To disagree with NHS only petrol stations?

[pistachio20]

Some petrol stations around me have now said that they are only allowing in NHS staff to refuel - apparently checking ID.

I find this completely ridiculous and unfair - not only because the majority of NHS staff where I live can easily get public transport to work (most who I know don’t drive to work anyway, and get train/bus anyway due to lack of free parking!).

So many crucial jobs require people to drive, let alone people with caring responsibilities, mobility issues, etc.

AIBU to think that it’s unfair?

@YouTubeAddict

YABU. I was fuming at BP the other day though. They had these signs saying they were supporting the crisis by only allowing £45 per customer and no Gerry cans. They guy next to me filled up with £55 and a Gerry can! When DH told the staff they couldn’t care less. We only put in £45 btw as we were running on fumes.

If I was on minimum wage, had likely been rushed off of my feet all day and no doubt had plenty of abuse I'm not sure I'd pursue it either if someone who themselves had put in £45 of fuel, which is a lot, was dropping about someone having an extra tenner.

Everyone is an essential worker , pretty much. Covid taught us that surely ?

And I’m not bring ironic. The shelf stacker in aldi is needed in work , just like the a&e nurse.

I’m nhs. I have 1/4 tank. Fortunately I have a pushbike

I was hoping this virtue signalling from big companies was over now. Of course NHS workers need fuel to get to work, but so do carers, teachers, police officers, bin men etc etc

How about each petrol station has someone to check as you enter if you have less than 1/4 tank you can fill up if your over off you go. That would stop the false panickers who are just keeping topped up and allow everyone who needs it to get filled. It would stop all the queues instantly

I agree an easy solution.

@MrsLargeEmbodied

plenty of nhs admin staff cannot work from home, do you mind ringing the hospital and getting no answer? no letters? no appointments made.

Think about it before you slam the nhs admin

But doesn’t most (all?) NHS admin staff work regular hours and could therefore take public transport? The same as a supermarket employee could - do you mind not being able to buy food? The same as a teacher could - do you mind not being able to work as you have to look after your DC? The same as a gas engineer could - do you mind not having power available? …

Think about it before you insist NHS admin should have special treatment.

What about the disabled who have no other option but to use their car?

We’ve (nhs) got no staff at the moment anyway so there will be plenty of petrol left.

I’ve not heard of any garages doing this where I live and would be embarrassed to do it because we get so much grief for everything else!

I know people who work for water companies- driving out to rural locations to fix pumps, filters, sluice gates and everything else that is involved in making sure major cities and everyone else have uninterrupted clean water supplies.

But we should prioritise NHS admin staff who actually can work from home? Righto.

www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-news/carer-turned-away-morrisons-petrol-5972211

So if a nurse uses a nursery and the staff can't get there to work what then. Its a totally bonkers idea.

Be prepared for a big black market in petrol syphoned from NHS worker's cars.

@MLMsuperfan

I will be clapping outside my local petrol station today.

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[quote Lucythewonderdog]www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-news/carer-turned-away-morrisons-petrol-5972211[/quote]
It's not unusual for petrol stations to save their reserves for emergency vehicles.

It's going to be the almighty scramble to declare yourself a key worker all over again

@LibrariesGiveUsPower45321

I know people who work for water companies- driving out to rural locations to fix pumps, filters, sluice gates and everything else that is involved in making sure major cities and everyone else have uninterrupted clean water supplies.

But we should prioritise NHS admin staff who actually can work from home? Righto.

Who has said admin staff should be prioritised?

Some people on this site are ridiculous. Probably not even a handful, maybe even just one petrol station has decided to priorities nhs staff and people can't wait to come in and say how much they hate the 'special treatment', how good nhs staff have it, and how everyone else is just as important.

Ridiculous idea!!
DH works for arriva In London. If he can't get into work the buses won't be on the roads so no public transport.
He cannot use public transport to get to garages he needs to and nor would his mechanics be able to get into work to get the buses onto their routes.
Many many other occupations are similarly crucial to the infrastructure of the country, we cannot prioritise all of them!!

I suppose it'll take some pressure off the NHS in the short term if I can't get DH to his upcoming chemo sessions 30 miles away. (Before someone jumps on, public transport would be a rural bus - every 2 hours and sometimes randomly doesn't turn up - followed by a train journey followed by at least one more bus journey, all opportunities for him to pick up covid and have his treatment postponed never mind that we'd be bankrupt after a couple of months).

This is just the media trying to make people hate the NHS so their friends can continue with selling it off and privatise it. And you know when that happens working conditions and pay for NHS staff and poor GPs will be better, but worse for patients, and the NHS want to stay the NHS despite their work conditions being piss poor.

@drpaddington

I agree. NHS staff are essential, of course they are. But as we discovered last year with the 'key worker' list, so are many many others! Surely it's obvious that we can't function as a country with just hospitals/ GP surgeries running and nothing else?

Exactly this. You cannot run an economy with key workers only. How do you generate tax revenue in key-worker only mode? If people in 'non-key' roles can't get to work and companies can't sell their goods due to lack of staff and fuel, we are screwed in the long-term. This is a self-inflicted crisis, brought on by decades of underinvestment, the Brexit vote and the utter incompetence of the Tory government. Prioritising the NHS deflects from the real issues and only serves to switch the sheeple to a 'blitz' mentality.

Oh good another reason for the general public to hate NHS staff. I'd rather queue up with everyone else.

They need to sort something out so there is fuel for ambulances, fire engines and police cars. Bloody ridiculous that they are having to drive round to look for fuel because of all the selfish idiotic morons.

@OhGiveUp

There are a lot of employees of other sectors whose employment is just as important as NHS employees. Off the top of my head I can think of.... Care / support workers Police officers Prison officers Firefighters Funeral services Refuse collectors Teachers / teaching support staff Breakdown services HGV drivers Bus drivers Train drivers

This exactly!

It’s a difficult one. I am biased before I begin....

My sister is a theatre and currently also a Covid Ward Sister and works days and night shifts and is frequently on call, she has (from memory) something like 20 mins to get to the operating theatre from the time her phone rings at home. She can drive it in about 8 mins. Walking isn’t an option nor is public transport. NHS staff that hold crucial roles like that should be given priority. Other roles I don’t feel should.

But...where do you draw the line? So many NHS roles are frontline and crucial.

And of course there are the carers visiting people in their homes who are dependant on them.

I remember in Newcastle in the 1970s in a petrol crisis my parents had to buy locking petrol caps because people were siphoning petrol off your car in the night. Just be careful everyone to make sure that dose not start happening. I have very little fuel left and 2 trips at the weekend to 3 petrol stations failed and the queues today are awful so I am going to stick at home. I can always eat sardines I suppose and luckily I do work from home mostly.

I work for a taxi comany. If we run out of fuel we wont be getting vulnerable children to their schools, some of which are an hours drive away, or the elderly to their hospital appointments.