administrator

registered nurse

customer service representative

medical records coordinator

healthcare assistant

Spire Healthcare

I was offered a position as a pre assessment (preceptorship) nurse as a newly qualified nurse at Spire London East hospital. I was interviewed by a lovely hospital matron. Upon receiving notification that I was offered the position, I had to wait two and a half months to go through the clearing process before a start date was offered, which I believed was a very long time to wait to start a new job, as well as be out of practice for that length of time. 

The preceptor assigned to 'support' me in my nursing role was a nasty, evil Nigerian nurse who absolutely hated her job in the department, and made no attempt to hide this fact. A bully. I felt uncomfortable working alongside this nurse, and she made me regret asking questions due to her response and overall character and behaviour. I was left in tears at one time. I reported this preceptor and received support from the management team but not from the clinical lead nurse, who made me feel at fault. I received extremely poor support from the preceptor nurse and clinical lead, but more support from an agency nurse, which I thoroughly appreciated. I think this speaks volumes about an organisation whereby a new and junior member of staff receives more support in their role from an outsider agency nurse than from insiders within the organisation. 

Furthermore, I would like to add that the organisation were not willing to fund my venepuncture and cannulation training, which requires nurses to take blood from patients in face to face pre-assessment prior to undergoing elective surgery. Venepuncture and cannulation is an essential part of the role of a pre-assessment nurse, and for a healthcare organisation to not understand this is beyond incomprehensible.

The management team were target driven, i.e. quantity over quality, and cared about having large number of patients telephone pre-assessed, rather than focusing on the quality, and ensuring patients were safely pre-assessed prior to their elective surgery. I can state that management do not have a clinical background, rather a business one, therefore why such emphasis is placed on quantity and revenue, as opposed to quality and patient safety. 

I witnessed poor organisation and practice within pre-assessment, as patient's booking forms would often go missing, which meant they would miss the pre-assessment process completely and go ahead with their elective surgery. I was also asked to telephone pre-assess patients on the exact same day of their surgery, often within a few hours of surgery or right before the patient stated that they were leaving their home to attend the hospital for their surgery which is very dangerous and unacceptable, in terms of patient safety and overall safe nursing practice. The overall department was severely unorganised, patient's safety put at risk with missing booking forms for telephone pre-assessment.  

I gained great perception and quickly understood the type of organisation and environment I was in, and decided to leave the position after three months, in order to keep my registration, maintain my health and wellbeing, and not stay in such a place who have little regard for staff as well as patients. Applying for the preceptorship at this company was the biggest mistake in my early nursing career, and I would strongly advise newly qualified staff to stay well clear of such organisation. The preceptor nurse should be thoroughly ashamed of herself and her behaviour.

Really disappointed, absoulty awful place to work infact the worst unprofessional place I have ever worked in and for a hospital where you are ment deliver first class patient care/treatment, and the way you are treated by managment is absolutely disgusting.
In your interview You will be promised the world and when You start after waiting about 8 weeks it's a very slow process !!!!! It is a very tell and do bullying environment by Senior managment team and supervisor of the xray department very false and fake as they are  very unperfeshional and worry about politics on the department using the blame game rather than actually just getting on with the everyday running of the department looking after thier members of staff and training them correctly which for a new member of staff on the department it looks very unprofessional and brand damaging for the Spire hospital group and then they wonder why the their labour turn over is so high !!!!! 
You will be put infront of a computer screen on your first shift in the back office completing mandatory training for about 7 hours on your own with no support just left to get on with it with only about 20 minutes break all day oh and that will be your break everyday as your not allowed to move from your computer management are breaking health and safety policies  and you have to ask to go to the toilet and justify your every movement and also on busy days they will make you feel guilty for even taking  your break as the supervisor likes having a working lunch and expects everyone else to do the same.
Training is sink or swim you don't even receive a basic spire company hand book this department is a very complex department to work in dont be fooled by the pink and fluffy job description or what they tell you at your interview and they will expect you to know everything at a very fast rate all the computer systems and all hospital data base's and if your character doesnt fit into the management team they will try and change you as a person become like a robot and if you are the weakest link you then become the scape goat of the department you are told to speed up constantly by the supervisor of the Xray department  even though correct training has not been provided and with no evidence to prove they have trained you in a correct and timely manner you will be publically humiliated in the morning huddles and demotivated at the sametime as they are very negative focusing on what you have done wrong .
Really think before you apply for this role also look at all the spire health-care review's on indeed it's shocking as this should be an amazing positive place to work.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Spire Little Aston Hospital thus far, and I believe I have gained a lot of skills that I will keep with me for all future workplaces. I enjoy working with people a lot so Spire Little Aston was perfect for this. On a typical workday I liked to allocate my time well so I got to spend time getting to know inpatients to develop connections with them. I think this is important because its imperative their time in the hospital is as stress free as possible. Sometimes they can be in a lot of pain from operations so making them as comfortable as they can be is part of what I do. I make sure that all meals are taken care of as well as dietary requirements so that it's one less thing for them to worry about. I like to recommend different menu options that I think they would like so they get to experience the wide range of food we offer. For this reason I would say this is the most enjoyable part of the job because you get to meet so many new people with different stories, and them having tasty meals while they stay at the hospital is very rewarding because it makes their experience a little bit better.

The environment of Spire Little Aston is very friendly and welcoming as all the staff share the same value of putting patients first, but also developing good relationships with co-workers. This is important because each member of staff will have to interact with people from different departments throughout the day for information. Spire Little Aston is very inclusive and I would agree that we pride ourselves on being a diverse workplace which I think is important to learn about people that are different from us. I have learnt how rewarding providing people with the best service they could receive and giving them the utmost respect. For me I have also learnt the value of giving people the time to have a meaningful conversation to make sure they have everything they may need. I have learnt important things about food care such as how certain things are prepared differently to others. I like that I have gained a lot of confidence working here as this job involves communicating with a lot of people throughout the working day.

This review is about Spire Methley Park Hospital.  I believe that most of the other Spire Hospitals are different, so if you are applying for one of those then disregard this review.  However, if you applying to Spire Methley Park then beware.

I love my job which I've been doing without issue for the past 40 years but my time at Methley Park really destroyed all of the enjoyment that I had previously experienced from my role.

On the face of it the job is virtually the same as anywhere else but the really problem is with the hospital management and their priorities and the way they treat their staff.

I won't go into all the details but the problems include extremely long hours repeated over many days every week with little or no notice given to staff.  They have very little regard to hours agreed on at interview or written into your contract and they will not ask you to work extra hours or if you would cover other sessions.  They'll just do it anyway and since the working lists are only published weekly and just before the managers leave on a Friday you have little or no chance to challenge this.

Placing people on external courses with little notice and then failing to provide starting times or actual precise locations where the course will take place, also failing to determine whether the course is relevant and finding out on return that they've sent you on the wrong course.  Constant moaning from management with no appreciation of how hard or how many hours the staff are working, in all clinical departments.  A 'throw away' and 'easily replaceable' attitude to all clinical staff, often used as a threat.  Management disregarding their own rules when it comes to time off and annual leave although over zealously enforcing it on clinical staff.

Overall it was a bad experience, I put up with it for nearly five years and in that time almost all the staff within the theatre department had left, unsurprisingly.  Due to shortages most of the staff they end up having working their are from overseas on temporary contracts or agency.  For at least one year whilst I was their they did not have one ODP working full time for them at all.  

My advice...don't apply.

What is the best part of working at the company?
While the company had many strengths, I came to understand that it wasn't the best fit for me personally. However, I did gain valuable experience and insights that have helped me better understand the type of environment where I can thrive.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part of working at the company was the limited opportunities for growth and development. I am someone who thrives on taking on new challenges and responsibilities, and I felt that my potential wasn't fully utilized. Additionally, navigating some of the interpersonal dynamics required a lot of effort to maintain a positive and productive work environment. These experiences have underscored the importance of seeking out a workplace that values professional development and fosters a culture of trust and collaboration.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment at the company was friendly and supportive, with colleagues who were genuinely nice and easy to work with. However, the pace of getting things done could sometimes be slow, which made it challenging to meet the high expectations set by the employer. Despite this, I appreciated the opportunity to work in a collaborative setting and learned valuable lessons in managing expectations and maintaining productivity.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day at the company was very busy and dynamic, with a variety of tasks that needed to be managed simultaneously. I was often asked to stay late to ensure all responsibilities were completed, reflecting my dedication to meeting deadlines and supporting the team. While the workload was heavy and we were often understaffed, this experience helped me hone my time management and prioritization skills, and taught me how to work effectively under pressure.

What is the best part of working at the company?
There are not much apart from a little flexibility 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
There is absolutely zero employee loyalty sceme  for this company. They do not do anything keep hold of their more experienced members of staff. Infact pretty much all HR shared services are left now fed up of the devision and the way they treat their employees! Constant changing environment with no respect to their hard working employees. I was treated like a block of chess constantly moving me around. I have now been made redundant and excuses was too expensive to recruit a deputy manager and asked to travel to Manchester office twice a week with no expenses which is a beggars belief the amount of money company spent on everything else. They spend millions to bring the payroll to Reading and now they reverses all that only 3/4 years later unbelievable! Management gets huge amount of bonuses each March as well as hospital staff. But we as shared services no overtime’s no bonus no nothing. I even had to surrender my long awaited sharesave scheme because I don’t have no choice. They didn’t even find me anything alternative as I found a replacement job within the time frame. I won’t recommend anyone to work for this company. Be aware !!!! 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
There is no culture as we don’t do anything within the team. The environment was better within workforce based in Reading. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
The company is far better than what it was over 3 years ago. There are still a lot of issues with the system but it streamlined. Saying that a lot of issues are lie in local hospital level hence every month we have issues with pay. There is no career progression within this company. Spire management very much follow the route favouritism and if you not one of them you will. E left alone and this is what I experienced last six and half years working with them.

I along with many current staff are unhappy with the current management team in place who "rule with an iron fist". If you struggle with your work load and ask for help you are sidelined and eventually pushed out, not offered help.
The hospital over the past 2 1/2 years has become a terrible place to work, I have seen lots of well liked, hard working staff resign or be pushed out, the figures are in the mid twenties, which is shocking considering this is a small hospital employing around 130 staff. I am also sorry to say bullying has increased and encouraged and has got much worse since July this year. The hospital used to be such a lovely place to work. Most of those who have resigned have done so because of the management practices brought into force. If you are not in the circle of trust and those members reading this will know who they are, you are treated like rubbish, shifts are changed , contacted hours are reduced, posts made redundant or if you are bank you just don't get any hours at all!
The previous review was obviously written by someone in management who doesn't like the truth being known. Incidentally it is a very amateurish review clearly taken from a management book. I work there fast paced, forward thinking it sn't. 
Take my advice and the advice of the other knowledgable reviewers DO NOT WORK HERE, it isn't a nice working environment, it was once, maybe it will be again when they rid it of the real deadwood, the management team and their immature, unprofessional hangers on, who treat a work station like a sixth form common room. Who also I might add never got their jobs on merit like everyone else, they got it because they knew the manager or there friend knew the manager.

I worked for Spire since the company took over this hospital ten years ago and have seen many colleagues and managers come and go. Yes, it is true that work satisfaction has gone downhill for the past two or three years: The company has become more and more  top-down, centrally managed and senior management seem to have lost control even at hospital level. There is a fear culture at higher levels of management which seems to be increasing and producing ever more prescriptive protocols and an excess of paperwork and documentation. There is little evidence that clinical staff are trusted for their experience or cinical judgement. This includes line managers and team leads who have too little autonomy. 
However there are still a good number of caring and hugely supportive intermediate managers and team leaders at this hospital,  plus some extremely dedicated hard working staff. It is failure to recruit and retain new staff which is the biggest problem. You do need to have a confident personality to work here, but for the right people the support from middle management and experienced colleages is still there, and the gratitude from patients and the consultants can be rewarding. It is overall a very friendly place. They will pay according to the experience, so for people with clinical expertise this could be financially rewarding, and for new staff it could be a thorough grounding in a large variety of fields.

Mentorship is available but not consistent and no national direction. Each hospital is run as a separate business which allows the local healthcare economy specific to each hospital location. The governance both clinical and health and safety is led by the registered manager with is the hospital director. On a daily basic there is a variety of governance responsibilities and monitoring process meetings which are held to ensure evidence is available to show compliance with regulatory requirements. 
There is a senior management team and recently a robust middle management team was introduced with clear roles and responsibilities to ensure services are run and taken forward in a participatory collective manner. 
The senior management team meet on a weekly basis to discuss activity, finances and the priorities for the following week / month.
The hospital director is responsible for monitoring and reporting the financial status and progress of the business on a monthly basis and provide interim reports to a variety of central teams to support the overall business plan of the organisation. 
The Medical staff are a strong group of providers and this has a negative impact on staff retention and the running of the hospital. It also impacts on the safe delivery of care and the profitability of the hospital. 
I enjoy leading projects and the refurbishment of the outpatient consolation rooms was a rewarding process to accomplish and enhance the patients environment.

When I applied for a job at Spire after working for the NHS for many years I thought it would glorify the health care profession, however it was the total opposite. If you are looking for an easy ride, maybe 4 patients to care for at one  time instead of 12 then you've cracked it, however, the management make it so hard for you to excel. From MD, to ward manager, then to sisters, then to lead nurse then to minion, way too many chiefs, and you think the support would be 100% but its not. Feeling degraded and under pressure, having to explain why procedures are being cancelled because consultants can't keep up with their work load, because the NHS are referring patients left right and centre to achieve their KPI's and targets, which leaves staff in a position of vulnerability. 
The paying patient however, who are privileged enough to be able to afford to go private, are losing faith in what spire was introduced to achieve and taking their anguish out on staff which gives low moral. The top dog needs to really think why Spire was created, and stay rooted, and pick back up what they set out to achieve instead of thinking about lining their pockets and paying staff peanuts. Nurses have only just recently been salary matched with the NHS and the admin staff (which are the bread and butter of the entire service) are given minimum wage! Warehouse staff, kitchen and domestics are all reminded why they don't wear blue and that for me isn't team attitude, some of these superiors need to really pull their head from up their own backsides and appreciate what aids them to earn a living!

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Administrator 1 salary reported	£14.00 per hour
Registered nurse 1 salary reported	£28,150 per year
Customer service representative 8 salaries reported	£21,544 per year
Medical records coordinator 3 salaries reported	£20,643 per year
Healthcare assistant 1 salary reported	£20,475 per year

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