That's precisely what I would tell someone looking at a career in the NHS right now as it's a basket case and won't ever change. Even if budgets rise to ensure no reduction in service as a result of any pay offers, the CCG will still demand more than is possible to give so stress and burnout levels won't drop. They do that all in the shadow of anonymity because the public hasn't a scooby who they are or what they do, so just blame the government instead. That's all too evident during the strikes, as not one mention has been made of the targets set by the CCGs and how they put incredible pressure on staff.
Worth pointing out that CCGs shouldn't actually exist any longer as a statutory body. They've been replaced by ICBs, ICS and ICPs.
The ICB will now be the ones commissioning the service, but they've had very little support or guidance to do what they need to do - so currently operate like CCGs despite having responsibility for joining up H&SC across regional footprints.
As I said, it's a mess. It has been since the introduction of the HSC Act and the NHS internal market place. It's why you have a race to extract more from less, competition for funding vs standards, uncertainty and lack of accountability around commissioned services where there is no direct line of sight from commissioner to patient provider (not always the commissioned provider).
Mix that into nationally mandated targets and you've got a system that doesn't really work, trying to look after patients with a workforce exposed to all the inadequacy of that system.
And a number of people concerned that they will be next on the chopping block as national budgets are revised.
I see comparison between the nursing strike and rail strikes on that front.
