's North Wales AM, say the changes will mean nurses being on call during emergencies and will effectively end up having to work an extra shift per month for the same money.
Nurses have commented on a petition launched by Plaid Cymru explaining how it will affect them in terms of childcare costs by having to work longer hours. Some have said they will reduce their hours or even go to work for agencies.
One said:
"I am a staff nurse who feels that this will be the final nail in the coffin for nurses working for Betsi. We already work on understaffed ward so we are lucky if we take a break. This will mean lots of nurses moving away from the nursing profession and I will be one of them. I absolutely love being a nurse but will not have my health threatened by the trust putting more pressures on me. Betsi are showing their true colours in my opinion, they care more for finances than patient or staff wellbeing. Maybe if they put money into their frontline staff by making wards safely staffed and not paying companies to come up with stupid ideas then they might save money in the long run."
Mr Gruffydd said:
"There has been a huge response to our petition in the past two days with many nurses contacting us to express their horror at the way the health board is trying to make them work longer shifts. Nurses and HCSWs have told us that they already miss breaks because they're so stretched on wards and units and they fear this will just make matters worse.
"It's clear that many frontline staff have to skip breaks because of emergencies and critical situations. Many stay over their shifts for handovers, which can be lengthy in complex cases on specialist units. The NHS survives despite ongoing financial pressures because of the goodwill of its workforce. Staff morale has been battered over recent years and this, as one nurse states, will be the final nail in the coffin'. Losing that goodwill undermines any potential for savings by this cash-strapped health board."
Mr Gruffydd also questioned whether the health minister Vaughan Gething had been informed of the changes, which are being consulted on during the summer holiday and while the Assembly is in recess:
"This is a very short consultation on what is clearly a hugely controversial matter. It should not take place in August when many nurses will be on holiday or caring for children. I want to know whether the health minister is aware of these proposals, especially as BCUHB is in special measures and under the direct control of the Labour government in Cardiff. If he is aware, does he support the changes?
"I've supported NHS staff over the years with campaigns to retain our neonatal services, raising questions about mental health provision, opposing community hospital closures and more recently the proposal to privatise renal services. Plaid Cymru wants a better NHS for Wales and that's why we believe it's vital to reject these planned rota changes. Our nurses and HCSWs deserve much better and that's why I'm urging as many people as possible to sign and share the petition against these proposals."
• The petition to support the nurses on this matter is here: https://www.wrexhamplaid.
(anonymised to protect identities)
If nurses were able to take their breaks completely interruption free then great, but as this is not the case, and most do not even take their full break due to interruptions! I am in full support of my colleagues who are appealing this. – NJ
My daughter works in a very busy NHS ward and the supposed 12.5 hour shift regularly exceeds this and she’s often handing over, completing notes during unpaid overtime. This is a ridiculous proposal and smacks of exploitation of already hardworking people – PW
Stop penalising nursing staff start at the top with executives and managers of Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board! – SE
This is criminal. It is already hard enough to take the breaks staff have, taking an extra half hour will be near on impossible, resulting in unpaid labour. Also having to work an extra day will mean extra childcare and fuel costs for staff, but for no extra pay. Shocking! – RW
What is happening? Aren’t nurses working hard enough without this? What a way to send out a strong msg ‘Nurses we don’t value you, we want to push you further into leaving a profession you love’. If this goes through it’s an absolute disgrace! – Claire
Having to do a make-up shift already once a month has a detrimental effect on my personal life, I end up staying in work an extra half hour every day anyway for free due to emergencies and handover. We don’t just go home at the end of our shift when a patient may die. How could this when we already give so much? - Emily
I am a staff nurse who feels that this will be the final nail in the coffin for nurses working for Betsi. We already work on understaffed ward so we are lucky if we take a break. This will mean lots of nurses moving away from the nursing profession and I will be one of them. I absolutely love being a nurse but will not have my health threatened by the trust putting more pressures on me. Betsi are showing their true colours in my opinion, they care more for finances than patient or staff wellbeing. Maybe if they put money into their frontline staff by making wards safely staffed and not paying companies to come up with stupid ideas then they might save money in the long run. – SE
It's disgraceful we work so hard cant believe they are thinking of doing this . Good job I’m near retirement age .if it goes ahead I’m leaving and going to work for agency xx- EW
Betsi is going to ruin the morale on wards to pay for new unnecessary management roles.- KJ
I’m supporting myself as a HCSW and my fellow nurses and HCSWs everywhere. We have a life beyond the NHS - family, carers’ responsibilities and it’s important to have a good balance for less stress and better, happier work force that can in turn be more focused and better in what they do. Instead of being burnt out and off on sick, which in turn costs more to the NHS. Scrapping this is best thing for everyone it’s not modern day slavery with government extending the pension age to over 70. why are you pushing the NHS to breaking point? Soon there be no one to care for us so thank God for unions and MPs who will stand up for NHS, its staff and the rights of every care worker in UK more than ever. – LW
This is outrageous. On 12 hr night shift, we are unable to take a half hour brake due to heavy workload, never mind an hours break. This will cause many nurses to reduce their hours, causing more staff shortage. – Nia
When I worked as a Nurse the half hour break wasn’t long enough to even get to the hospital canteen and there was no where comfortable near the ward to rest.= Rowena
The staffing levels are already at an all time low this proposed rota will make things much worse. I for one would seriously consider changing my job. I work long enough hours without breaks at times. There is no way I want to do an extra 12 hour shift every month. They haven’t even considered the travel time that staff do before and after a shift. Child care expenses, extra fuel costs!! are they going to help with these? Are they going to pay overtime for every time don’t get breaks? We all know the answer to this. Stop taking NHS staff for granted and give us a break!- Lisa
We struggle to sometimes take our already allocated room 30 minutes never mind 60. I definitely see this resulting in even lower staff morale and nurses going down in their hours! – Angharad
Julie - I’m tired of the harm this government is inflicting on the NHS and it’s dedicated staff working on the frontline and the direct impact on the service users and patients.
I have worked for the NHS for over 22 years and I am losing my passion and hope.
This new regulation about to be put in place will inevitably lower the nursing staff staffing levels, more so less people wanting to join the profession = less registered nurses, due to negativity and how the higher ups are not really listening to their first line of health professionals. You want to keep your workers morale high and continue to thrive? You start by listen to them as THEY//WE are the ones caring for the people unwell NOT you. Its because the goodwill of the nursing profession that its advancing but, will soon fall should the higher ups continue down this arrogant path. I’ve never commented on much however, there is a line and this is where we all must stand otherwise the nursing standard of care, the well thought out “providing holistic care” will all just be for nothing.- Gabriel
Both nurses and hca staff struggle daily to get their lunch break let alone any other breaks.. We bend over backwards to ensure patients have the best care. We often dont finish on time at the end of our shifts and we are expected to work longer hours for less pay. It’s no wonder nhs staff are finding alternative employment when they are pushed to breaking point.. – Laura
Enough is enough, my father is currently in YG and a lot of the nursing staff already seem overworked to me. Stop crisis management and plan for the future!! Look after the nurses we already have instead of bringing them to their knees – Heather
I am a hcsw at Glan Clwyd working 37.5 a week. I have two small children with very little support towards childcare and flexibility. I do not agree with the changes that they want to make. I will be making a loss in pay and having to pay for an extra day in child care. If this plans goes ahead I will be reducing my hours to 34.5. – C
Work to rule. Take all breaks off the ward, every minute, and lodge a formal complaint if you’re unable to, every time. If you don’t fight they will walk all over you.- Alan
CG - I am a student nurse and completely disagree with this!
VW- Staff on the ward regularly miss breaks due to staff shortage and acuity. Myself and other members of staff regularly stay over our shift hours and never claim the time back. Think this will put the nail in the coffin for an already struggling health board. Staff go above and beyond for the NHS and this will be seen to further alienate staff on the ground and management.
JE - Morale at rock bottom, nurses doing the work of 2 nurses due to staff shortages, and this is Betsi's way of saying thank you for all your hard work, all the extra minutes you give by not being able to go for breaks anyway, thank you for all the extra minutes given when no one comes to take handover from you so you have to stay and look after the patients for no pay. Thank you for all the extra shifts you do to prevent the wards from becoming more unsafe than they already are.
ML- As a midwife this will have a huge negative impact on my working and personal life
SR - Our ward has had this in place since the start of 2019. Had no say in the matter, just happened as a trial and then never went back. Nurses never left on time as it was….now they’re working at least an extra hour each shift, as well as not managing to get full breaks!
RJ - I work as an ANP in general practice and over the last 3 weeks whilst my mother has been acutely unwell I have watched nurses working without breaks on a highly dependant ward. To suggest these nurses work the same hours for an hours less pay is criminal. I havecspokennto these nurses and generally the is not enough cover for them to safely leave their patients, let alone meet all the quality standards required of them in a working day. I would suggest that BCUHB are going the right way to reduce staff moral. Do they not realise that low moral equates to nurses voting with their feet. I can see a flux of nurses applying for agency work where they would get paid more for the hours they put in. We are supposed to be retaining nurses and making them feel valued which always results in excellence in patient care not driving nurses out.
NHS now dominated by the values of the likes of Philip Green. This is partly down to the long period of austerity but the major fault lies in the top down mindset where the "welfare" of the managerial class matters more than that of front line service "troops". I use the word troops deliberately as there is a kind of "Haig philosophy" being applied where these key workers no longer matter in the perverse groupthink of the senior level manipulators. Fewer daft men(and women)in shabby grey suits and more talent with patient orientated skill sets is a key component of the solution. But surprise, surprise ! these morons in suits are the people who have failed for ages to recruit train and retain talent to ensure service delivery. Surely that justifies a wholesale tearing up of management contracts and replacement with people with a real sense of service.
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