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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that a night out should not be plastered all over the papers containing lies and crap?

46 replies

deanychip · 14/12/2008 16:27

I work for the NHS.
About a month ago i attended a ball entitled the "celebration ball".

We each payed £20 a head and the rest of the night was sponsered by aprox 8 medical companies.

This ball was a celebration of the achievements of SHOP FLOOR NURSES.
No managers, no Doctors just ordinary nurses who go above and beyond ehat they chould for thier area of work, to make life better for the staff and most importantly for the patients.
Most of them have worked within the hospital for 15 years or more, they are well respected and liked individuals. A very long time coming and very well deserved.
Not one penny came from the NHS purse.

And yet, all over the local papers for 2 weeks now, front page, letters from disgusted people at the waste of NHS resources because this paper has not mentioned that we payed for it ourselves and were sponsored by companies.

I am so upset and feel SO guilty and have nothing to feel guilty for.
This last year alone, i have made savings of 12k for my dept alone, i work hard and long hours.
I have had the weekend off and yet have gone into my work yesterday and today for a totaL OF 5 hours which i will not get back and wont get paid for.
What shits they are in the newspaper trade.

So, is this unreasonable or not?

OP posts:
Libraloveschristmas1975 · 14/12/2008 16:28

Write to the paper yourself.

moondog · 14/12/2008 16:29

Have you written to clarify?

DoubleBluff · 14/12/2008 16:29

get in touch with the local rag and ask them to put your side of events forward.
I am sure that the majority of readers wont be that bothered by it.

needmorecoffee · 14/12/2008 16:29

splashed over what papers? Obviously shitty ones.

thegreatescape · 14/12/2008 16:30

Hi deany, I'm also a nurse so knew there were no 'jollies' on the nhs. We have to pay for our xmas night out ourselves so good for you for getting some sponsorship! Sadly, some journalists are too lazy and ignorant to bother researching their stories - at least you are doing your job properly.

pinkteddy · 14/12/2008 16:31

You must write to the paper. Or do what doublebluff suggests. Don't just accept it.

BBBee · 14/12/2008 16:32

that sounds really mean.

my best friend is a nurse and I think that anything that keeps him in his job is worth supporting.

how crap for you.

moondog · 14/12/2008 16:32

I work for NHS too.
Have never had a freebie in my 13 years of work (and rightly so).

Miggsie · 14/12/2008 16:32

I worked in News for a long time and they never let facts get in the way of a story that will get the paper/programme noticed.

Don't feel guilty, do write to the paper, and their rival paper too.

nkf · 14/12/2008 16:33

The horrible truth is they probably knew that you'd paid for it but decided to run it anyway. You know the truth. Sorry it happened.

Original poster
deanychip · 14/12/2008 16:35

Their tactics have included putting some guy on crutches and his wife on the front page saying what the cost of the ball could have paid for in his treatment!

Lousy shits.
(newspaper people, not poor man on crutches)

OP posts:
HollyCherry · 14/12/2008 16:35

Not everyone who works in newspapers is a shit - but as a journalist I'm horrified that they haven't checked their story. Did you local NHS trust not take it up with them when the story was first published? If not they certainly should do, and a few letters from yourself and the other staff putting them straight about your well deserved bash wouldn't go amiss either.

Was it local companies that sponsored the event? If so I would think it would also be in their interests to get their involvment out in the public domain too.

Hope you manage to put them straight. Probably some young journo with something to prove getting carried away with themself, although personally I'd like to think they'd have more sense but apparently not.

Original poster
deanychip · 14/12/2008 16:38

It was national companies thet sponsored the ball, big companies.

the Trust "declined to comment"other than appologising for upset caused!

Why on earth do they not fight our corner?!

OP posts:
DoubleBluff · 14/12/2008 16:39

a crap story through andthrough.
Can imagine the sad pathetic photo of man on cruthches, boo hhooo. Is ha mate of the journno?
Sounds like a story frm 'drop the dead donkey'
Bad journalism

Original poster
deanychip · 14/12/2008 16:42

It truly pissess me off.

I get sick to the back teeth of getting slated every where i turn for doing a job that i love and that i am good at.
It gets me down.

OP posts:
cheshirekitty · 14/12/2008 16:44

Am not surprised at all. Just think of all the Daily Mail stories about crap nurses in the NHS. Everyone knows we just sit on our bums all day, drinking coffee and neglecting patients.

Maybe if journalists belonged to a professional organistation, they would have to print the truth. But they do not.

Write a letter detailing everything you have said and send it to the editor. Demand a front page apology. Also petition all the nurses at your hospital to boycott this rag.

As a nurse myself I know we never get anything for free. We have to pay car parking to enable us to go to work. We even have to pay £10 for our name badges, and we will be disciplined if we have not got a name badge so you have to buy one.

I hate journalists (sorry to the one decent journalist that is living).

luminarphrases · 14/12/2008 16:44

was this a manchester- based paper deanychip? seem to remember this story last week where they'd said that the nhs had spent £30,000 or something on a xmas party and thinking that it couldn't be the whole story because if true surely the nhs would have realised someone would have made a fuss?

flouncerpoppedbackforadvice · 14/12/2008 16:49

I think for some strange reason we live in a society that loves to knock public sector workers and it is only going to get worse as people feel the pinch more and more.

My sister is a nurse and I am in constant awe of how hard she works and how dedicated she is.

Please write to the paper

Original poster
deanychip · 14/12/2008 16:50

Was in the north west yes.
Grrr, so its got as far as Manchester as well!
Jeez, what a load of crap.

Thing is, i never go on any nights out with work, asi always end up working and cant afford it.
My boss bought me the £20 ticket to say thanks for everything ive done this year so i had to go. It was a lovely night.
I bought a dress from Tesco on sale for £7.50 and felt lovely in it as i dont own "posh" frocks!

OP posts:
HollyCherry · 14/12/2008 16:51

Reading other posts I've obviously been lucky with my training and the papers I've been associated with (although I'm going back a while as I moved into magazines precisely because I didn't want to be involved in this sort of thing).

Am absolutely the Trust didn't stick up for you (although having also worked for my local health authority - sadly unsurprised). Were they pharmaceutical or medically related companies that sponsored it? Am just wondering if the trust feel that by defending their/your corner they could drop themselves even deeper in the shit - conflict of interest etc.

Still no excuse though...

luminarphrases · 14/12/2008 16:55

don't you know, public sector workers sit on their arse all day drinking tea?

i take calls from the public in my job and the amount of times i've heard 'i'm paying your wages, so do something (completely impossible/unreasonable/not within my remit) for them (such as ringing their council to get them to sort out their council tax!). it's always quite a pleasure to say, actually we aren't funded by public money at all, sir

sorry, realise this is unconnected to op and just a rant

Original poster
deanychip · 14/12/2008 16:55

Medically based companies who we spend allot of money with each year.

I have a very good relationship with the reps from these companies as i deal with them day in day out. They are almost like members of staff and they do me numerous favours to save my dept hundreds of pounds.

They bring us bickies and chocolates and other freebies.......that defo does not stop me shopping around with other companies for better deals and they know this, they are nice people, many of which who are ex nurses and just had to get out of the NHS because of crap and stuff.

OP posts:
JollyPirate · 14/12/2008 16:57

This is crap - am a nurse too (albeit a HV now) and have never ever had any freevie nights out on the NHS (and quite rightly too).

Am angry the Trust did not fight your corner - am equally as annoyed about this as with the paper to be honest. Crap - total crap.

As for the Daily Mail - well they ran a story recently about how one nurse is now being paid 100k "due to the rules about being paid overtime etc".

Well why the feck should that nurse NOT be paid 100k if she's worth it. They insinuated that of course this meant nurses were not poor;y paid for what they do and have a cushy life. They want to spend time in a busy A+E department or a labour ward or an understaffed ward with patients crying out for care that they don't get because the one or two nurses are run ragged.

Original poster
deanychip · 14/12/2008 16:58

When i say freebies i want to give you an example.....
last week a drug rep came in with 2 communication devices for us...for free for our patients to use (i work in critical care and our patients cannot talk)
They must be worth £40/£50 each and they gave them to us for free.
I gave it to a patient to try out and he was delighted, and so were his family who had not been able to understand him for a week!

Things like this.

OP posts:
Original poster
deanychip · 14/12/2008 17:00

Normally, i would have to raise requisitions get the money okayed by the boss and have to wait a month or so for such devices....this was a God send.
Dont even think that we buy anything from this company!

OP posts:
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