AIBU about the £60k payment just for NHS staff

[Westroyd1]

I know this might sound unreasonable but please take the time to read my reason.
I am an NHS member of staff, I fully support the work the NHS are doing, but the recent announcement by the government to give families of NHS staff who have died from COVID-19 a £60k payment has really unsettled me. Don't get me wrong they have died doing the job they love and under very very unfortunate circumstances but the reason it feels wrong to me personally is that my mum had a bowel operation mid-Feb that went catastrophically wrong and led to her being in ICU for 4 weeks and was just at the point of being able to talk, eat a little whilst tube fed and had managed to take a few steps on a very long road to recovery at week 7 post-op only to contract/become symptomatic with COVID-19 on 8th April within the hospital which could only have been from staff as she had no contact with anyone else and had not left the building within that time.
She passed away on 11th April from COVID-19.
I am sorry but I feel bitter that the government are not taking into account patients who have died from COVID-19 through no fault of their own within the hospitals and if feels unfair. AIBU???

I am quite happy for them to get that money. But what they should have had is decent PPE.

I'm sorry for your loss OP.Unfortunatly if your mum was in ITU she was probably in a ward of predominantly ventilated Covid patients.The staff there wear full ppe and do 1:1 nursing of those patients so it most likely came from a patient not a member of staff.
That doesn't help you and it is natural to be very angry.I hope over time you find peace.It is a hard time and many if us are going through the same.

@hagis But patients in ICU are immobile in bed. If it came from a patient it could only be transferred by a staff member surely?

@cantory coughing etc can spread quite far & there were early cases of people who were not diagnosed or someone in intensive care with something else who was yet to show symptoms or someone visiting them
Its the main reason why staff were concerned about reusing ppe the point is someone can be contagious before they have symptoms including staff - you cant blame someone for not knowing they were incubating a disease they didn't know they had even with ppe staff can still catch disease

The government is throwing money at the situation to take attention away from the fact they've systematically destroyed our health service.........that said I do think 60 k is a drop in the ocean. Particularly if small children are left behind. What they should have done is paid that person's wages and pension to the family as tho they were still here.

@cantory Sometimes even the ventilator used can spread it by discharging particles into the air.

Really they should have a decent death in service benefit, all the time instead.

Asda do. But if you opted out of the pension scheme you don't. Thankfully, the vast majority do pay into.

I think the base is 4 times your annual wage, going up to 7 depending on how much you pay in. That does mean, though that the better paid you are, the better it is.

But I knew several staff members who did die while working there and the base payment really did help those families until they could find a new normal.

Don't get me wrong they have died doing the job they love and under very very unfortunate circumstances
Why are we always assuming that healthcare workers love their job? Some do but many just make the most of it. Most wouldn't work if they didn't need to financially. Many would have chosen not to work in the last 3 months if they didn't have a conscience and sense of professionalism.

I think this is the right move although agree it should be extended to people looking after people in the community.

I just want to clarify a little further, firstly this payment is on top of a death in service payment and is not paid to all NHS workers only those who are in contact with Covid-19 hotspots in the hospital. So if you do not go onto the wards where such patients were being treated you are not eligible ... despite the government's misleading press releases.

I am also sorry for your loss, if you are unhappy with your mother's treatment, then please go and talk to PALs.

Every job I have worked in in the private sector has a death in service payment. It’s currently 3x my salary and DH’s is 4x.

@yahbasic I am in private sector and don't have a death in service payment. I know large corporate firms tend to have it though.