To be fed up of the "I'm a key worker" line now

[Chishelled]

Fair play, I do understand that not every key worker is pulling this out at opportunity and that not all key workers are acting like entitled selfish twits, plus the fact DP and I (although only on day two) are both NHS - him as a doctor and me within mental health.

Our entire local facebook page is full of "I am a key worker, I need to get petrol, people are being so selfish" BUT why do key workers expect to be prioritised for petrol now, particularly when many of the ones posting work in our local hospital which is a 20 minute walk away??

It's just all adding to the scare mongering and hype by trotting out the "I'm a key worker, I need petrol priority...[it's going to run out again], plus plenty of people are having to commute back to work due to the end of furlough and the fact that offices are well and truly reopen - are their jobs seen as lesser?

I propose on the spot fines for anyone who uses the phrase "I am a key worker" to get preferential treatment from this point forwards [unless of course we go back into Lockdown again]

I need fuel to get to work to see patients face to face. I have not pulled the keyworker card out, however, I can see why people do. There are some very unwell people who need us to get to work.

Not all key workers!!!! However, I do feel that most key workers are grossly undervalued and underpaid.

It’s not just about workers though is it. Hundreds of thousands of people are unpaid carers with family members relying on them to get them out of bed. If I don’t have petrol to get my family member she would be left in her own soil all day . Unable to take her medicine or eat. So no it’s not all about the NHS

I agree. My husband is a paramedic and he wouldn't dream of calling himself a keyworker. It's the moniker of people who want to be at the front or applauded. A shame because we should be celebrating all contributions and the term is tainted.

Much like those sunflower lanyards which used to be worn by people who might have a visible or invisible disability. In our family we call them "wankyards" as they are mostly worn by people who just don't give a shit about covid rules and hate masks. And I speak as a wheelchair user.... I wouldnt be seen dead in a wankyard.

My friend's DH works in the power industry. Without him there'd be nothing, no working petrol pumps, no lights, no computers. But he's definitely not classed as a keyworker.

Divide and Conquer - Always been the British way.

I don't think you are being unreasonable because those lines of thinking, do come from people who are "entitled" - My feelings on the matter is that I love my NHS workers and I know just how much time was put in to getting that degree in the first place. 10-11 years for a doctor, 3-6 years on nursing and midwifery and a life-long lesson on empathy, compassion and so on.

I am not an NHS worker in fact I am working towards being an administrator for the NHS and that is tough as well. I will be sure to never take the line "The GP receptionist that thinks she's a doctor" to heart.

I applaud our NHS workers because I will be needing care at one point or another. I need a bed at the hospital. My youngest seems to never be out of the place with the things she does to herself, breaking arms, poking eyes, swallowing coins, putting popcorn kernels in her ears because she wanted to grow a popcorn tree (She's autistic) So no I don't think you are being unreasonable. I appreciate your work a lot more than the "self entitled key workers" - Thank you for your contribution to looking after our health and let us never forget Aneurin Bevan's vision.

I'm a 'key worker', but I don't ever trot that line out for privileges.

However, if I can't get to work, supply cover is non existent around here these days, so if I and my fellow staff members can't get in, working parents will have to keep their children at home, too, until we can.

Nope! We all need to work to pay bills and put food on the table. Fuel should have been rationed

@Explosivefarts

NHS workers are no more important than others looking after vulnerable people. Such as carers .

But they are more important than some other jobs. Sorry but they are. I agree with priority for workers in certain sectors but not just nhs anyone frontline or in a critical working position.

@SoupDragon

To be fair, if we'd had more "key worker" HGV drivers we wouldn't be in this mess 😂

Indeed.

Its a shame that HGV drivers are not treated with more (any) respect.

Problem is there are so many who feel the need to fuel. I am a Carer for my 21 yr old disabled son. His life will be infinitesimally small without my transporting him. However I can’t risk being out and running out of fuel, with him in the car.

Retail, nhs, care … all essential, yes. But then, teachers, child minders, police, fire… what we need is a Govt who AVOIDS CRISIS. This one just reacts when we’re IN crisis 😡

YABU to the extent that say if the ice cream van doesn't come round or a pizza can't be delivered nobody will die.

I do find it hard to believe that people who work 4 the NHS don't get it.

my opinion
The thread itself feels fake..hope I'm wrong

Getting to work in a hospital is not just about needing to eat/pay mortgage it's about being a missing link in a chain..... If just one link is missing things dont/can't happen. In my NHS role if one person is missing from our team the knock on effect is that 6 other people will struggle to do their job and it will be unsafe to continue... There are virtually no others to fill that space so the service is reduced and people are up in arms that the NHS is leaving people suffering
Yes you're going to the cardboard cut out hero's out for the freebies and admiration but the true carers just want to get the job done

@QueenoftheFarts

I agree. My husband is a paramedic and he wouldn't dream of calling himself a keyworker. It's the moniker of people who want to be at the front or applauded. A shame because we should be celebrating all contributions and the term is tainted.

Much like those sunflower lanyards which used to be worn by people who might have a visible or invisible disability. In our family we call them "wankyards" as they are mostly worn by people who just don't give a shit about covid rules and hate masks. And I speak as a wheelchair user.... I wouldnt be seen dead in a wankyard.

Well, don't you sound pleasant. I wear a "wankyward" as I do have invisible disability..

Not read the whole thread, so someone may have mentioned this. On R4 today it was said that the government looked at ways of prioritising 'key workers', but it seems they could represent about a third of the workforce, and the fandango to ensure they are readily identifiable, and (for example) can bypass queues, was considered too problematic to try and resolve what is (in the government's view) very likely to be a temporary situation - which should resolve itself before any key worker scheme could be introduced and enforced.

It's definitely caused a rift in society. I'm a keyworker in both my jobs but have never mentioned it or seen myself as entitled, just a bit bloody jealous of the wfh and furloughed! It is what it is, we're all in this together. X

Makes me laugh when people say there's a bus they can catch to the hospital. In time for all the weird shifts? Where I live depending on my shift and the day some don't even get me in for the start of my shift. DH is an A&E nurse, already working in a short-staffed department with anywhere between 4-8 nurses down. It's already dangerously low but sure just.phone in and say I have no fuel. Or I guess I could just tell him to walk, catch 3 trains and as an extra 6 hrs to his 12 hr day. And additionally leave the sick waiting for even longer. My point is people seem quick to make suggestions but the reality of individual peoples situations is often very different.

BUT why do key workers expect to be prioritised for petrol now, particularly when many of the ones posting work in our local hospital which is a 20 minute walk away??

20 minutes walk away from where? You can't all live in the same place?

'Key worker' just reminds me of all those ugly, crying videos that attention seeking wannabe keyworkers posted on social media during lockdown and that were picked up by the mail online

@Beastieboys

Getting to work in a hospital is not just about needing to eat/pay mortgage it's about being a missing link in a chain..... If just one link is missing things dont/can't happen. In my NHS role if one person is missing from our team the knock on effect is that 6 other people will struggle to do their job and it will be unsafe to continue... There are virtually no others to fill that space so the service is reduced and people are up in arms that the NHS is leaving people suffering Yes you're going to the cardboard cut out hero's out for the freebies and admiration but the true carers just want to get the job done

Doesn’t just apply to NHS workers. If unpaid or paid carers can’t get to family members or clients . They are leaving someone suffering . Especially with unpaid carers if they can’t get the there no one else is there to pick up the slack . They are a one man band. But without all the free pizzas and discounts .

I’m a key worker, work for the NHS but I have to totally agree with you, hearing people in line at the shops etc giving it “I’m a key worker” to queue Jump is just plain embarrassing! The only key workers that should be prioritised is ambulance crew and police and fire that’s it. I’ve never understood panic buying either, we’re not all going to starve and if u can’t get petrol get a bus or train. My work is 2 trains a bus and a 20 min walk away, If I couldn’t get fuel that would be my journey, it’s not the end of the world.

Ok they work in your local hospital but sometimes medical staff have to travel to different hospitals due to short staffing, as NHS workers I'm sure you and your DP have had to do this at times.

Some of these posts are unbelievable. Let's hope no one on this thread needs emergency care or has a doctors appointment etc that can't be missed over the next few weeks. I can guarantee they will be the first to kick off when their op is cancelled, ambulance doesn't arrive, fire brigade is delayed. Emergency services should really have priority, maybe the same way the vaccinations were.

I’m doing a short term contract job.

I’m not a key worker. Not covered by the unions calling for protections.

If i don’t do my job, about 10,000 front line key workers can’t do theirs.

About 90,000 so called key workers can’t do theirs.

Kinda hoped i’d be barred from the pumps just to watch what happens.

My daughter is an A&E nurse at our local hospital and is actually now worried about letting some people know her job or seeing her badge outside of work. She's only been qualified just over a year and has experienced the whole hero to villan first hand. If she says she's a nurse people think she's looking for praise when she's not. She's does her jobs because she cares. The people that took the staff treats and clapped for nhs are now those slagging them off and being awful to her face at work. You genuinely see the very best and the very worst of people in her and your job. I would like to see some of them do a shift!