It is hard to put into words just how much there were “extremes” in the nursing role. With regards to the clinical role and helping patients, as challenging as it is, it is always rewarding. The majority of ward based staff are really kind and friendly as well. That said, the environment is so stressful and impacted by short-staffing. I saw myself and over half of my colleagues burn out very quick doing the work of multiple staff in one body. This is not to blame management who (the majority of) try their best to manage their wards and staff to the best standard possible. More attention is needed to the amount of stress and responsibility placed on new starters (who may not have the experience/skills to manage that stress yet) especially when they tend to get left as the only qualified member of staff on their ward (in mental health, I can’t speak for general/medical nursing) within a few weeks of starting (and particularly those who are new to the trust, who are not as aware of the “processes” that take more than 2 weeks to pick up.)

Pros

Rewarding, colleagues are friendly

Cons

Very stressful, lots of responsibility within a short time frame

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solid sensible place to work, wide variety of roles in healthcare

Doctor (Former Employee) - Cardiff, Cardiff - 2 January 2022

After interview the recruitment is very efficient, the main delay is the background checks although these have got faster. My working team is delightful.

Pros

clear rotas at least 4 weeks ahead, reasonable flexibility in changing shifts. paid study leave.

Cons

hours can be long

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Sadly overwhelmed and back breaking

Health Care Support Worker (Former Employee) - Cardiff University - 27 October 2021

Lack of training Lack of advancement Treated like disposable cupsLack of support and appreciation Always understaffed and under pressure Some absolute gems 💎 in amongst the system but are overlooked, agency rewarded with £400 a night most if whom do bare minimum and nobody seems to audits thier work.Very sad to watch the system crumble.

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Ward volunteer

Ward Volunteer (Former Employee) - Llandough, Vale of Glamorgan - 20 March 2020

Enjoyable and rewarding role. All the staff were easy to get along with and were passionate about providing the best care they could for the patients.

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Llandough Hospital is a friendly place to work

Housekeeper (Former Employee) - Llandough - 19 February 2020

Llandough Hospital was a great work environment with various opportunities to progress within the career. However, the shift pattern was very intense and made it difficult for me to find a balance between work and personal life. I really appreciate the experience I gained while working there as well as the people I met. there.

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Productive and Fun work environment

Special Investigator (Current Employee) - Cardiff, Cardiff - 27 January 2020

Would recommend the work here, plenty of work and a lovely team to work for. Stable and safe work place with plenty of support and patience. Patient driven.

Pros

Pay and team

Cons

monitored

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I enjoy my work, my role is fairly autonomous and varied.

Advance Care Planning Facilitator (Current Employee) - Woodland House - 7 January 2020

My work is interesting and enjoyable. I am fairly autonomous and am able to work at home. My primary function is clinical education and public engagement. The role is diverse and includes project management, improvement methodology and embedding advance care planning into clinical areas.

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Good hospital

Consultant in Endocrinology and Diabetes (Current Employee) - Cardiff UK - 30 December 2019

It has all major specialities and a great work experience. The workload of acute medicine is increasing and combined with speciality work it provides a great experience.

Pros

Good clinical experience

Cons

Aging IT equipments

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Good and Bad in Everything

Health Care Assistant (Former Employee) - University Hospital of Wales - 29 May 2019

I worked for this company for many years and in different areas of the service. I really enjoyed it that was until I became ill. I was told that as my episode was the same thing that it would count as 1, i was stupid to believe that. Also don't ever raise your concerns about how you think things are being run and how whats right for one person she be right for all. I was made to feel like a villain and that i had committed to ultimate crime. How dare I raise concerns on bullying or favouritism. I eventually left of my own accord as i felt i could not go back to that environment. It was toxic for many reasons. Since then a number of staff have left for this very reason and I have had an apology from my manager as she now sees how bad it actually is. You need a very thick skin to work here and not let things get to you. Especially when everyone puts there two pence worth in but nothing ever gets done or said.

Pros

Learning a lot

Cons

the bullying culture is so bad its toxic

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I’d never suggest someone work for this Trust !

Staff Nurse (Former Employee) - Cardiff and Vale - 7 May 2019

I worked for this Trust for nearly 20 years, when I say I worked, I worked very hard! I started as a Ward Receptionist, then went on to a HCSW. Enjoying the job so much I decided to train. This was in the space of a year or two, I carried on working with my P/T post while I trained - hence nearly 18 years with no break. I did my last 15 years on the district. Unfortunately during the last two years of working, following a miscarriage my health seems to deteriorate after that. I suffered prolapse disks in my lumbar spine and due to the pain I developed fibromyalgia. Anyone who has this condition will understand how bad this is. It is multiple joint pain, muscle burn, CFS, unable to control body temp, nerve pain etc. I worked through this massive flare that lasted to this day, four years. I automatically, after having my patient list every morning sorted it demographically and got my head down and went for it till my list was complete, and to my knowledge, after asking each manager I had my documentation was ok and my work without complaint and was known as ‘speedy’ and it was just the way I worked, just nose to the grindstone till I’m done. I was always told my work was good and I worked hard. Finally it got to the point, I’d close a patients front door, look at my car parked outside and think, I don’t think I can get to my car I felt so fatigued I thought I was just going to drop. I suddenly developed foot drop and had to go off sick, I just couldn’t walk. This is where the lack of value comes with total disregard for employees. I was off sick following my miscarriage, then -

Pros

Love the job. Good job satisfaction.

Cons

Too many for this little box

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Jobs at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board

Medical Laboratory Assistant

Assistant Commissioning Accountant

Cardiff

2 days ago

Dont work here.

Allied health professional (Former Employee) - Llandough, Vale of Glamorgan - 16 February 2019

Bad management practice and a culture of shaming and blaming from managers protected by HR who are never held accountable. A two tier system of rules applied. At band 8 and above your part of the club and are protected.

Pros

Enter this health board at band 8 and you will be ok for life.

Cons

Lack of value.

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Huge organisation with many different opportunity

Ward manager (Current Employee) - University hospital of wales - 2 August 2018

One of the biggest health organisations the Uk, gives a variety of speciality, tertiary care and locations to work in. Main centre UHW is a busy and pressured building and can be overwhelming at time. Good links to Cardiff university for further education.

Pros

Variety of opportunity

Cons

Parking can be challenging.

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Productive and fun

Band 5 Staff Nurse - MAU/Short Stay (Former Employee) - Cardiff - 24 May 2018

Working here as newly qualified nurse was a good place to start. Support was excellent as were the learning opportunities. Team worked well together in a very busy environment

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Be careful working with this Health Board

Staff Nurse (Former Employee) - Cardiff, Cardiff - 19 May 2018

If you value your professional registration stay away from this Health Board. Raising concerns will result in you being labelled a troublemaker. HR do not listen to your concerns they just implement the well-oiled machine of getting rid of you.

Pros

Good shifts

Cons

Poor management

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Good Employer overall

Housekeeper (Former Employee) - Cardiff - 3 May 2018

Good cross-section of people some really good to work with. It's quite structured with the uniforms and banding. Mixed bag of experiences some great and some bad. I think it can be hard to work at the main hospitals because they are so big. Often resources are over stretched and that makes the work harder. The sites are a bit isolated away from shops so getting lunch is expensive so you need to bring it with you. The work can be a bit repetitive on the lower bands but you can move with the organization more easily once you gain experience. My experience overall is that it is very hard work. And you can pick up colds etc easily and the sickness policy is very strict but they often compromise on life work balance if the need arises because it is a 24/7 service many shift patterns are avalible

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Supportive and Encouraging Work Place

Radiographer (Current Employee) - Cardiff - 17 March 2018

A typical day within the trust see's a lot of different patients, clinical scenarios and healthcare professionals, all of which make the job an enjoyable and rewarding career. The management team are supportive, and not afraid to work in their clinical specialties when required. Colleagues are hard working team players who you can rely on to have your back when things get stressful.

Pros

A lot of employer support and assistance programs

Cons

Hours can be demanding

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Bank staff have very little compassion

health care support worker (Former Employee) - agency/bank - 8 March 2018

Bank staff do not look at their employees as people but hours that they can do. They do not care about peoples individual circumstances and offer no support.

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Decent enough to work for

Catering Assistant (Former Employee) - Cardiff, Cardiff - 24 January 2018

Job was OK but the management were awful beyond belief. A great deal of work was placed on us to do in a shift which I felt was pretty poor. Was very often criticised over every little thing. Fixed shifts at the time which was great but they changed it to alternate shifts which was a mess as management would never give you much notice of any changes and then blame you entirely if you got it wrong. After leaving I could never return as I found it unbearable in the end.

Pros

Good shifts

Cons

Bad management.

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I left my role as a hcsw band 2 for a hca in a nursing home!!

Hcsw band 2 (Former Employee) - Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan - 14 December 2017

I left my role as a band 2 hcsw on general.medical ward with good pay benifits (enhancements at weekends and nights and bank holidays) of under 6 months for a hca role at a nursing home with lower pay and no enhancements. That's how.miserable and desperate I was to leave the trust. It's not.just the ward or the trust either . I've tried three trusts within the nhs and I didn't enjoy working for any. It's not in any way about the patients its.about meeting targets . We are undervalued underpaid underated over worked and always short staffed to the point where the levels ofstaffing are.dangerous. I tried my.best for a while.to find a permanent position within the nhs with good.benifits pension enhancements.and job security. But that means nothing if your unhappy!! I'm happier with less.money and less benifits at a nursing home !!fast paced and pressured environment is an understatement the targets the expect from you are impossible . The patients are like a conveyer belt .management don't care or.look after their staff and the patients are.the ones suffering from this too!!. I studied hard in college to get qualifications in order to go on to further education to do my nursing . Ive been put off and no lonher am i interested in studying for.a.nursing degree. Disappointed and let down is an understatment I was horrified at.the level of inadequate care I was able.to provide. And I will.avoid hospitals at all costs for the rest of my days as a.member of staff and more importantly as a patient !!I i could go on and on about the cons .....

Pros

Enhanced rate of pay, good pension

Cons

Over worked, undervalued, high staff turnover, bad mangement, bad practice, bad manual.handling, lack of breaks, short staff, ect ect ect.

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Great

Student Health Visitor (Current Employee) - Cardiff, Cardiff - 20 October 2017

Great university to help study for a career in healthcare. Excellent staff and support. Great facilities and library. Easy to get to with public transport.

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Job satisfaction in service delivery

Operational Support Manager (Current Employee) - Cardiff and Vale University Health BOard - 14 September 2017

I have an extremely varied and interesting role and a lot of autonomy to carry out my job. I work as part of a professional team of staff and my opportunities to learn and develop are never ending. I thoroughly enjoy the environment in which I work as it contributes to the service delivery to a specialist group of patients in a healthcare setting. The most challenging part of my job is that it's wide variety of responsibilities, means that it is very demanding and I have to constantly proritise and reprioritise my workload. The most enjoyable part of the job satisfaction I get is knowing that I am contributing to the provision of a safe and efficient healthcare environment.