Scramble for foundation trust status hits psychology service.

I am surprised by the survey of 1,600 nurses revealing that only one in seven were happy with their jobs, and more than half said they had considered leaving the UK to work abroad (News February 12). I would have thought that fewer than one in seven were happy with their jobs. What is there to be joyful about? All the fun of nursing seems to have evaporated. Our pay and conditions have taken knock after knock and the good name of nursing has been tarnished with scandals such as Mid Staffs and Winterbourne. The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s plan to raise the annual registration fee to £120 has been the final straw, especially given that the increase is said to be necessary to cover the rising cost of fitness to practise referrals. The NHS is being starved of cash, more cuts are in the pipeline and the pressures on health service staff – and frontline nurses in particular – are relentless. Working in today’s NHS is like being in a pressure cooker. Waiting lists are lengthening due to our ageing population and the growing number of people with long-term conditions. The lists are also growing because of NHS rationing of common procedures such as cataract removal and hip and knee replacements. Something has to give and it’s my patience that is exhausted. It’s about time I looked at the options of nursing abroad. Australia, anyone?