Thankyou but please stop

[MingeofDeath]

Front line NHS worker here. Thank you for your amazing support, we are working unbelievably hard in extremely stressful conditions, so thankyou, thankyou, thankyou.
There is just one teeny little thing though; we are not heroes, just normal people going about our jobs. I don't want to see kids of NHS workers waving their pictures around on telly. I'm finding it a bit much. Please don't fetishise us
I know that AIBU

I'm not sure why people keep blaming the Conservatives for the mess that the NHS is in? Wasn't it also in a pretty shoddy state under the Labour party?

FFS. Labour created the fucking thing. The tories would move towards an insurance-based system like the states given half a chance, but they know that it's politically untenable.

Imagine being in your 70s with suspected coronavirus, poor and uninsured. Sell the roof from over your head to pay for healthcare or take your chances with viral pneumonia. Is that the country you want to live in?

@MeganBacon I disagree. I think that posting on social media influences people massively, and then people reading go and vote, protest, campaign and participate in civic life, with what they've heard and read forming part of their thinking and opinions. Whether that's on an organised, targeted basis (see Cambridge Analytica and facebook) or just old fashioned one person on a soapbox making an appealing argument. Posting on MN means you have a potential audience of hundreds of thousands for your virtual soapbox.

With MN specifically, the FWR board on here is just one case in point in terms of influencing legislation and policy, and some of the official campaigns MN has run have been very effective in lobbying as well as changing public opinion.

No ICU nurses don't get paid more. I used to work on PICU, (left because I hated it.) it is specialised. But other areas of nursing are also just as specialised.

I can’t get my head around people who think they can tell other people what they can and can’t do dependent on how they chose to vote. Presumably you’re not actually self-absorbed enough to think anyone will feel obliged to heed your demands.

On the one hand, people are horrified at the police having the power to tackle people over social distancing etc, on the other they think they can tell people whether they are allowed to clap for 1 minute on a Thursday evening

The level of self importance and inflated egos on here is really quite something.

I clap and will continue to do so. I like the sense of community where we all go outside together and feel like part of something, even the kids join in and it's a good lesson in appreciation. I clap for all those who are unable to stay indoors safe like we are having to, because of their work. I'm clapping for anyone helping others, anyone who deserves the gratitude. They know who they are even if I don't. But I will clap anyway. This for me is fuck all to do with politics. It's a thank you in a scary time.

Also I think we should lobby our mps to give them a bonus/pay rise to show our appreciation. Something practical. I think questions will definitely be asked a lot about the underfunding and organisation of the NHS after this. Money is pumped in but not seeming to help. I think money is not always getting to the right places. If there isn't one already there should be a petition to raise the wages and working conditions of nhs workers

The problem with pay rises is we are bankrupting the nation by closing it down so the one certainly in all this is next year most people will be much worse off even if we put up tax and national insurance contributions by a large amount.

But £10k for each MP is ok?

But £10k for each MP is ok?

It just takes a little google to find out about that 🤦‍♀️

So much easier to be offended though!

@thedancingbear. Completely irrelevant. What the OP does for a living is amazing, it's not in dispute. Coming on here to moan and throw thanks back in people's faces, she sounded like a miserable cow. Don't be embarrassed for me because I stand by it so stand down love!

I clap. I clap to say thank you. To everyone who is doing their bit; the NHS, the police, delivery drivers, refuse collectors, those following the rules etc etc. I can understand where you are coming from OP, as for you, you are just doing your job. But for those of us working from home, it is about us recognising that you are doing your job under great pressure and with significant risk. I do think also that the clapping is good for community spirit. It's the way of us all coming together again while being so separate, the time in the week when we can collectively do something; I look forward to it, and standing listening to the community coming together brings an element of hope.

Thanks for your responses. I certainly don't want to seem ungrateful, your support has been amazing and has really touched me. I just find some of the gushing a bit cringe worthy

NHS staff here, not a huge fan of clapping. I in that voting for a party who may value and improve nhs for workers and patients I'd a much better step! But I would just like to say that it's not always such a select group of staff dealing with Covid. I have been working in our assessment centre with amazing Dental nurses who have stepped in, admin from local hospital, GPs, custody nurses, physios, general nurses, practice nurses and advanced practitioners. A huge cross section of the NHS has formed the front line.

I clap. We have several elderly self isolating here that really go for it and see it as doing there bit. Like a pp said, i clap for everyone involved in testing, caring, trying to treat and looking after the public.

I didn't vote tory and i understand people saying 'well you can just not vote tory' but how does that help people right now? In this moment when that is not an option? The people i see clapping view it alongside social distancing, something they can do. Especially the elderly on our street.

Xenia let's see which MPs will dare to block the next round of pay recommendations from the NHS independent pay review bodies! Recall that the same year, 2016?2017? - the Tories blocked the nurses' recommended 3% pay rise (we've all seen their gloating cheering); they voted in their own 'independent' pay review body's 10% recommendation...

I just find some of the gushing a bit cringe worthy

It does sting a bit, OP, to be told I'm "gushing" when all I did (and others in my village) was stand in my garden and sincerely clap my hands whilst thinking about the sacrifice of all the people holding this country together.

That's the NHS, of course, but also all the delivery drivers, the chap who sanitised my trolley at Tesco, the shop keeper in my village who gets food parcels prepared to distribute on our local area, even our surgery that is being kept open for certain appointments.

I am moved to tears and you say I'm gushing? No - I'm grateful and appreciative and I'm sure there are lots of others who are too. So give us our chance to give a tiny bit back, while we are told to stay at home and not get in the way. It's like giving back a gift, fine for the person who rejects the unwanted gift but feels shitty for the gift giver.

I'm sure there's an element of support and gratitude in the clapping, but I suspect that it's also a lot about giving people something to do to keep the fears of powerlessness at bay.

I think there is a lot of mismanaged funding in the NHS, so the answer is not just to keep throwing money at it. Yes Labour may have put more money in, but if it isn’t used effectively it is a waste of money.

It does need an overhaul. There are a lot more costly procedures available now etc than there were when the NHS was first set up. Not saying we need to go down the US route but something needs to change. Maybe once this is over we can look at other countries systems and see which ones work best.

OP, I would be cringing too if I was a front line worker.

Surely that time spent clapping would be better campaigning for better pay for nurses, care workers etc, or even donating to a food bank as they’ve been hit badly.

It's like giving back a gift, fine for the person who rejects the unwanted gift but feels shitty for the gift giver.

It’s a bit of a shitty gift though.

It’s like a cult now

It really is. And all the problems with the NHS, its myriad dysfunctions? They will never be acknowledged let alone addressed while it is worshipped with quasi religious fervour.

I do not undervalue the worth of NHS workers (neither do I feel the need to clap, paint rainbows, let off chinese lanterns.....)
It's staff of care homes and carers that do home visits that I think are hugely overlooked - in terms of appreciation, special discounts and shopping hours, pay, PPE....

The majority of them arent, as it's a massive organisation. But people group it together and put halos on every single NHS worker

Tabbymum lots and lots of nurses are working away not necessarily in ICU but still dealing with Covid on a daily basis. 5 patients have died in a Psychiatric ward near me in Glasgow. I don't know any nurse that's been put on "leave ". I've been redeployed.

@BovaryX agree. The system is outdated and not fit for purpose any more. We needed an overhaul and I hoped for something like Germany's part insurance based system - their healthcare is excellent.

They will never be acknowledged let alone addressed while it is worshipped with quasi religious fervour

Rather than that cut after cut as it was under the Tories.