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?

What about community carers?
HGV drivers delivering food etc?
Private dentists?
Private chemists?
Private drs?
Teachers?
Nursery assistants?
The police?
The military?
Etc etc

Where do you draw the line? It's ridiculous. The NHS is a shit show yet anyone who works in it must be considered a canonised Saint.

Priority should not be given to NHS staff. There are so many key workers that don’t get any recognition. A lot of NHS staff did very little during Covid, while some did the most ridiculous hours in terrible circumstances.
I have a few acquaintances who openly admitted they were bored during the pandemic, but still chose to wave the badge to skip the queue when they felt so inclined, I am talking about people working three day weeks.
I am sick of the glorification of NHS staff, when there millions of other workers who are just as vital to the economy.

There are lots of other important jobs out there, yes. However how do they decide who within the NHS is important enough and who isn't? I certainly don't think my job (community mental health nurse) is more important than anyone else's. However on Friday, I had to attend an emergency call to one of my regular clients who had developed delirium, wouldn't eat, was being violent to his 81 year old frail wife, putting himself in immense danger by trying to leave the house etc. I had to drop all my cases that afternoon and attend his home and arrange hospital admission. It really was an emergency situation. Luckily I had enough petrol to get me there. Again this morning, one of my patients mental states had severely deteriorated over the weekend due to non compliance with medication and combined substance misuse and again, I had to drop all my mornings clients and attend, having just left half an hour ago. We did manage to get him to agree to voluntary hospital admission.

I do think that there are important roles whereby yes, they aren't emergency workers like paramedics dealing with a 999 call, however it is important that they are able to travel to deal with certain emergency situations. And that is where the NHS workers only comes in handy. I'm not sure how much further petrol station workers can delve into your job role before deciding whether your role is 'worthy' enough to be sold petrol. I also recognise that carers etc will need to get to their work just as much as I do however do they interview and demand ID from every customer?

So vital nhs staff like doctors, surgeons, receptionists, porters and nurses are working at home during a pandemic?

Ive been in hospital working during the pandemic...no bored staff.

Of course it’s unfair I’m a unpaid carer as are thousands of others . If I don’t have petrol an elderly lady will be unclothed, unfed not have her medication for the day.

In a scale of essentialness, anything involving saving lives pretty much trumps anything else.

@Staryflight445

Community nurses, midwifes, mental health teams all need to be able to drive around op.

OP is saying it’s unfair to prioritise all NHS staff, not that no one who works for the NHS needs fuel. Read the OP properly.

A silly idea, a lot of NHS staff have non clinical roles and can actually work from home. Just because you are NHS doesn't mean you work in ICU nursing sick people, this seems to be the preconception people now have. Most hospitals have very good transport links so even if they were front line NHS staff working at a hospital chances are they could still get to work. Granted those who work in the community need to be mobile, but I'm not sure how you can then police who gets priority?

Those who work for private companies, nursing homes etc in the middle of nowhere. They aren't NHS staff and potentially won't have the same public transport options, yet their job is of equal importance to an NHS front line worker, but no priority for them?

How can you decide who gets priority? Not all essential caring roles are NHS and not all NHS staff are in patient facing roles.

I will add emergency vehicles should obviously be given priority no questions asked.

They should have started by banning anyone from using Jerry cans, or even rationing the amount, from Friday. That would have helped!

But in answer to your OP I’ve no problem with it being nhs only. It’ll be sorted in a few days.

@iusedtoloveopalfruits1 um & what if the bus driver can't get petrol for his car to get him to work at silly oclock ie before the buses start?

There is definitely a need for the NHS to provide proper frontline staff with some kind of pass to differentiate them from less essential office based roles that could be WFH.
That would reduce some of the resentment and shut up those who like to think NHS staff aren't saving lives every day - many in the NHS do go to work and save lives everyday. These people need access to fuel before anyone else, annoying as that may be.
This would also sort out the problems with NHS office staff rushing to get the vaccines and boosters before the clinical staff have a chance.

@malificent7

So vital nhs staff like doctors, surgeons, receptionists, porters and nurses are working at home during a pandemic?

Of course they aren't, but neither are bus and train drivers, the police, firefighters, non-NHS care workers, pharmacists, bin men, cab drivers, people who maintain the power and communications grids, delivery drivers, etc, etc. During the pandemic a list of key workers was drawn up and it was universally accepted that the country couldn't function without those people being able to get to work. Why are people who work for the NHS suddenly the only key workers that matter?

Personally I’d quite like teachers to have it (I’m not one but have my kids in school) but that’s a bit self interested!

@Malin52 I hadn't forgotten them, the list was just a quick one.
Oh and petrol service attendants. Without them no one would be getting fuel.

I think there should be a quick, easy route giving access to fuel for anyone who is an essential driver. Obviously they would have to show something to prove they needed to drive but where there's a will, that could be achieved quickly.

Today my son is going somewhere a long way away and I hope he is OK. He got some diesel the night before last but not filled up. He would not be considered an essential car driver though he has to transport a lot of equipment in order to do his job. I have to say he is philosophical about it, 'what will be will be' and all that.

It is very inconvenient for so many at the moment. Not everyone can 'bus and train to where they have to be. Undoubtedly there will be some who rediscover public transport and enjoy it :-). However it's a real pain for so many.

All I hope is that this crisis is short lived.

My mate works in pharmaceutical production and if she isn't onsite to sign off on batches then medicine isn't released. As typical with these sorts of factories, it's in the middle of nowhere so public transport is out. I'd consider her vital.
I'll be working from home as much as I can going forward

NHS workers get special deals on electric cars if they drive to work!

@Becca19962014

It should be the same rules as in July 2020. All essential workers, requiring access to car, were allowed fuel.

Proof of eligibility needed. It worked fine.

I don't think there was such a restriction last year?

I don't think any of us who work in NHS are asking for special treatment or asking to be applauded. To be honest, if I run out of petrol before the end of the week and don't make it out to see my very sick patients I will be devastated for them but having not had a single sick day through this pandemic, working under very understaffed conditions with heavier and sicker workloads due to patients not wanting to go into hospital / care homes/ hospice , I am ready for a break. So if you think I am no more worthy of petrol than others , I'm fine with that. I'll call my work, then my patients, explain the situation and put my feet up. It will be hard, of course, telling the wife/husband/son/daughter that their loved one will have to just die in pain, no I can't visit to prescribe medication that would help, no you'll just have to watch them cry with pain and have those memories for the rest of your life.......

@OuiOuiBonjour

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

While that's great to know and I am genuinely happy Ebay doesn't allow it, he'll just sell it on Facebook or some other medium. It's not going to stop him selling and people will be desperate enough to buy it. His name and address was on his truck and people were talking about reporting him to the firebrigade as a hazard.

They are even selling jerry cans of it on our local food delivery apps.

Oh yes to report- there are strict laws about storage of petrol www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/petrol-storage-club-association.htm

This country's worship of the NHS is just weird.

^This.
Which isn’t to say that there aren't wonderful people in the NHS working in roles which are crucially important to the lives, health and well-being of others, but there are people like that in many, many non-NHS jobs, too, including people who are carers for members of their own family.

This won't go well. The NHS are saints didn't you know?

YANBU- it’s not just the NHS who do essential jobs. What about social care, electricians, plumbers, highway workers etc etc? Sick of the NHS getting priority for everything.