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 think there is a huge difference between asking and being offered.

There are lots of places offering discounts right now, fair enough. But asking is different imo.

There was a thread on here from a lady being asked to give discounts to NHS staff from her small Etsy online business!! That's incredibly cheeky imo. It's hard enough as it is for small businesses.

Unless the place/person explicitly offers or its visible from their website, or store front that they do, I don't think it's right to ask personally. I wouldn't want to put pressure on a business owner to 'do the right thing' and give me a discount because of my job.

YANBU. In my role I'm not allowed to ask for or accept gifts on the basis I do job x/y/z - I thought that was a pretty standard clause in employment contracts.

I've seen quite a bit of this, It's pretty unedifying.

I know of someone who is/was a mental health nurse
She has not been in work for about 2 years as she has had children
She jumps on every offer from small business, takes the discount and asks if they can deliver for no extra charge

It totally pissed me off when she posted on FB that she had the vaccine...she must be pretending to be front line NHS

It's unpleasant behaviour. It's nice that people want to donate things to help NHS staff but rude to actively ask for things. Especially something as commonly available as hand cream, they probably have it available on the wards and around the hospital anyway.

YANBU. And yes, I'm sure the OP has more things to annoyed about this, whoever that poster was I realise not every nurse/HCA is doing this, but it's in poor taste, and a little tone-deaf I think.

@Rupertpenrysmistress

Personally as a HCP I have never used my position to take any freebies or offers, I just don't like it. However I think this is a non issue if that is all you have to be worried about you are very lucky.

Why assume it's the only thing the OP has to worry about? I'm sure that like all of us she has lots of stuff to worry about, but this is something she's chosen to highlight here.

OP, I agree with you. Even if I didn't, though, I wouldn't be asking daft questions like 'is this all you have to worry about' because you chose to raise the issue

I agree with the op, it's rather embarrassing to be virtually begging. I'd have thought some sort of hand cream would be provided anyway being as health care staff are forever washing their hands.

It's not great form, but you know what? With what hospital staff are going through at the moment, I really can't bring myself to see this as a biggie.

It's not good. I don't even take morrisons up on their 10% discount offer.

@contrmary

YANBU. In my role I'm not allowed to ask for or accept gifts on the basis I do job x/y/z - I thought that was a pretty standard clause in employment contracts.

Good point. That's in my contract too.

@feistyoneyouare

It's not great form, but you know what? With what hospital staff are going through at the moment, I really can't bring myself to see this as a biggie.

What staff on ICU are going through at the moment you mean? This lady doesn’t work on ICU.

One person on social media or have you seen lots of HCP's doing this? If it's only lone i agree it's grabby but hardly representative of the NHS workforce

On the other side of the coin, have seen local businesses using the NHS for advertising and showing their, 'social conscience,' or whatever.

Friend of mine has a restaurant and cooked and delivered loads of takeaways for the hospital staff, who didn't ask for them, but the food arrived anyway and they posed for photos taking them off the ward for publicity stunt

Awkward.

@PolytheneHam there absolutely should be handcream at every handwashing sink. For us, it's pretty indistinguishable from the soap (non-descript white packaging) but it's there. If it isn't, flag it up with the cross-infection lead for your area.

Agree with the general theme of the posts - absolutely no need or excuse for clinicians to be begging for handcream (or anything else) on social media. Believe me when I say this pisses off most of us in the NHS who wouldn't dream of behaving that way.

I think it’s a disgrace that hospitals aren’t supplying hand cream to staff. I don’t think people realise what constant washing and alcohol gel does to your skin.
As someone has pointed out NHS staff aren’t allowed to accept gifts worth over £5. I think requesting something that is directly relevant to the job they’re doing is fine, if none arrives yes I’m sure they’ll nip into Superdrug after their 12 hour + shift and buy some

I wouldn’t begrudge it at all. I wouldn’t from any key worker who has to wash their hands non stop like a shop worker or public transport. However I don’t think many would ask they just get on with it.
I think it’s sad nhs workers think the good will has stopped (as a pp said)it hasn’t I think this is just taking more of a toll on people this time around especially now a lot of jobs are being lost.
The homeless man in my high street had a sign asking for money masks and hand sanitiser so I gave him the one I had in my pocket (sanitiser) I didn’t think twice.

@Ellapaella

One person on social media or have you seen lots of HCP's doing this? If it's only lone i agree it's grabby but hardly representative of the NHS workforce

Can you point out where I or anyone else has said this is representative even of the NHS workforce?

It’s grabby

I'm a public sector keyworker and soliciting or requesting freebies is a disciplinary matter.

or accepting that should say

@Biscoffaddict your title?? 'Hospital staff' where in fact you are referring to one individual? Or have you seen lots of hospital staff begging on social media for handcream?

NHS-issue handcream is white, unscented, in boring packaging and about as far from a luxury product as it's possible to get. It's the support-stocking of the lingerie world.

I suspect these posts are nothing to do with sore hands and everything to do with getting a little treat. Which is a misuse of their position.

My daughter is a nurse on a Covid ward. And she's appalled at the grabbiness of this sort of thing. She didn't even take up the supermarket's offer of priority queueing. She shopped on her day off so didn't see why her time was more important than anyone else's.

And don't be disingenuous as you know exactly what you are trying to achieve with this thread.
Grabby people are everywhere- as are cheeky fuckers. You've seen one person you know begging for handcream on social media, she would probably behave like this whether she's hospital staff or not. If that's the kind of person she is how is it relevant where she works unless you are implying that NHS staff in general are all behaving like this?