Key worker rant

[cutie101]

What qualifies as key worker really annoys me.
More to the point the people who benefit from discounts and privileges even though they havent been in critical roles is getting to me.
Yes frontline staff have been absolutely amazing and deserve it, but what about the admin person who works for the NHS, or the optician, or the psychologists etc..their jobs haven't been impacted at all, but they benefit from the same discount as the true heroes. Im a teacher and have honestly never worked more than I have since March, in every day looking after children of key workers and vulnerable children, plus creating and recording lessons, making work available online, marking all work each day as well as so many other things...really annoyed me that looking in a car showroom the other day, those who work for the NHS get the staff discount at the moment, but not me. I am more than happy for the doctors, nurses, paramedics etc to benefit, but random admin who have been working from home or even furloughed...
Likewise I know a couple, both who worked from home throughout, just like so many other people. One is a solicitor in the public sector and the other works for a water company in their IT department. Again neither job critical during this time, but because one works for a water company and the other in the public sector, they are both classified as key workers so their children could carry on going to school, nursery etc.
I'm grumpy and ranting, but does anyone else feel the same?

I dont consider any one a hero. I'm from a family of doctors, some who worked in inner city public hospitals dealing with emergency psychiatric admittance, gun shots, people crazed on drugs...
I do not diminish at all the risks some medical and caring staff had have to make during the crisis. But I wouldn't call them heroes - they are doing their job.
But I don't see any key worker discounts or advantages other than specific shopping times and kids at school during lockdown. Neither impact on me at all, and the benefit for anyone is fine.

You sound bitter. I have 3 friends who are teachers all who freely admit they’ve basically been off on full pay since March. Upload something onto the online learning aid each morning takes around 20 mins then repeat. Working in shifts so maybe 1 morning a week in school. You’ve not been face to face with covid patients for 12+ hour shifts ?

I have 3 friends who are teachers all who freely admit they’ve basically been off on full pay since March. Upload something onto the online learning aid each morning takes around 20 mins then repeat

This is true in some schools, others have rightly expected a lot more from their staff. However, I find it very hard to believe the OP was working 18 hour days.

YABVU.

I work as a station staff member on the Tube. I was not saving lives everyday but I was conveying NHS staff to their jobs they could help combat the virus. I also conveyed other essential key workers such as police, firefighters, council workers including refuse collectors, supermarket workers volunteers for charity postal workers other transport workers and many other people who kept this country going. If you worked for the NHS in any capacity then I would treat you all the same. Every person who was needed to keep us ticking over was treated the same by me.

There was a rumour in the community that NHS staff got free travel which wasn't true, and Tube staff got a lot of abuse for quashing that. We also got abused because there was only four trains an hour (usually about 10 an hour). Bus drivers and train staff were spat at too. It should be a symbiotic relationship between us all but SOME PEOPLE in the service industries are full of envy and want special treatment. It ain't happening from my end.

My mum is an NHS scientist. She works as part of an organ transplant team. Over her working life she had been part of a team which has given people new life in their new organs. She's worked in the hospital throughout covid but not with covid patients. She has used her NHS status to get into shops early to do my elderly grandparents shopping. As far as I know she hasn't used any discounts. But I absolutely do not begrudge her any discount. She has been on call overnight many times and on Christmas day before. So her job has had an impact on her family life plus as I say directly worked with organs which save peoples lives. I feel like now she is getting some recognition.

So Yabu and sound bitter. To say somone like her who has done loads of good and literally saved lives does not deserve a discount. Yes you might too but to say the solution is to take this away from people is wrong.

All of the other non front line or clinical staff are also essential to the NHS working. It's not a race to the bottom. I find it worrying that this is your attitude as a teacher. It's very bitter.

@Goyle well done for working on the tube every day. You are indeed essential! It's not an easy job at the best of times. Thank you

The people banging on about school holidays. Please educate yourselves. Teachers are not paid for holidays

Way to put down people who aren't as qualified as you.

I know you didn't mean to, but that is rather patronising. I've got a first class honours degree and work in admin.

I'm grumpy and ranting, but does anyone else feel the same?

Nope. Can’t say I do.

I think the term 'key worker' is unfortunate because it implies the rest of us are surplus to requirements! Also many people who were furloughed at 80 per cent and subsequently lost their jobs feel very much like they are forgotten casualties.
I am not doubting for a moment how awful it must have been for nurses and doctors and other staff to have worked through and witnessed what they did. A young friend of mine is currently off work with PTSD due to her work on a Covid ward in a city hospital.
That is obviously one extreme end of the scale of key workers. At the other end though? I think many view those key workers as Simply people who were lucky enough to continue working.
All very divisive. That seems to be life at the moment, unfortunately

I have 3 friends who are teachers all who freely admit they’ve basically been off on full pay since March.

Yet again - you have good and poor employees in ALL professions. You have lazy and hard working employees in ALL professions.

You know THREE teachers who have done nothing. Other people know many who have worked much longer hours.

Teachers have generally done whatever their school has told them to do, and that has come via the Government and the LEA where applicable. Some schools decided to do more than the Government asked. Some did what they asked. Some schools were full from day 1 of Key Worker children. Some weren't or some had his to share the load. Some schools have communities and catchments where everyone has a ton of IT and devices and wifi available to use. Some don't.

This doesn't need to - yet again - turn into a teacher bashing thread. I thought that at least know we are in the summer holidays teachers might get a couple of weeks break from being knocked down.

And based on the OPs posts whether they are actually a teacher or not is debatable. Possibly just a post designed to get all the teacher bashing back out again!

@Goyle thanks for getting colleagues and I to work 💐

However, I find it very hard to believe the OP was working 18 hour days.

I agree - and it is one of the comments which made me question whether the OP is actually a teacher or has created a thread to encourage teacher bashing.

I did work long full hours through, albeit - for me - it was at home as said previously. DH did too in her 'key worker' job. Neither of us worked 18 our days on average though. I don't know anyone from any sector or job who did either.

Ummm....

I'm a PA in a secure unit (mental health). I've had to work throughout lockdown and my workload has increased more than ever! I have been supporting my units 5 senior managers, covering absences due to illness/isolating, as well as having a 5yo at home as a single parent. No option to be furloughed and look after my son when schools closed, even in the 'keyworker' group the school was shut on certain days.

The NHS discounts have been here forever. (The one extra I did have during lockdown was a free Greggs latte though)
They are just being taken on by more companies and advertised at the moment.

I'm really shocked that you would begrudge someone 10% off something!

Teachers are also Key Workers, who got thanks and claps every Thursday.

NHS worker here (Community Mental Health Nurse).

I normally work in the referrals and assessment team, so screening and assessing new routine referrals (urgent ones go to our Urgent Assessment Team or A&E).

Our referrals dried up in lockdown so I was asked to do the depot clinic. Depots are long acting anti psychotic medication. Most of the time the patients came to us, but our building was closed so it was all home visits. I actually enjoyed doing that.

Now I'm back in my normal team, and trust me while my team was quiet during lockdown, the ramifications of it are now becoming clear. People losing their jobs, businesses, OCD etc worsening.....This country is going to have a pandemic of mental health difficulties as a result of COVID. Many teams were shut during lockdown and are still not open, and many people needing those services (psychotherapy etc) are going to be in for a long, long wait.

I'm no hero, just doing my job, and found the NHS hero worship during lockdown a bit embarrassing tbh. I was forever saying, it ain't just us, what about police, prison officers (often forgotton), transport staff, bin men, supermarket staff.....the list is endless, they had to deal with potential face to face contact with covid sufferers as well.

We absolutely do not need to foster any more resentment.

Random nhs admin worker here, posts like yours op really piss me off. I support nurses in the community and if anything my workload has increased. I've not missed a day, came into direct contact with covid patients and have no ppe apart from hand sanitiser on my desk. I've not been furloughed or been able to work from home.
My husband was shielding and I have real fear that I'll bring covid home. Also home schooled 2 kids including one with autism and epilepsy. I've never had so many headaches in my life due to stress.
Your post has really angered me, I may not be saving lives but for a piss poor salary I enable health care professionals are paid their salary each month and I'm proud of that.

It’s been 15 hours since @cutie101 has had time to respond. Another ‘average’ working day for her.

@alibongo5 absolutely did not mean to sound patronising, or cause offence. I was referring to how I believe the OP views admin staff. It is quite clear she sees admin as a lower qualified role compared to her teaching status. I work in admin myself, as do many other qualified and intelligent people.

I'm freelance and have been working fucking hard in a role involved in the covid response since March.

No one even understands what I do, let alone call me a hero for it 😂🤣

Oh and no discounts from anywhere!

These are just a few of the things that random administrators and managers that I know in the NHS have done.....

sourced PPE
Set up testing for an entire hospital
Recruited sites to take part in covid trials like the dexamethasone one
Did all the admin for the governance around that trial and others
Recruited extra staff
Re-organised entire hospitals
Contacted thousands of patients
Tracked every single patient on the patient tracker list in cancer services to ensure that they were not forgotten/slipped through the net
Reported daily to NHSE and other people about the situation in the hospital
Rung families to tell them of bereavements
Arranged for the entire chemotherapy and radiotherapy units to be transferred to a private provider - after negotiating for that provider to actually host the services
Liaised with community teams to ensure vulnerable people in that community could still access services they needed
Organised appointments
Cancelled appointments
Rearranged appointments
Tried to get patients to see the hospital, as somewhere safe to go for appointment
Arranged for clinical staff to film videos and do interviews to encourage patients to come to hospital

I could go on.

But I guess the OP still thinks that all of this vital work carried out by non clinical teams of all bands in the NHS is pointless.

I’m a “frontline key worker” but that term makes me want to puke, I’m not special. I chose this job. The admin worker in my team is the glue that holds us all together. We couldn’t function without her. She’s paid less than us but she’s worth so much more.

@RedPanda2 me too 😂

As a random NHS admin living with a teacher I can say that both of us have been overworked during covid. Both jobs have different challenges and yes working in the NHS i do get more perks in the form of 10% off here 20% there but both of us agree we could not do the other ones job.

but really whose job didnt change - ie the people who still had to go to work and do the same thing had to do it under increased risk of infection and working from home is not a walk in the park if you have children
I think we should acknowledge it has been hard for everyone.
It is such a teacher thing to refuse to acknowledge the difficulties in other peoples jobs - whilst I think your job is hard you dont have the monopoly

I am a key worker, not NHS and have worked throughout and have been busier than ever. We chose to keep our children home and work round it. Our particular school had a low Uo take in the key worker provision till about the last 6 weeks of school. My point is that it's swings and roundabouts. Some teachers have worked above and beyond and some teachers have had an extended break! Our year 5 teacher for our dd - not 1 phone call no marking of work or feedback! My reception dd regular calls, work, and feed back. My ICT teacher friend has had hardly any work to do after the first few weeks of lockdown has loved it. We ended up getting a tutor for our older dd and she said that she didn't have enough work going on for her at her own school.