Can you send post to a hospital for staff?

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

I know you can often send things to work addresses for people in offices, but can you do that for doctors or nurses?

What sort of thing do you mean?

I have heard third hand of a valuable item addressed to a doctor at a hospital that never reached the doctor. I would say it is unwise.

A Valentine's card.

I wouldn’t. It’s another - albeit tiny - job for the NHS already overworked staff who sort out incoming post. Plus chances of it going astray - which there would be no come back on.

The timing might be tricky. Post goes to the mail room, then out to the departments etc. But if you aren't worried about the date being exact it should be fine.

Is this someone you know or a crush?

That makes sense Verbena. Probably not a good idea then.

I'll have to see if I can discreetly find out his address!

What’s the background to this @Polkadots??

Titiana a bit of both. He's not just a random doctor I took a shine too.

He's part of a group of people I know from an activity (and I do know he's single). But because we always meet at things, I don't actually know his address, just the rough area.

Not really appropriate for him to get a card at work but could you leave it for him at the activity instead

Yes you can. Make sure it has their name, hospital and department on. I work for the nhs and we get lots of post for staff.

I think it's very sweet.

Don't!

I got flowers at Christmas (from a disorganized friend who had lost my address). The entire department were agog about who they were from.

Sooooo many people "subtly" asked.

In actual fact I was extremely embarrassed and going around telling everyone as if I hadn't I'd have been married off by New Year.

Weeks later staff who weren't in over Christmas have alluded to it.

Are you wanting him to know it's you? Just thinking maybe finding a way through the activity? Just might be a bit uncomfortable for him as he could think it's from a patient or their family member!

Well, we don't see him as much because of his shift pattern now, but I might be able to manage it. It just depends when he's working around that time.

I didn't want it to be awkward if he wasn't keen, so I was just going to sign it with my initial. I think he'll guess, but that way is easier to ignore if he's not keen than if I wrote my full name! (I promise I'm not a teenager, despite that slightly angsty paragraph!)

Good point Titiana, I can see that would be a bit weird!

If you address it to his name at the hospital it should get there. Most doctors will have a pigeonhole somewhere in the hospital (but whether they check it regularly is another matter - I rarely check mine!) Good luck!

Also, are they a junior doctor, or a consultant? If they are a consultant, it'll go via their secretary who may, or may not open it depending on what it looks like....

If it's a junior doctor, they often change departments in August, Dec, Feb, April depending on rotations, so a Feb card may or may not arrive....

Over the years I've received Christmas cards from past patients addressed to the unit I work on. Found their way to me pretty easily, I always appreciate the gesture.

There'll be a pretty robust postal system in place in the hospital, delivery of the card won't put a strain on services.

Oh god don't. I work for the NHS, I would be mortified if this happened.

It's not appropriate. You don't know the dynamics in the team and the impact it might have. In my service, I would need to raise it with my manager in case it was a patient.

Just no no no.

I could sign it "a secret admirer from " or something to avoid that, but I think looking over all the posts it's probably best not to. I have a few weeks to think of something!

I actually do know quite a lot of people who've received Valentines at work, which is why I wondered about it. They mostly work in offices or universities though, so quite different environments.

Wouldn’t it be better to simply ask him out for a drink next time you bump into it?

People do like catastrophising. I’ve worked for 14 years in nhs hospitals.

There is internal post system in NHS hospitals, it’s robust. No card would put a strain on it.
Hospitals and doctors are BUSY, nobody is going to notice he got a Valentine’s card. Anyway it’s much less visible and obvious than flowers so no real comparison.

Doctors ( even junior ones on internal rotation) get post at work , it’s quite standard. It manages to find them , though he may get it much later than you send it, so don’t be disappointed that he doesn’t respond straight away.
Hope he likes to too!

Its sweet! You should go for it

Valentine’s Day at the hospital where I worked always had loads of flowers delivered for various staff members, ditto cards. The nurses got quite competitive about whose partner had sent the biggest bouquet! My own darling DH (now long dead) used to send me red roses to the ITU where I worked as an anaesthetist.