Manic Monday: Does the world and its wife hate Mondays, or is it just me?

You might think that working in a hospital would be the perfect place to avoid stress and a manic Monday. After all, medical staff know all too well how negative stress and anxiety can be. The powers that be will provide an air of calm, conducive to productive working, won't they?

Well if you work in a hospital you will already know that the answer is a big fat NO they will not.

Paying lip service to equality and diversity, harmony in the workplace and what ever other bunkum is the flavour the day is all well and good but, how about putting such ideals into practice.

I shall try and vent some anger here, without breaching any confidentiality. Please feel free to vent your manic Monday in the comments box. Together we may all end up less stressed.

Welcome to a new working week

I had been feeling a little under par on Sunday night. Still with recently having two periods of sick leave, due to cataract surgery, I dare not be absent.

The NHS is a wonderful institution and I cannot praise their care enough. However, in order to improve absenteeism, and much more, changes are underfoot. Of course, these do not take into account the numerous infections that may be acquired at work. Neither do they take note of accidents, assaults, stress, trauma and more. Most of these account for a higher lever of sick leave.

How was your weekend?

Everyone seemed in a strop and there was no how di do, or the like. Nursing staff seem to forget though that they cover 24/7 and so they do not have to pick up work that others should have done. Well that's the theory. We know in the real world that's not always the case. Still they have a fighting chance.

My ward administration role is currently part-time. With five hours a day I can usually keep up to date. This does need everyone to play their part though. We have a temp working weekends at the moment ,which will cost the NHS more than a permanent member of staff in so many ways. As she had Saturday on leave another member of staff covered Saturday.

Ain't it strange how when one thing goes wrong everything else cocks up? It was downhill from the moment my feet hit the ward.

Mondays always used to leave me wondering what to prioritise first. Experience though has taught me how to prioritise. If any patients have passed away I like to sort out their paperwork first. It helps the relatives make a start on funeral arrangements. With families scattered far and wide these days it is important, I think. Of course the weekend admissions need urgent admin work also. Then there are discharges, constant phone calls, filing, faxing, relatives coming to the ward and so much more.

This Monday my challenges for the day included:

• A patient no longer on the ward but no-one knew if he had been transferred or discharged.
• A patient discharged instead of being deceased.
• A patient being deceased fours hours later than had happened.
• No doctor able to complete any death certificates at all today.
• The relatives of a deceased man arriving at 10.30am, as told to by the weekend staff for the death certificate.
• Having to race around the ward shouting a bank nurses name as I could not find her. When I did ages later she told me she is a little deaf. I sarcastically asked if there was a "Nurse's Selective Deafness" Oh these days bring out the worst in me.

The NHS looks set for cuts in order to maintain a service. What amazes me, although it really should not by now, is that it will be little jobs such as mine that will be cut.

New managerial posts are currently advertised for our line managers and yet we already have far too many chiefs and nowhere near enough Indians.

The top and the bottom of course is that. those at the top will be in control of where the axe falls. They will make sure that it does not fall on their cosy shoulders but rather wallops some menial worker. This will also mean that lots of posts will have to go as our salaries are relatively small.

Surely, it would be better to cut a couple of top posts from each trust and single handed solve the NHS funding problems?

I guess what really pi**ed me off was the response from others. The blase response from senior nursing staff was unbelievable. That is, of course, until one of the deceased men's relatives asked to speak to the Matron, in order to make a formal complaint. He was fine with me and understood my limits, also appreciating my best efforts.

We all have bad days and Mondays are usually a pain for me. If the NHS paid for appropriate weekend cover it would help. Whoever covers the admin on the weekend is on a float basis also which means they cover a fair few wards. Not an easy job.

Still when you ring a person involved to try and clarify what happened, and get quickly shot down in flames what can you do? Getting told that you are chewing her ear off, probably because she had an audience, leaves little choice but to email the boss. This will be my recourse in future. You cannot help some folk, can you?

Sometimes I despair of people.

This hub only highlights a few of this manic Monday's worst problems. I hope you fared better.

Footnote: It is not a reflection on the NHS in general, which usually I cannot praise enough. Perhaps it is more about some people's work ethics.