To think NHS workers aren’t ‘hero’s’ for working Christmas Day?!

[Reindeerlighthouse]

Just that. I have quite a few Nurses on my friend’s lists on social media and a few of them have posted today about how they’ve been working. Que loads of ‘omg, you’re an absolute angel’ ‘omg, you’re a true hero lovely’ type comments on all of their posts.

Am I being dim? They’ve been rostered on, they’re just doing their jobs on a day they’ve been rota’d onto, why are they ‘hero’s’ for that? It’s literally their job. I’m not saying their job doesn’t deserve credit because it absolutely does, but I’m sure if they’d have refused to work Christmas Day they’d have been facing disciplinary action?

My husband has worked the last 5 Christmas days (not medical related) no one has ever said he’s a hero for working it.

AIBU to think ti really doesn’t make them a hero? Just people doing their jobs on a day they’ve been told to do it?

Do I get to be a Life Science Angel even if I don’t work Christmas?

@KylieJennersMakeUpSponge you took the words right out of my mouth there re: posters attitude to her "rich boy" students.

I'm gobsmacked.

HNRTFT but am wondering if you have been working today?

I've been in the NHS since 1986 as nurse and since 93 as a midwife. I am off on annual leave this week the first time since my son was 3 he will be 24 next year.

I am no hero I literally go in do my job to the best of my ability under sometimes quite appalling and unsafe conditions. Workers in the NHS are under no illusions it's a 24/7 365 days a year service so somebody has to work.

We now work 12.5 hr shifts, no different at Xmas. We celebrate Xmas with who are essentially strangers, but we don't mind as that's the job we then get to go home to our families and spend a few hours with them.

We try to make anyone's Xmas in hospital as pleasant as possible with open visiting, music and a nice relaxing atmosphere. Anyone working Xmas day Boxing day are NHS and emergency workers which covers a huge amount of people also some shop staff are in then too.

As said previously I'm not a hero for doing my job as I chose this career and I'm so very proud to work for the NHS. On Xmas day my job is the same as it is on June 25th. I don't need anyone to hero worship me for doing it. Wishing you all a Merry Xmas.

Well yes it is too much for people to bear.

I felt like I’d fallen through the looking glass pretty much all through the pandemic but the NHS adoration was especially bizarre and irritating. You could not utter the tiniest of words about anyone in the NHS unless it was Excessive hero worshipping. My friend, who was in litigation with them at the over the fact she suffered irreparable damage during a c/section and they tried to cover it up, was very angry about it. When I followed Lucy Letby’s trial (yes I will mention her again she isn’t a dirty word) I did wonder how it made the parents of those poor babies feel knowing their killer was on remand and being part of the group that was seen as heroic.

If we want a better NHS we need to accept it for its faults and stop acting like it’s all a big fairy story

Why aren’t they? PPE made an exponential difference to the safety of HCPs

Deeply caring & incredibly-life threateningly-responsible & stressful role for shit pay under shit conditions through shit hours including nights & Christmas Day & excessive overtime due to understaffing all because in the main part they have a calling-a heartfelt passion- to care for, run around for, reassure, comfort & clean, empathise with and look after the extremely sick & needy, hold the dying, prepare the dead for their loved ones, bear the physical & emotional weight of all of this…..I’d say most are real life heroes.
Yeh they know what terrible pay & shift conditions they’re getting themselves into but most do it out of pure care & compassion & will sacrifice a lot to do this role & follow their calling to help people in what is often their darkest hour.
I’m embarrassed for you OP.

That poster may want to look at the stats around how many doctors came from private school.

“Am I being dim?” you ask. Given your apostrophisation of ‘heroes’ and your bizarre spelling of the word ‘cue’, I’m sure we could all hazard a guess.

I just don’t think you get where I’m coming from.

I couldn’t be a nurse. I think it’s a hard job and it must be awful to have to deal with people’s medical trauma/loss especially at Christmas.

On those grounds, I took issue with OP’s mean-spirited post.

I send my kids to private school. I know they are privileged. I live in a bit of a privileged private-school bubble if I’m honest. So I see how things work. I see how the kids I teach get a leg-up in many ways. I see that most of them won’t be nurses. It’s not because they’re cleverer or better. Just privileged. They’ll probably never be mopping up sick on an under-staffed ward on Christmas Day.

But I’m capable of seeing that those who do are worthy humans who might just want a bit more appreciation than your average office worker.

What’s your real problem with this?

THIS

Loads of my family work in the NHS its very much a job that gets left at the door

Jesus this thread is a rollercoaster. From heroes and angels to Letby and Shipman being brought up.

I’ve explained my problem with this numerous times so I don’t need to repeat myself.

I feel like you’re projecting for irritation about private school pupils (but not YOUR kids right they aren’t the ‘leg up rich boys’?) onto the NHS. It’s a weird and tenuous link. So what if private school pupils don’t tend to be nurses? What’s that got to do with anything? Many are doctors however.

Oh - didn’t you realise that most kids who go to private school are rich?

They can’t help being privileged. But it does breed complacency and, in many, an unwarranted sense of superiority.

Are you new to planet Earth?

I understand what you are trying to say. I think the word hero is too widely used. It is also not applied enough for other public service roles where we are served well throughout Christmas.

Yes.

It really isn't for a lot of us.

Lucy Letby. Really? She's a serial killer. I think it's safe to say the vast majority of NHS staff are not, so that's a pretty flat reason. The claps were most definitely aimed at the non-serial killers in the NHS.

And like your friend, lots of people see it fit to sue the NHS, rightly or wrongly. Litigation and complaints are on the rise, despite already being very common. I don't think anyone is living in a fairytale other than the people who seem to think NHS staff are worshipped.

I worked every single Christmas Day when I worked in a restaurant. I also worked in a Nursing home last Christmas Day. What colour cape do I get?

I think that poster was getting at a private school teacher sneering about the financial situation of children.

Is that OK? I don’t think it is. Is it any better than sneering about kids being poor? I’d worry about a teacher who held such attitudes about children

Well I dunno about nurses being heroes. I reckon my OH is the hero at the moment. I've just finished a 14hr shift as a community nurse and it's a first that he's just insisted that I just sit right down on the sofa as soon as I got in, poured my a glass of wine, presented me with a reheated dinner and is giving me a much needed foot rub in his lap. Normally he's complaining that my tights and feet smell and I should be out of my dress straightaway. So yeah, he's deffo the hero now. Merry Christmas!! 🎄

So rather than thinking they should be appreciated more the rest of the year..you choose to focus on changing the fact they are actually appreciated for working one day out of 365? It can be a thankless job and you're begrudging them the little thanks they get? And spending your Christmas day doing so? You sound so lovely @Reindeerlighthouse

Well my children do not have a massively privileged upbringing but they all have achieved their goals!

Yeah, I’m not talking about doctors.

Not irritated about private school pupils on the whole - they’re fairly easy to teach and fairly pleasant. It’s factually true that they get a leg-up. Jeez, have you not read the private school threads?! I want that leg-up for my kids; I make no secret of it.

But I’m not going to pretend that society is fair in the way you are - that somehow the people doing the shitty work deserve it.

Nurses are treated badly, on the whole. I’m not going to join in a thread going ‘well, they chose it.’

It is all part of this national psyche that the National Health Service is full of heroes providing a world class service. It isn't and the service now is dreadful and akin to the third world...and for once...it isn't all about money.

Secondly it is full of international staff that have been recruited by NHS recruitment agencies to come and work here (which I don't have a problem with) except that we are taking them from often very poor countries that desperately need them there! Christmas is of no relevance to them so they are really happy to work and get the 60% enhancement to their salary for working the bank holidays.

I for one am finally relived to hear a LABOUR shadow Secretary of State for Health speak the truth....that the state the NHS is in isn't all about money, and that it needs fundamental reform. Hopefully losing the NHS as a religion and accepting it is now more akin to a third world health system may help us all accept tough choices to get us to a state where we are at least somewhere nearer our European and Australian provision.