Dr. Richard Harris looked around his clinic with despair and anguish in his eyes. After standing there for a few minutes, he walked back slowly to his chamber. When I walked into his chamber, I saw Dr. Harris sitting with slumped shoulders, hands on his head, staring into space. He has been my family doctor for the last thirty years and I have never seen him looking so low. I was worried and on my asking, he said that he might have to shut down the clinic. “The practice is good; in fact I have more patients now than ever before, but no staff to look after them”, he added. A dedicated professional, Dr. Harris has been an upright and loved member of our community. It was extremely distressing to see him in this state. Members of the community even volunteered to help out at the clinic, but to no avail. Last week, Dr. Harris closed his clinic doors for the last time. What has gone wrong with our healthcare system? Why are dedicated and established physicians downing their shutters or reducing the number of patients that they can see? Where are the healthcare workers?

Is this a case of too little after too long? Accepting recommendations from the NHS Pay Review Body, the government has announced a 1% pay raise for all NHS staff on the Agenda for Change pay bands. Calling their recommendation ‘informed but not constrained’, the PRB seems to be following Chancellor George Osborne’s intention of restricting pay rises for all public sector workers in England to a maximum of 1% for the next four years. The PRB accepts that all NHS providers are under financial pressure and that some form of pay restraints is thus inevitable.

Nursing is a very noble profession, but also very taxing. As the medical world advances forward, nurses are required to constantly update themselves with these changes. The current shortage of healthcare personnel, increased professionalism, new technology and an aging population is not making it easier for nurses today. In order to remain efficient and not burn out, nurses need to find a healthy balance between their work and personal life. Although it may sound easy, balancing between your work and personal life requires effort and tenacity. You need to work on your priorities, your goals, your insecurities and your needs. As life moves forward, maintaining the balance becomes a continuous process. An imbalance between the two can lead to a whole lot of negatives – stress, unhappiness, frustration, anger and a decrease in productivity and professionalism. How to balance work and personal life will differ from person to person. However, there are a few things that are common for most. Working on these will help you achieve a better balance and allow you to enjoy both your work and your personal life to its fullest.

Renewing our accreditation and preparing for our annual audits – January and February are the busiest months for us here at the Flame Lily. Understanding the needs of our clients and ensuring that their staffing requirements are met by providing the best candidates is of paramount importance to us. We have always strived hard to maintain the quality of our services and staff, and this has been proven year after year through our accreditations and audits.

Helping our Nurses to get their dream home[/caption] Property prices are on the rise and all indicators show that they will continue to do so over the next few years. Both the sales and rent markets continue to show demand outstripping supply on a monthly basis. The fastest trend of upward moving prices is however, not in London but in the East of England, with East Anglia showing the fastest pace of increase.

The room erupted with claps and high fives, as we looked upon the smiling faces of our nurses, which just hours back were tense and glum. We could sense the tension building up, ever since the Nursing and Midwifery Council had voted to approve the revalidation process, two weeks back. Worried faces in the corridors, unanswered questions, doubts and misgivings about their future – all these were taking their toll on our nurses. The office had suddenly transformed from a happy and bright place to one that felt like a mortuary. Something needed to be done immediately, and that is when we decided to bring together all nurses registered with us, for a presentation on revalidation and how we, at The Flame Lily will support and help them through this process.

We are sure that even Florence Nightingale, never had it so tough, nor thought that nursing would become such a taxing profession. Overcrowded hospital wards and a shortage of staff have led to nurses working excessive shifts with high stress and low pay. Do you sometimes wonder if all this is worth it? Does the difficult working environment; the constant stress; the need for regular development training and the lack of a social life due to working odd hours, make you question your choice of taking up this profession? Do you find yourself wishing for a better paying and less taxing job? Are you looking for a better opportunity to reduce the stress, earn more and find a better balance between your work and social hours, without changing your profession? If yes, then you are on the right page.