Unfortunately, since becoming Optum rather than EMIS, I’ve found this to be a genuinely poor place to work. The culture feels toxic and consistently negative, and there is a clear sense that the organisation’s priority is extracting as much money as possible from the NHS rather than genuinely supporting GP practices. Customer care feels secondary, and the lack of customer focus is noticeable both internally and externally.
Leadership at Director level is largely invisible, with very little clear direction, accountability, or engagement with staff. This lack of leadership filters down throughout the organisation. Heads of Operational Support often appear out of their depth and lack fundamental management and leadership skills. Poor leadership behaviours are normalised, and there is little sense of strategic thinking or long-term planning.
There is virtually no investment in people. Development opportunities are extremely limited, with no structured learning, no mentoring, and little to no one-to-one time. Ongoing training, guidance, and support are non-existent, and onboarding into roles is poor, leaving individuals to figure things out for themselves. There is also no meaningful product training, which makes it difficult to properly support customers or perform effectively.
The way mistakes are handled is particularly damaging. Rather than being coached or supported, individuals are shouted at, criticised, or lambasted in front of colleagues. This creates a culture of fear where people are afraid to speak up or admit errors. The environment is heavily blame-driven, with constant finger-pointing and a focus on what has gone wrong rather than how to improve.
There are also serious concerns around ethics and governance. Staff are pressured to manipulate performance figures to make results appear better than they are, and there is under-reporting to NHSE. This creates discomfort and undermines trust, while also placing employees in difficult positions.
The overall working environment is draining and demotivating. Poor IT systems, inefficient processes, and a lack of investment in tools make day-to-day work harder than it needs to be. Many long-standing staff appear resistant to change, which further limits progress and innovation. Leadership remains largely absent, morale is low, and there is little sense of recognition or appreciation.
Major issues with culture, leadership, lack of development, ethical concerns, and poor customer focus. Overall, it is an environment that feels unsupportive and unsustainable for many employees.
