Fed up with 'because Covid' excuses

[stuckinarutatwork]

A bit of a rant. When will we stop using 'because Covid' as an excuse? Here are a few recent examples:

DC's year 6 leavers' (day) trip to a local (outdoor) attraction July has been cancelled 'because of Covid safety'. I'm sure the place is very compliant with social distancing and other measures etc. The current active cases of Covid in our local authority is THREE (in approx 340 sq. miles / population 87,000) and has never been high. The kids are gutted.

No after-school clubs like netball, football, chess, art etc have run in over a year 'because Covid' but they hope to restart in Jan 2022 (other local schools are running clubs).

I cannot see my GP for a face-to-face consultation about my bad skin 'because Covid'. I appreciate it's not exactly urgent and won't kill me, but I have waited patiently for months and am quite upset about my appearance and would like it treated if possible. Video consultations aren't appropriate as the Dr needs to see the texture of my skin and the video quality isn't up to it. Assuming the Dr has been vaccinated (as have I), the current infection level is tiny and we both wear a mask, is it really that risky? We could even go outside

Neither myself nor my DC have seen a dentist in 18 months for a routine check-up 'because Covid'. I'm not so fussed about myself but pre-Covid, the dentist made a big hoo-ha about how important it was that the DC had fluoride paste applied every 6 months or their teeth are at risk. Dentist will currently only see private patients, not us NHS plebs.

Yep, it’s annoying

I’m gutted for the kids who are missing out on milestone school/college moments

Companies with poor customer service or long call wait times. We've had over a fucking year of this, you can't blame COVID now. It's just shit management at this point.

Neither myself nor my DC have seen a dentist in 18 months for a routine check-up 'because Covid'. I'm not so fussed about myself but pre-Covid, the dentist made a big hoo-ha about how important it was that the DC had fluoride paste applied every 6 months or their teeth are at risk. Dentist will currently only see private patients, not us NHS plebs.

I'm due to see my dentist early June, wonder if they mention the state of my teeth and the importance of brushing, when they've not been open for well over a year.

It's very dull.
I run a Brownies group and we've been meeting face-2-face, doing or usual activities (albeit distanced).

I'd just organise a year 6 do with the other parents, that's what we're doing with ours.

Yanbu op, it's shite! Would it be worth registering at a different dentist? We are nhs and have been able to have check ups.

@firstimemamma

Yanbu op, it's shite! Would it be worth registering at a different dentist? We are nhs and have been able to have check ups.

NHS dentists in our region are rarer than hens' teeth. Most have a waiting list that is so long, they're not adding any new patients (even to the waiting list). We were very lucky to get places. A few private practices will take children for NHS places but only if at least one parent is a private patient and we just can't afford the monthly dental plan fees (my teeth are in good nick - I've reached my mid 40s with only one tiny filling so currently only pay for a checkup once a year - so about £20 a year vs £20 / month for the private route).

@MrTumblesSpottyHag

Companies with poor customer service or long call wait times. We've had over a fucking year of this, you can't blame COVID now. It's just shit management at this point.

Here here! On hold for 40 mins today to the bank 'because Covid'. Why? People can work at the office now and surely most companies have fine-tuned their remote phone systems etc for staff still working at home I can only assume they've furloughed their staff and are cashing in

Sick of it all.

Here here! On hold for 40 mins today to the bank 'because Covid'. Why? People can work at the office now and surely most companies have fine-tuned their remote phone systems etc for staff still working at home confused
I can only assume they've furloughed their staff and are cashing in

On MN, no one needs to ever go back to the office because they are all 100% more productive WFH and it's only evil employers who want staff back in office.

Yep I'm fed up.

Ds1 nursery graduation will take place on a huge field but parents aren't allowed to watch from the side.
He won't get to see the inside of the school he's starting until he goes full time from his first day in august. Usually there's 3 or 4 visits.
The HV didn't do a pre-school check with him that's supposed to happen.

Ds2 is almost 6 months and I can't get him weighed anywhere despite him being breastfed and suffering from reflux. He didn't get his 4 month HV check.
He had diarrhea at 3 months old for over a week and was showing signs of dehydration. The GP wouldn't see him.

Sick to death of it.

Omg my poor elderly parent has been trying to renew their driving licence for bloody months. If they call the DVLA (and they have over 60 times) you cannot get through on the phone, emails are unanswered and they try to refer you online where there is a Bot unable to answer anything and then refers you to an advisor who is never a viable. How, after 13 months, have they still not got their call centres up and running so people can work remotely? My parents have been patient but it’s causing them huge stress, only one can drive now and it’s their licence renewal they’re waiting on. Grrrrr.

YANBU it's a bit ridiculous now. Many have been vaccinated (the most vulnerable and then some), deaths are, thankfully, very low, hospitalisations down, cases seem relatively steady (think the rate is 21.2 per 100000 so tiny really).

Things are opening and rightly so imo.

Services and businesses cannot keep trotting out covid as an excuse for everything-people are rightly fed up of it now.

On a more cheery note, we went out for dinner this evening, in a pub, inside!! It was absolutely lovely to do something so normal! Long may it continue.

I agree. It’s a pisstake now

YANBU but the people on the ground aren’t always the people making the decisions about what can or can’t be done because of Covid. I work with families with SEND and I’ve no doubt that they are rolling their eyes at me and getting frustrated that I can’t visit. But it’s not my fault. I’d give anything to get back to my real job. I hate that I’m letting my families down week in, week out and I get their frustrations totally. But I’ve whinged and moaned and kicked up a fuss but I’m a tiny fish in a massive pond and I can’t make the blindest bit of difference!

@osbertthesyrianhamster

Here here! On hold for 40 mins today to the bank 'because Covid'. Why? People can work at the office now and surely most companies have fine-tuned their remote phone systems etc for staff still working at home confused I can only assume they've furloughed their staff and are cashing in

On MN, no one needs to ever go back to the office because they are all 100% more productive WFH and it's only evil employers who want staff back in office.

It's because of furlough, not because of WFH.

The government should have made it very clear that you could only claim furlough if your sector was closed, not just because you felt like getting the tax-paper to pay your wage bill.

But generally, yes it's very annoying. Toilets being closed being the main one that irritates me. Or when they close off every other cubicle.

@stuckinarutatwork argh sorry to hear they are so hard to come by where you are!

I'm getting married in ten days and every chair has to be spaced out 'due to Covid' so even husbands and wives on our guest list and family members who live under the same roof all have to sit apart. Ffs what will that achieve?! Sick of all the rules now like you and many other posters on this thread!

osbertthesyrianhamster
Yes very true, only on mn

@osbertthesyrianhamster It makes no odds to me whether they are working from their office or their front room so long as they are working and can answer my bloomin' calls!

@shouldistop Yes that's another one. DC (11) will not be having an induction day at secondary 'because Covid'. There were no open days back in the autumn either, so these kids have never stepped foot inside their new school and won't do so until their first day in September

As Pp said . Furlough should have been restricted to completely closed sectors such as arts, theatres etc . Not for businesses that are operational but choosing to keep their wage bill low and providing fucking shit service or not employing more people as they can just blame Covid for lengthy delays.

Totally agree.

I help out with a charity and they were going to make it so that some of our fundraising initiatives could only be paid for by bank transfer. Initially this made sense as we could only go into school to process the cash due to GDPR and schools being super wet organisations (I work for one, they are, sorry!) didn't want anyone else there (because someone coming in socially distanced in a mask to process some cash far away from any students or staff would clearly kill thousands

Anyway this is no longer the case but they wanted to keep it online only not cash and one of the helpers was saying something about keeping everyone "safe" as the excuse when really they can't be arsed to bank the cash.

It takes the piss out of supermarket worker parents who have been handling cash all this time. The college I work out handles cash for locker keys and tokens for bursary students so it's bullshit. Wash your hands after. Like you hopefully did before Covid ffs.

Anyway I'm a trustee and I spoke up and said, no, it's time for us to start taking cash again or risk losing out. It's potentially the difference between someone choosing to support us or not.

Oh yeah. At Tesco today. Not Tesco's fault but the cash machines outside. 3 of them, only the one in the middle working "because Covid/social distancing".

Well you should social distance people putting pins and taking cash out anyway. I've never had anyone breathing all over me while I get cash out.

And it's better that someone comes up next ish to me and gets cash out than stands behind me due to where air droplets propel surely. If you want to get all pissy about an outdoor well spaced cash machine.

Pathetic.

I don't know about the dentist situation locally because i haven't tried it recently, but our GP surgery is seeing patients face to face if necessary.

DDs ballet classes are up and running plus swimming.

We rang the bank today to discuss a big financial plan and had a knowlegeable human to speak to straight away and a telephone appointment for the next stage. Was impressed actually.

School's running normally However - sick of queuing right round the bloody block in a loooooong line that the rest of the village has to squeeze past, to be allowed in one at a time to pick up DC instead of being able to just walk though the playground at 3.15. I mean ... ?

and having only one parent allowed to go in with DC to watch swimming lesson. It's a massive olympic pool with a tiny lesson going on with seating for about 100 people and there's 5 of us; sitting with masks on spread out like plague victims. Pre covid when watchers weren't restricted, numbers would rise to the dizzying heights of ooooooh ... about 9 Cant have that can we.

Spare a thought for cv and deaf people... ah just ask people to remove their mask so you can lip eat read..... really?? Put themselves at extra risk just to communicate? Lip readers should be in priority groups

@Dementedswan hopefully fucking masks wont be compulsory for too much longer

I'll be cheerfully ditching mine asap.