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?

YANBU. I’m sick to bloody death of the virtue hierarchy of jobs in this country. If your job keeps a roof over your head it’s essential, whether you’re an ICU nurse or an Instagram influencer.

They need the same PR as the NHS to get the worshipping public going.

How do people think the bus and train drivers get to work for early shifts? Get public transport except that your driver couldn't get to work for a 4:30am start because they had no petrol.

Are they checking ID before or after you fill up though? I presume it’s after when you pay at the till, in which case what are they going to do? Not let you pay for it? Make you suck it out the tank and spit it back? Call the petrol police and tell them they’ve sold petrol to the wrong person?!

If they put out a full list it would be endless. Knee jerk reaction is NHS and emergency services first. I expect it will be refined depending on how the situation progresses.

I've got less than 1/4 tank and would usually have refilled by now, but still resisting going hoping it gets sorted soon, but all these threads do is make me twitch!

If it doesn’t calm down I’m sure they’ll do what they did when the fuel strikes were on. Husband was a police officer and could get petrol by showing his warrant card. It does play into the fetishising of the nhs.

@AliceAbsolum

Jesus everyone is so obsessed with the nhs. I work for it and don't want special bloody treatment. Emergency service vehicles yes that's just sensible. An OT on his way to work as usual. No.

Agreed! There are many key workers who need transport who are not NHS. Not saying NHS workers don't need it, just they're not the only ones.

They should try Dentons for advice, stealthy meetings, no public consultation, great PR, you can get so many "useful idiots" as they call the public worshipping and doing all kinds of bizarre things like this Petrol station worship of the NHS.

All essential front line workers need to be priorities for fuel needed for them to be able to get to work / do their work.

We should be able to self police this and act responsibly if told not to fill up our tanks irresponsibly.

But people are selfish and stupid.

YANBU.
As usual everyone is obsessed with the NHS and their virtue signalling.

Plenty of people need fuel to go about their working or private lives for many reasons.
I'm a self employed therapist, completed shafted throughout. Now patients can't get to me, I can't get to them, I've got enough to get me back and forth from uni - but as usual, no work = no pay. Plenty more people like me.

If people didn't panic and didn't behave like selfish morons, then everyone could get fuel and go about their day.

Borrowed this from another thread

Preference falsification happens because we don't speak up:

Preference falsification, according to the economist Timur Kuran, is the act of misrepresenting one’s wants under perceived social pressures. It happens frequently in everyday life, such as when we tell the host of a dinner party that we are enjoying the food when we actually find it bland.

I am so done with being ordered to worship what I do not want to, told I can't say certain words and made to be an environment salve when I watch celebs and The Royal family lecturing me from their gas guzzling lifestyle.

I queued for 50mins in uniform on way to work yesterday l, just left early
Not asking for any special treatment. If the fuel stations decide to offer it that’s up to them

We had a shortage of ambulances in my town this weekend as they couldn't fill up. One ended up broken down at the bus stop in front of my house overnight. I spoke to the paramedics to see if they were ok and they explained they'd been trying to get to the petrol station 600 yards away after being turned away from 5 different pumps. The station down the round had also run out.

Meanwhile a farmer turned up in his work vehicle at the petrol station NEXT to the ambulance station and was allowed to fill up 100 jerry cans. He argued that he was allowed to "unless we wanted the food supply to be affected". On the way back after paying he boasted to the people on the forecourt that he was selling it on ebay that night and was expecting a profit of £15,000 .

I do think emergency vehicles should be prioritised.

It would be good if there was a way to identify which workers did genuinely need petrol to get to work and who could travel another way. I'm wfh this week anyway so I haven't topped up. I've cancelled any plans that would be involve a long journey. I plan to shop locally. If I needed to get somewhere I'd get a bus.

We have local non NHS community carers who can't get to their clients. Laundry services for care homes and hotels are struggling to do pick ups and deliveries. Lots of teachers live up to an hour away from their place of work and train services might not get them in on time so they are either going to run out at some point and not make it into work or they might have to find somewhere to stay locally. I teach at a university an hour away and may have to make plans to stay in accomodation that will mean I essentially won't earn anything until the panic buying is over. If I had children or caring responsibilities this wouldn't be possible.

So it's not just NHS I agree. But how do we identify who needs petrol and who doesn't.

Look at the positives OP- staffing crisis in the NHS - this might incentivise more people to join the holy grail which is the NHS so I fully expect government to be on board with this. We are constantly brainwashed re NHS anyway. Let’s hope the stations in question will accept carer badges too

I haven’t seen this anywhere, what companies are doing this?

I rejoined the NHS earlier this year after several years doing other things. I don't even have a badge! Or any proof that I'm NHS. I'd say the majority of my team are in the same position. But anyway, prioritising one group of workers over another is divisive.

Everyone has a need for fuel and so should be able to access it. We should be pointing the collective finger at the people responsible for this shit Boris et al rather than fighting amongst ourselves - which suits them perfectly.

Meanwhile a farmer turned up in his work vehicle at the petrol station NEXT to the ambulance station and was allowed to fill up 100 jerry cans. He argued that he was allowed to "unless we wanted the food supply to be affected". On the way back after paying he boasted to the people on the forecourt that he was selling it on ebay that night and was expecting a profit of £15,000 angry.

Selling fuel on Ebay is against their terms- find the listing and report him.

I'd far rather carers, hospice nurses etc were prioritised over back office NHS workers who WFH, or like one person I know, who lives only 1.5 miles from the hospital they work in (9-5 admin role) so could easily walk in rather than drive! (said person spent all weekend looking for fuel for their 3 mile a day commute because they are a 'keyworker')

@Itsnotover

YABU

I think it's fair. If other people could take what they need instead of filling up endless Jerry cans, thus wouldn't need to happen. But people are vultures & always will be.

And none of these people doing that work for the NHS I suppose?

OP YANBU! The panic buying around me is crazy! My car had 20 miles in it the other day and I went to put £20 in but the queue was way back on to a main road.

I don't think it's fair at all, there are many people who need to drive to work and if they can't fuel up they lose their jobs etc. There are other jobs that are crucial rather than just 'nhs' - majority of which use it are admin staff etc and don't have any greater need than other job roles.

I have many friends/family that work in the NHS that agree it isn't a fair system

Maybe some are working from home but doesn’t change the fact that’s those working in hospitals are not. Do you need them to prove that that is what they do. How do you suppose they do that. Our id badges don’t specify whether we are clinical or not. I drive to work. I do not work from home. Therefore I need petrol. I am sure you will be the first to complain when there is no one to see you in A&E. But agree care worker should also be govern priority. I would like to think if they showed their badge to a petrol station. They might show some discretion.

Daft that the staff working at the petrol station would not be allowed to buy any fuel themselves.

It should be all emergency services.

I guess it's their business and they can sell who they chose to. As much as I appreciate the hard work people in the NHS do, I'd say it's better to limit it to anyone who was a keyworker last year - there are many other supplies and services we rely on.

I have carers coming into me twice a day. This morning it was a different one to who I expected. Apparently they had to rejig the rota at the last minute as at least one of the others had no petrol.

Where??? Me and the community nurses are desperate right now