The NHS: A Worthwhile Place to Work in the UK
Getting a rewarding place to work can be especially challenging, if you are the type of person who doesn’t jump at just any offer, but is particular at finding a job which meets up with specific needs you’ve got. There are quite a number of places to work in the United Kingdom (UK) with a level of satisfaction and the NHS sector is one of such. What makes it a rewarding place to work? How can you find a job there? What is required to find it? It would be considered in this article amongst other relevant points.
First, what is the NHS? NHS is an acronym for National Health Service. The National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom is a national healthcare system publicly funded in the UK. If you are legal resident in the UK, you have an access to healthcare at a low-cost or free. It is a sector that is funded majorly through taxation. Depending on the situation, the medications given in the UK is free or subsidized at a much reduced rate. Each state has different policies it follows. i.e What is obtainable in England may vary from that of Scotland. The same applies to Northern Ireland and Whales. The NHS is overseen by the UK Department of Health. Each patient record is in care of healthcare providers who are governed by regulatory standards such as the Data Protection Act. Confidentiality of the patient’s data is of upmost importance. Such healthcare providers are entrusted with some level of trust as regards their patient’s records. Anyone who is found not adhering to the regulations of the Data Protection Act would be sanctioned. In other parts of the world, some countries also practice a universal healthcare system, with varying laws and conditions.
As you may know, the NHS job is one of the most sought after job. The NHS is one of the largest employers in the world and no doubt, the biggest in Europe. In the UK, the NHS sector has an estimate of about thirty-six thousand people in the hospital for an arranged treatment, ninety- four thousand people admitted to hospital based on emergency admission, while accident and emergency department are visited by almost fifty-thousand people.
It’s interesting to note that the NHS has over three hundred areas of specialization that you can fit in, irrespective of your skill, area of interest or qualifications you might have. What is mostly needed of you is the desire to give your best and a high level of commitment. If you are the type who likes taking up new challenges and responsibilities, the NHS is such a wonderful sector to be.
The fact that you are not the one in direct contact with a patient, does that mean you are not contributing to the success of the scheme? Far from it! Let’s take for example, a human body. Does the fact that the tongue doesn’t do the chewing mean that it’s irrelevant? Not so. Similarly, the fact that one works with records department or whatever section that does not have a direct contact with a patient doesn’t mean that your effort and commitment to the job is not well appreciated. In fact, everyone is regarded as of high importance to the NHS team that contributes to the general well being of the people, a team committed to giving treatments and the best health care available. This is clearly seen as no one is exempted from the benefits and special packages given to employed workers in the UK. No form of segregation whatsoever is obvious.
In the year 2000, an initiative was conceived and brought forth, which is the Improving Working Life (IWL). It was established with a view to helping workers have the right balance of work and their personal lives. It is an initiative that brings about flexibility. When fully applied, each worker would be affected positively by it. It would in a way bring about a renewed motivation, thigh efficiency level, an increased productivity, and a reduction of stress. The NHS jobs are not a do or die affair, whereby you are left with little or no time to care for yourself and your family. The IWL initiative gives room for shift work, allowance for NHS workers to take care of their little ones when need arises, care for other dependent ones such as their aged parents, obtain study leave, and create access to occupational health services.
In conclusion, when considering the long time benefits, the NHS pension scheme is one of the best available in the UK, with wonderful packages and the full backing of the government.