Why I like working at NHS 24
Case Studies
We firmly believe that NHS 24 is a great place to work. However don’t just take our word for it! Here, a number of our colleagues give you their views on why they work at NHS 24 and what their roles here mean to them.
Gail MacGregor
Clinical Services Manager
“I joined NHS 24 as a Nurse Adviser when it began life, some five years ago. Previously, I’d been in the Cardiothoracic Department at Glasgow Royal. For me, NHS 24 was a completely different challenge. My nursing friends said, ‘you’re leaving a good Sister’s job to go and answer phones’, but for me, NHS 24 provided a completely different challenge. I’d worked in the acute sector and this gave me the chance to mix both acute and primary care work in a way I’d never get in a hospital. What I like the most is the unpredictable nature of what’s coming next. The variety of challenges here keep me alert and I find that combining clinical and contact centre management is uniquely rewarding. I’d been a manager in the acute setting, but here I had to learn a whole new set of skills, combining my previous clinical skills with those required for a contact centre.
Training initially was for Nurse Advisers, and was, as I expected, telephone triage, but once you’re in the organisation the options are almost unlimited. A part of what NHS24 has to offer is good access to in-house training and a diverse way of working which always has a clinical focus but in partnership with that is learning how contact centres function and how to combine both of these to provide healthcare. Alongside my ongoing clinical practice, I’ve done a contact centre management qualification, plus HR training days and been involved in projects which may not have been available in other areas. There is also training for trainers, e-learning etc etc. Overall, the training is just so much more accessible here. Other benefits? I think it’s mainly around the training – especially computer literacy. Although the training happens in your work it’s beneficial outwith the working environment.
Oh, and the other thing which is really great is the bursary scheme for external education. This really helps enhance the nurse’s role and I know from previous experience that this is of interest to lots of nurses. Even today I find that many nurses perhaps have difficulty understanding the opportunities NHS 24 provides.
Finally, I understand the difficulty for some people with the shifts, but it suits me. I came to NHS24 as a Nurse Adviser and then progressed to Team Leader and have been promoted in the past year to Clinical Services Manager. It has been a great career pathway for me which has definitely been enhanced by the broad availability of learning.”
