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What types of hospitals are there in the UK?
The main body of hospitals in the UK are either private or public. Both types of hospitals are found all over the country.
The private hospitals tend to be smaller, but well equipped with up to date technology and equipment. The pay scales in the private hospitals are often higher than those of the public hospitals and there can be extra benefits included (i.e. private health insurance, free transport to and from work during unsocial hours etc). As the private hospitals are all individually managed, their differences can be vast. If you require any further information about nursing in the private sector in this country, please feel free to contact us and we will be delighted to assist you in what ever way we can.
The National Health System (NHS) manages the Public hospitals. These hospitals are usually larger and most of them are teaching hospitals. Everyone in the UK is entitled to free health care through the NHS and the majority of the public use the NHS rather than private hospitals. These hospitals offer generous post graduation courses for their staff and further education is very much encouraged in order to progress towards a higher level of seniority and hence higher pay scale.
The benefits often included in NHS hospitals are subsidised accommodation, excellent pension plan, child minding facilities occasionally and many hospitals are now offering flexible working hours.
The NHS hospitals use a “grading” system in order to determine where each nurse is placed on the seniority ladder.
Some of the larger NHS hospitals have private patients units within their establishments. These units tend to incorporate both the private and public into one. From a patient point of view, the amount of money required to be nursed in one of these units is similar to that of the private hospital, but the patient also has the security of being cared for in a large hospital (i.e. 24 hour access to a cardiac arrest team, emergency theatres etc.). From a nurse point of view, you are graded as in any NHS hospital and the pay may not be as high. However you are entitled to any benefits the NHS trust has to offer (i.e. excellent pension plan, subsidised accommodation near to the hospital, child minding facilities etc).
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