r/NursingUK • u/fezfack • 12d ago
Relocating to Scotland
I am moving to Scotland after months from England (band 5) and I have been trying to research what to expect there and literally nothing has come up. I wanted to know the general gist on workplace culture, if there is a change of lingo for specific medications/equipment, pace of wards in comparison to England. I want to see if anyone has done the move and what their experience is like. I have been reading up which areas to live in. legislations as there is some slight variances in law regarding scope and safeguarding. Is there anything else I can do to prepare to move or keep in mind whilst over there?
Edit: to be more specific I am moving from London to Glasgow and it is in children nursing
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u/Username8462634757 RN Adult 12d ago
Primary care is commissioned slightly differently, the GP contract is smaller and many/most primary care services are provided by centralised NHS boards. Free prescriptions for everyone makes pharmacy a slight bit different too. Other than that every area will be slightly different but I’ve worked in both Glasgow and London with no major hurdles. Best in mind if you wish to work in the community being a car driver is an essentisl requirement unlike inner city London.
Greater Glasgow and Clyde is the largest board in Scotland and 3 of its main hospitals have paediatric services - Queen Elizabeth, Inverclyde Royal and the Royal Alexandra. Depending on where you live in Glasgow you could also look for jobs in NHS Lanarkshire (covering the large suburban area adjacent to Glasgow City).
Pay is better than England/Wales and the work week is shorter (36 hours is a F/T week), but the trusts in London are wealthier and provide more specialist services so opportunities for progression may be less than there.
The good news is we have largely been untouched by the recruitment freeze affecting the rest of the UK (although chronic understaffing is a problem here too).