Who do you consider as front line worker

[BrightonForWine]

I work on a ward with covid negative, mainly fit and well patients for elective surgery.

We consider 'frontline workers' as those who work directly with covid positive patients.

But I've seen some people who consider anyone working with patients (whatever their covid status) as frontline workers.

And now I've seen that some people consider those who work with the public or childcare (so those who work in Tesco or schools) as frontline workers.

I googled it and it was as clear as mud and seemed to banned together 'key workers' as 'frontline workers' which surprised me.

I wondered, purely out of interest what others considers as 'frontline' workers? And do you consider 'frontline and key workers' as a different name for the same thing?

[title edited by MNHQ at OP's request]

I'm a social worker and don't consider myself a frontline worker. Essential worker yes.

I disagree.

Ok
I've never knowingly been exposed to covid at work. Only one of my colleagues has had to isolate due to exposure.

We consider frontline as anyone patient facing, as it's virtually impossible to guarantee that they are not treating COVID patients.

I'd also include teachers, and some other key workers such as care workers and social workers.

Front line, is different to Key workers, and I do believe key workers can work from home, though obviously not all of them.

Front line = dealing with patients. People needed to keep the country going e.g. transport drivers supermarket workers, bin collectors = Key workers.

I've never knowingly been exposed to covid at work. Only one of my colleagues has had to isolate due to exposure

You do realise social workers work across many settings right? With children, in schools, hostels, mental health, hospitals. To name just a few. If you haven't been exposed then that's great. Others continue to be everyday. One of my colleagues died from it in the early months. You may be surprised to find out that BASW and social work England consider social workers to be front line workers too. Really social workers are used to the general public down playing what social workers actually do. A bit sad when you find an actual social worker doing it too.

@Kaliorphic

I've never knowingly been exposed to covid at work. Only one of my colleagues has had to isolate due to exposure

You do realise social workers work across many settings right? With children, in schools, hostels, mental health, hospitals. To name just a few. If you haven't been exposed then that's great. Others continue to be everyday. One of my colleagues died from it in the early months. You may be surprised to find out that BASW and social work England consider social workers to be front line workers too. Really social workers are used to the general public down playing what social workers actually do. A bit sad when you find an actual social worker doing it too.

I'm really not downplaying but I don't agree that frontline means what you believe it means. That's fine, we can disagree. I don't feel that I have been put at undue risk by carrying out my duties. Of course hospital social workers are at much higher risk than those working in peoples' homes. That's a minority of SWs and I would maybe call them frontline workers if they are working in elderly discharge due to the high likelihood of exposure.

Different social workers must have different risks.

My DH’s friend is a social worker and has predominantly worked from home for months-working remotely. He was embarrassed that he’d been given the vaccine when his teacher wife hadn’t.

@Fedup21

Different social workers must have different risks.

My DH’s friend is a social worker and has predominantly worked from home for months-working remotely. He was embarrassed that he’d been given the vaccine when his teacher wife hadn’t.

Where does he live? Social workers in England haven't been offered the vaccine yet

That's a minority of SWs and I would maybe call them frontline workers if they are working in elderly discharge due to the high likelihood of exposure.

It certainly isn't a minority of social workers at all.

My DH’s friend is a social worker and has predominantly worked from home for months-working remotely. He was embarrassed that he’d been given the vaccine when his teacher wife hadn’t.

The vaccine hasn't been rolled out to social workers yet. Your friend's husband may have got it for a different reason.

It doesn’t really matter what our collective opinion is. Ultimately, each organisation decides what ‘frontline’ means.

I work for an NHS trust that has no acute covid beds. We will be taking delivery of a vaccine and distributing it to frontline staff. As none of us works on covid wards, ‘frontline’ will mean clinical, patient facing roles rather than back room admin etc.

I'm an emergency planner. Frontline workers are what we would describe as those dealing directly with the emergency on the ground, the rest of the organisation that supports the emergency from control / incident rooms would be key-workers (not that we ever used that term pre-covid).

It’s different in a pandemic though, as I’d say anyone who has to provide essential services directly to members of the public could be deemed frontline as they have no choice but to put themselves at potential risk (obviously to varying degrees depending on the job). Agree with @CountessFrog, it’s down to each organisation to deem who their frontline workers are.

NHS, police, fire and carers.

@Kaliorphic

That's a minority of SWs and I would maybe call them frontline workers if they are working in elderly discharge due to the high likelihood of exposure.

It certainly isn't a minority of social workers at all.

It absolutely is. The numbers of SW working in children and families compared to the numbers in hospital discharge is hugely different.

Frontline.

COVID ward workers and paramedics are my immediate frontline in definition.

Followed equally

Other nhs hospital workers/ GPs who are patient facing, health and social care workers, Education staff and other blue light workers and pharmacists

Keyworkers who I think are also rather front line

Bin men, supermarket employees, nhs workers who aren't patient facing, postal workers transport workers

My sister who sits behind a Perspex screen in a GP surgery and sorts prescriptions thinks she more frontline than me in a classroom bubble of 25 🤷‍♀️.

To me frontline line means facing covid and real risk of catching it either with PPE or because gavla thinks you're immune or because of risk.

It's a great question though.

It's certainly highlighted who essential workers are and it's generally the low wage jobs.

Watched an excellent reporter on sky news earlier say "no one would Joyce if marketing managers weren't working during covid - they'd notice if their bin man didn't turn up"

It absolutely is. The numbers of SW working in children and families compared to the numbers in hospital discharge is hugely different.

It may be less but it's not a minority workforce and it certainly is a frontline workforce. Anyway I'm not spending my time arguing with someone who knows so little about their profession outside their own narrow experience of it.

To me front line worker is someone who deals with people on the front line. A and e. Paramedics

Keyworker is someone whose job is essential

I'm a journalist WFH and apparently I'm a 'key worker' very odd.

Frontline - those dealing with Covid patients needing to spend most of their shift in full PPE.

I was classed as a keyworker in the hubs my council provided. Working with children of frontline staff. We tried to make it as fun as we could. I was in category 1. Dh as a heating engineer was category 3 as needing to provide hot water as urgency to ensure good hygiene could be met. He's in so many different houses daily that it is a stress. I'm in my bubble at work of 26.

Like I said, the collective wisdom of mumsnet isn’t what decides it.

Who cares? Especially who cares what mnet think...people who are classed as key workers will each have additional burden due to the pandemic whether that be police, social workers, shop workers or docs nurses. They will all be struggling through the pandemic on top of holding down a busy job. They are all frontline to me

@Kaliorphic

I'm a social worker and don't consider myself a frontline worker. Essential worker yes.

I disagree.

I disagree too, your job is as vitally important as that of a nurses albeit for different reasons

Front line to me is very different to key worker. The key workers are those that are working in schools, supermarkets, lorry drivers etc. Those we need to keep living life day to day.
Frontline workers are the staff that are working with the extremely poorly covid cases, the ones that go home exhausted after spending a day worrying if their patients are going to pass away.

To add my husband is a key worker, he definitely has never considered himself front line so I suppose that's why my way of thinking is the way it is.

Frontline=military at war.

Drs healthcareworkers, nurses and school/nursery staff/shop workers= key workers.