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.

I don't have the energy to read the whole thread but..
I'm an NHS nurse and would never think about asking for donations. If people wish to donate we are so grateful, but it's off their own back.
I noticed this comment from you op in response to someone,
'What staff on ICU are going through at the moment you mean? This lady doesn’t work on ICU.'

And I just wanted to say in my hospital there is ITU capacity and they are not currently overrun, however, the rest of the hospital is. We have severe staff shortages and are at max capacity on the wards, the whole hospital is covid, there is not one ward that doesn't have covid patients.
I am very frequently looking after 14-16 unwell patients as so many staff are off isolating. I would normally look after 8, this significantly increases patients risk of harm or death as I cannot safely care for all of them.
So please don't think it's just ITU who are struggling, I'm sure in many areas they are, but so are ward staff.

@IndecentFeminist

Kimchi, your 'MO' is lots of exclamation marks and hyperbole. Not sure in which world that constitutes 'valid points'.

Is it?

My first was as I couldn't believe anyone was being quite so ... ridiculous, to claim to not understand why nurses should have a pay rise.

My second post asked some pretty valid questions, I thought

@Whentheleavesfalldown

I don't have the energy to read the whole thread but.. I'm an NHS nurse and would never think about asking for donations. If people wish to donate we are so grateful, but it's off their own back. I noticed this comment from you op in response to someone, 'What staff on ICU are going through at the moment you mean? This lady doesn’t work on ICU.'

And I just wanted to say in my hospital there is ITU capacity and they are not currently overrun, however, the rest of the hospital is. We have severe staff shortages and are at max capacity on the wards, the whole hospital is covid, there is not one ward that doesn't have covid patients.
I am very frequently looking after 14-16 unwell patients as so many staff are off isolating. I would normally look after 8, this significantly increases patients risk of harm or death as I cannot safely care for all of them.
So please don't think it's just ITU who are struggling, I'm sure in many areas they are, but so are ward staff.

🙌🙌🙌

Nurses ARE poorly paid for the job they do, the responsibility they have. Quite often the nurses are 'shoring up' frazzled doctors. Healthcare assistants are 'shoring up' frazzled nurses.

If you're lucky enough to work in one of the 'elite' London hospitals, with the London weighting you'll not have a bad salary as such if you're a band 6. Out in the suburbs, you get a paltry weighting amount, yet living costs are still as high as some London suburbs, and you are still dealing with as much traffic as London hospitals.

Nurses have a huge amount of responsibility, and their pay does not reflect this I'm afraid. I work in therapies and my DD is a nurse.

I was just going to say the same as @Whentheleavesfalldown the wards are overrun.

But your arguments are not unique to nurses, itsallpointless.
Do you really think that £28k would be considered a poor wage by the general public? I don't.
A lot of the public gratitude for nurses is based on the understanding that they are really badly paid. They are not.

That's just the type of person that HCA is (cheap and beggar) it's nothing to do with the profession, if she was a builder she'd be saying the same.

Our local trust has an amazon wish list you can order from direct to them!! Regularly promoted on social media

@Itsallpointless

Nurses ARE poorly paid for the job they do, the responsibility they have. Quite often the nurses are 'shoring up' frazzled doctors. Healthcare assistants are 'shoring up' frazzled nurses.

If you're lucky enough to work in one of the 'elite' London hospitals, with the London weighting you'll not have a bad salary as such if you're a band 6. Out in the suburbs, you get a paltry weighting amount, yet living costs are still as high as some London suburbs, and you are still dealing with as much traffic as London hospitals.

Nurses have a huge amount of responsibility, and their pay does not reflect this I'm afraid. I work in therapies and my DD is a nurse.

It’s true. There’s reasons why NHS have to pay out ridiculously high hourly rates for some agency nurses... some wards are so bad nobody would want to risk their nurse pin for any amount of money.

I have donated a tonne out of pocket just before Christmas. A bit of compassion goes a long way. Unless you've worked in that field I don't believe you've the right to comment, or call them "grabby".
Working 12+ hour shifts to take care of our loved ones, on often shit wage. How grabby and unreasonable to encourage a little pick me up - it's hand cream ffs not an all inclusive trip to the Caribbean. What a weird thing to be wound up over in the midst of this shit show.

I am NHS staff and this has been my view throughout.
Definitely a need for some support and treats for the ward staff. Those that have worked long shifts and unable to take a break.
However, I would much rather see the support aimed at refuges and domestic violence charities. Where there had been such a huge influx in cases

@Katyppp

But your arguments are not unique to nurses, itsallpointless. Do you really think that £28k would be considered a poor wage by the general public? I don't. A lot of the public gratitude for nurses is based on the understanding that they are really badly paid. They are not.

If you can tell me one profession who is as low paid for such high responsibility as rubbish conditions particularly in pandemics, I would genuinely be interested.

I know student nurses in hospitals who are dealing with covid wards. Your man on 50k goes nowhere near unless he can help it.

NHS nurse here.

She can buy her own damn hand cream, like everyone else. I don't look for freebies or discounts for doing my job. I've still got a job, many have lost theirs.

@Spidey66

NHS nurse here.

She can buy her own damn hand cream, like everyone else. I don't look for freebies or discounts for doing my job. I've still got a job, many have lost theirs.

Well said, Spidey.

Not ALL nurses are poorly paid, it depends on their grade, training and particular expertise. There are some very well paid nursing jobs.

Iamallthere, do you consider £24k to be shit pay? As far as i understand it - and i am sure i will be corrected if i am wrong - that is the minimum a nurse is paid, assuming they work no nights or weekends.
Why ars the general public so convinced that nurses are poorly paid?

I don’t think 24k is good pay for a graduate level position taking that amount of responsibility and legal accountability. Not to mention pay was frozen for 10 years so the same nurse is worse off than 10 years ago. If it was attractive pay then I don’t believe there would be a retention problem.
It’s largely irrelevant for me anyway. I feel very grateful to my hairdresser for doing a good job, I don’t think £50 for a haircut that takes 30 minutes is ‘cheap’, I’m grateful for her doing a good job.
Some people are so grateful for every kindness shown to them, when you’ve literally done very little. Others you could literally work 24/7 in their service without any recognition whatsoever. The fact remains that if you would like to have well educated and motivated people caring for you you need to pay well enough to attract them. Same as any area in life really! I believe there’s far easier and less stressful ways to earn 24k

Its not great pay for a graduate entry profession, but I suppose that there is at least a clear career structure and opportunities for a higher salary as you progress

Agree that overall there are easier jobs that pay the same!

@DamnBadLuck

Its not great pay for a graduate entry profession, but I suppose that there is at least a clear career structure and opportunities for a higher salary as you progress

Agree that overall there are easier jobs that pay the same!

That’s part of the issue though. There are hundreds of band 5 posts in most NHS departments, tens of band 6s and not many band 7s. It’s a VERY flat triangle. But almost every new band 5 nurse wants to know how soon they can be a band 7. The majority will stay at band 5, I’m afraid. That’s the maths.

I agree there is a lack of progression and it’s been exacerbated by the way that pay has been altered over the last few years. So those on the lowest pay have had more protections, receiving larger % pay increases (basically so that they don’t slip below the minimum wage) and pay a lot less % of salary (to receive the same benefits) into pensions. obviously you do need to protect low paid workers but any pay increases need to be across the salary scale or you lose all progression! It wouldn’t be an issue to start on 24k, it’s not a bad wage. However if you’re prospects 20 years later are to be earning 28k it’s not particularly attractive. So you then lose the experienced and trained staff to other job roles, reducing your total staff and you have a very unbalanced skill mix which makes conditions unfavourable

Bungle, your post is really helpful, thank you.