AIBU re hospital staff begging for freebies on social media?

[Biscoffaddict]

I’m fully prepared to get flamed for this, and I want to say I really do appreciate everything NHS staff are doing at the moment, but I can’t help but feel it’s a bit grabby and entitled to be asking for freebies on social media. The post in question was from a HCA who was asking for hand cream for their ‘poor sore hands’. She tagged about twenty colleagues in the post and also named the ward in question (not ICU).

It would be understandable if there was nowhere open to get hand cream from but it’s sold in Boots, Superdrug, all supermarkets and online. Very cheaply available as well, which is why this seems really grabby, entitled and a bit unprofessional if I’m honest. Lots of body shop and Avon reps have been tagged in the post and no doubt they’ll feel pressured into donating stuff and meeting the cost themselves (I’ve done Avon in the past and know how it all works).

For some reason this has really rubbed me up the wrong way. But like Ive said I’m prepared to be told I’m out of order.

Although no one disputes the hard work being done by a vast majority of nhs staff. However the nhs is a massive organisation and there are lot of non clinical staff,

I’m non-clinical. My job description is 12 pages long. I work 9-5. Except I don’t. I’m back to 14-16 hour days 7 days a week trying to ensure a vaccination programme gets delivered alongside as much of our normal services as possible, whilst every jigsaw piece - of which there are thousands but aren’t nearly enough - has the potential to be off sick/self isolating with no notice.

Without the non-clinical staff nothing happens. I don’t care about discounts, but I do care about myself and my team and many many colleagues mentally and physically breaking ourselves again but being regarded as unimportant.

It makes me laugh. You van easily order aqueous cream for any department in nhs. Manager just has to place an order with central store

@2020canfuckitself

I work for a large coffee chain and we get asked daily by the NHS staff for freebies or discount.

Because when the pandemic was on before Pret A Manger did a NHS discount and Starbucks had some promos on.

Starbucks is on the Blue Light Card. 10% off. Also available to police staff. As are other discounts.

Just seen someone ask for a “NHS staff price” for a new front door on FB though......

No way nurses get 23k plus. Because I very clearly remember number of articles about nurses having to use foodbanks. And if you are on 23k you shouldn't be having foodbank vouchers

If you have got a few children 23k after tax is around £1,600 a month it’s not exactly a huge salary is it? Maybe the nurse works part time you don’t know so wouldn’t even take home that..

Band 5 is the minimum scale for a qualified nurse.

All the scales are here.

www.nhsemployers.org/pay-pensions-and-reward/nhs-terms-and-conditions-of-service---agenda-for-change/pay-scales/annual

but I do care about myself and my team and many many colleagues mentally and physically breaking ourselves again but being regarded as unimportant

This has been referred to here and other threads but I found when working in the NHS there is a level of martyrdom expected. Staff are expected to go above and beyond because it’s some sort of holy vocation, and suffer for it. By the public, and by the NHs management and government itself.

Re. Pay. On the face of it, payscales aren’t bad. Shift allowance and london weighting added another 10k. However in reality constant staff cuts tens to mean you are loaded with more and more work, and as above expected to suck it up for the greater good, until you break.

I enjoyed my job until one person left, and there wasn’t the budget to replace them. Then another, and another, with review of the rota each time so the rest of us picked up the slack. Then they said we didn’t need more staff as the rota was covered.

By the time there were 13 of us covering a 24 person rota I broke. No increase in pay to reflect the extra shifts. No amount of pay compensated for the intolerable shift pattern- i was getting one day off randomly here and there.

When I used to be paid proper overtime and out of hours I could cope better as I knew I’d be earning extra ££, plus it meant we had more volunteers for nights/weekends/christmas. Introduction of a flat % stopped that.

@Chel098

If you have got a few children 23k after tax is around £1,600 a month it’s not exactly a huge salary is it? Maybe the nurse works part time you don’t know so wouldn’t even take home that..

No. I remember very clearly it was full time nurses. There is no way someone on 23k should be having food bank vouchers.

And if they say nurse, it should be a wualified nurse, otherwise they are just lying. Which is wholly possible when it comes to clickbait headlines tbf

Not just NHS, in March a care home worker asked on FB if anyone could provide 16 - yes sixteen! Free Takeaway meals delivered to the care home on a specific date - not for residents but for the staff because it was her birthday..... someone called her out on it, and said that as they are on full pay they should be paying to keep local businesses going and as soon as she was called out other people started saying along the same lines, the post disappeared. Pure cheeky fuckery.

@2020canfuckitself

I work for a large coffee chain and we get asked daily by the NHS staff for freebies or discount.

Are you able to give this any context?

For example is the nurse saying 'can I have this free, I'm a nurse' or 'this should be free I'm NHS'
OR
'do you do nhs discount?'

Asking if somewhere does discount isn't asking for a freebie FFS. Lots of chains offer discount to emergency services.

@HeyDW96 I think 'showing the worst of ourselves' is embodied in the lack of appreciation and entitlement displayed by many key workers accessing schools at the moment. They are open to enable 'key workers' to work. If one parent is at home not fulfilling a key worker role, that child should not be going in. Schools were closed to stop the spread. Let's do it properly.

Schrodinger, your post illustrates my point exactly.
There is a widespread belief that nurses are very poorly paid. They are not.
However, the myth is allowed to continue. You can see the reaction here when it's broached.
I have no idea why.
Time again on mn you see people being ripped to shreads if they complain abojt being skint on that level of income, but fir some reason £28k paid to a nurse or teacher seems to be worth less thsn £28k paid to eg an office worker.

@MissEliza have your council done anything to try and control that? Where I am, the schools phone and sometimes also phone employers to check that the child absolutely has to go to school. I don't have children, personally wouldn't send them if I didn't have to but not all 'key workers' are lovely, honest people. That's life unfortunately, some people will take the piss.

I'm struck to understand the need for a blue light or NHS discount. Lots of people do important roles for society but get paid pennies eg carers. I had a friend working for the police from home during the first lockdown who would make use of priority shopping ours. Meanwhile teachers keeping schools open wouldn't struggle to get their shopping done.

2020canfuckitself
I work for a large coffee chain and we get asked daily by the NHS staff for freebies or discount

Why do large chains do BLC/student/nhs discount then?

Freebies yes. But what’s the problem with asking if somewhere does discount? They either say Yes, or No. end of.

It’s marketing. I’m more likely to buy my coffee in Starbucks with my discount than I am at another large chain that doesn’t.

I'm struck to understand the need for a blue light or NHS discount

Cross post- it’s marketing. They make more money by attracting the 1000’s of BL staff. The revenue generated will far outstrip any discount.

@MissEliza

I'm struck to understand the need for a blue light or NHS discount. Lots of people do important roles for society but get paid pennies eg carers. I had a friend working for the police from home during the first lockdown who would make use of priority shopping ours. Meanwhile teachers keeping schools open wouldn't struggle to get their shopping done.

I don't think it's quite as clear cut as you make it sound in regards to police WFH. They may be WFH but they are still working long shifts. I have a close relative who is a sergeant working mainly from home due to being CEV. He's still working night shifts etc...

@Katyppp

Schrodinger, your post illustrates my point exactly. There is a widespread belief that nurses are very poorly paid. They are not. However, the myth is allowed to continue. You can see the reaction here when it's broached. I have no idea why. Time again on mn you see people being ripped to shreads if they complain abojt being skint on that level of income, but fir some reason £28k paid to a nurse or teacher seems to be worth less thsn £28k paid to eg an office worker.

Because saving lives, working 12 hojr night shifts and having to move out the family home as many nurses did is a bit different to being a probationer teacher or working in an office.

@bluebluezoo

*2020canfuckitself I work for a large coffee chain and we get asked daily by the NHS staff for freebies or discount*

Why do large chains do BLC/student/nhs discount then?

Freebies yes. But what’s the problem with asking if somewhere does discount? They either say Yes, or No. end of.

It’s marketing. I’m more likely to buy my coffee in Starbucks with my discount than I am at another large chain that doesn’t.

I'm not too concerned about big chains and companies. But I think it's wrong to even ask when it's something like a small business. You can say 'just say no' but it does put pressure on the person being asked, especially at the moment when it's being constantly drummed into us how grateful we should all be.

@MissEliza because it makes companies look good essentially! The NHS is an enormous employer, if they can get us all in buying coffee etc they make lots of money, it makes them attractive, they look fantastic that they help the 'heroes of this country'. I don't think we NEED discounts, they are widely advertised.

I'm a nurse btw, I don't think I'm a hero, i don't rely on discounts from shops and I also didn't go into my profession expecting to make loads of money to then complain that I don't get paid enough. I do use the discounts advertised because why not? If I can save a few pounds it does make me feel a tiny bit better about having walking sticks thrown at me sometimes.

@bluebluezoo good point.

@Biscoffaddict

You don't need to work on ICU to be 'going through it.

The lower staff, if you will , have the far riskier jobs than nurses or doctors. Please educate yourself on this before dismissing her and others like her.

Kimchi we will never agree.
My way is to deal in hard facts without emotion and your way is to pile on emotion with very few facts.
We'll just have to agree to differ

@Katyppp

Rigt back at you kimchi. The usual emotional claptrap completely devoid of any rational thought.

Emotional claptrap

You don't think nurses deserve a pay rise for their efforts during the pandemic , then? Rational thought - it's ok for office workers to have 28 grand but not nurses, why? Was your question. How much rational thought went into that? Are you always so insufferably judgemental of anyone with empathy for others?

Even a pandemic doesn't touch your cold little 'well they should take their 28 grand and be grateful' heart does it?