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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think the NHS should have sent her home

96 replies

YeahWhatevver · 20/04/2020 09:22

BBC News - Coronavirus: Witney nurse, 84, dies from Covid-19
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-52344408

Why is an 84 year old allowed to continue to work in the NHS given all the guidelines on isolation of the vulnerable and social distancing?

I imagine if this was "84 year old dies while continuing to work at an Amazon distribution warehouse" there'd be outrage.

Employers really do have a duty of care to their employees and in this case I think that's not been maintained by the trust.

They should have 100% said thanks for being willing to work but we need you to go home and stay safe now.

OP posts:

Bagelsandbrie · 20/04/2020 09:24

Completely agree with you. What a tragedy.

Pinkdelight3 · 20/04/2020 09:31

If it says she was determined to, then it's the way she wanted to go. Still tragic as all deaths from this are, but not tragic in the sense that you're implying with the Amazon warehouse comparison. It doesn't sound like she was still working to scrape a living, but because she loved it and wouldn't ever want stop.

raspberryk · 20/04/2020 09:41

They're making pregnant nurses carry on working sooo....

Some people are defined almost entirely by their work, take that away and they lose their identity. There's more to life than physical health, self isolate her and her wellbeing would be an all time low - simply existing is no life. I bet if she'd been told the future she would have still made that choice.

She probably rather go this way than be forced into retirement and stagnate at home til she died. My great grandma had been ready to die for years, she worked til she was 80, she tried retirement and she said it didn't suit her. By the time she was 90 she said she was too old to live any longer and would happily die. Sadly she limped on for another 10 years in a half life kind of way.

Inforthelonghaul · 20/04/2020 09:44

She wanted to do it. Being old doesn’t mean you can’t make a balanced decision and she knew the risks but decided she’d rather take the risk and help than sit back and do nothing. At 84 perhaps she felt she’d had a long fulfilling life and would rather go quickly than a long stay in a care home as she got frailer. Hats off to her, she sounds like an amazing woman.

alloutoffucks · 20/04/2020 09:45

Yes wrong. Our local supermarket told an 83 year old relative they could no longer work there. Although I suspect they had to heavily persuade him to avoid an industrial tribunal.

Spam88 · 20/04/2020 09:47

But huge numbers of people fall into the vulnerable category, if you sent them all home there'd barely be a workforce left.

Elouera · 20/04/2020 09:50

I work for a nursing agency and I'm pregnant. I was told that they cannot refuse to book me shifts IF I request them, as long as I'm aware of the risks. They recommend I don't work frontline or with patients at all, but they cannot refuse. If they made a blanket ban to all pregnant or older healthcare workers, it would be discrimination.

Same as if they said your ethnicity made it a higher risk you might get covid or die, they cannot make a blanket ban on all non-Caucasian health care workers.

Savingshoes · 20/04/2020 10:10

"Allowed" before corona you couldn't age discriminate.
You give people as much information as they need to make an informed decision about whether they wish to continue being employed.
It's not the employer's decision it's the employees decision.

dontdisturbmenow · 20/04/2020 10:30

It's illegal to discriminate on the basis of age.

If she wanted to continue working and performed her duties appropriately, then the hospital had no cause to sack her. Doing so would be illegal and the Trust could have been sued for a lot of money.

It was her decision to work and we don't know why she opted to do so at her age and putting herself at higher risk.

WikkiTikkiWoo · 20/04/2020 10:33

They can't, legally, force someone not to work simply due to age. Even at the moment. They could recommend it, they could suggest it very strongly. But they can't force it - it would be age discrimination.

percentageshelp · 20/04/2020 10:34

They're making pregnant nurses carry on working sooo....

Every pregnant nurse I know was given the option.

You cannot send people home from work due to their age or pregnancy, it's discrimination. This lady was likely given the option and wanted to carry on working.

onanothertrain · 20/04/2020 10:38

The NHS can't make someone go home based on their age. It's discrimination. They can suggest it but they couldn't force her.

Alsohuman · 20/04/2020 10:41

She wanted to work and chose to do it. Thankfully, we’re still able to make our own decisions regardless of age.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 20/04/2020 10:43

They're making pregnant nurses carry on working sooo... No, they are not! They are asking pregnant nurses to read the guidelines, be aware of the real risks and to make the decision that best suits them!

81Byerley · 20/04/2020 10:47

I think she had the right to make her own choices. She chose to continue to work for many years after most of us are sitting at home. It's sad that she died this way, but I don't think the Hospital Trust could have done any more than offer the opportunity for her to self isolate.

alloutoffucks · 20/04/2020 10:57

We don't let people make their own choices when it comes to health and safety usually. They are a condition of employment In most places not following health and safety is a reason for dismissal.

alloutoffucks · 20/04/2020 10:59

@CuriousaboutSamphire I have a friend in the vulnerable group who is a paramedic. She says the NHS do not care she is vulnerable, they just want her to work.

bettybattenburg · 20/04/2020 11:06

Completely agree but maybe it's what she wanted. I thought the nhs had compulsory retirement but maybe that's gone out of the window now.

UnderTheIroningBoard · 20/04/2020 11:07

It's illegal to discriminate based on age. They could have strongly advised her to stay away- it would be up to her if she agreed or not.

In the end, we all have free will. They can't exactly sack her just because she's elderly and at risk.

stairway · 20/04/2020 11:09

I personally know 2 NHS workers who were over 60 and have died. As far as I’m aware they were not advised to stay at home. There is also an article on BBC news about a nurse who switches off the ventilators in ICU. In the article it says she is worried about her safety as she has lung damage from TB. At the bottom of the article it says after having published this article her trust have now asked her to work from home.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 20/04/2020 11:10

She says the NHS do not care she is vulnerable, they just want her to work. Then she needs to take that up with them properly!

One person's experience does not mean that the proper procedures are not being followed elsewhere!

DishRanAwayWithTheSpoon · 20/04/2020 11:13

I think if your 84 and continue to work you know full well the risk you are taking. It was her choice.

Pregnant women are not being made to work, and those that do are being found jobs away from the frontline if possible.

Herpesfreesince03 · 20/04/2020 11:14

It was entirely up to her to decide whether to work or not. She obviously knew the risks. Now I’m not saying she wanted to die, because of course she didn’t. But she couldn’t have had many years left and may have decided that dying a hero saving lives on the front line wasn’t a bad way to go.

alloutoffucks · 20/04/2020 11:14

@UnderTheIroningBoard It is perfectly legal to say someone can't do a job based on age if you can show why. It is not legal to just do it based on a feeling someone is too old.

@curiousaboutsamphire You are naive if you think the NHS at the moment is operating in a way that cares about any staff safety. Lots of people are vulnerable, I have read estimates that one third of the population is vulnerable. The NHS can't operate if they let staff stay off or away from patients if they are vulnerable medically.

MissHoskins · 20/04/2020 11:20

Well, the NHS bashing started a bit faster than I thought it would.

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