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Original poster

NHS theft of hand sanitizer and masks

25 replies

Iamangel1901 · 07/03/2020 16:19

Hi everyone

I work on an nhs maternity ward. Can I let people know that the ward stock is not free and is not to be stolen. We are allowed a certain amount per week delivered to us including all stock. If that runs out or is stolen we are not allowed any more. I don’t think the general public understand how bad it is. Patients steal everything... gloves, antibacterial wipes, hand gel and now the n95 masks. I’ve had to argue to get enough stock to cover us going into flu isolation rooms and we always run out. All wards are preparing for coronavirus and we have a large amount of patients being treated for coronavirus in our hospital as we have a special diseases department. Other wards are stealing from us as well and everyone is accusing each other. It’s just ridiculous. I don’t understand what is wrong with people staff or patients or visitors... all thinking for themselves. This is the reality of the nhs funding... we are allowed the bare minimum and other wards will not lend us anything...

OP posts:
GrumpyHoonMain · 07/03/2020 16:22

At Milton Keynes Hospital’s Postnatal Ward the sanitizers were nailed to the wall, and everything else worth stealing was kept at the midwife’s station. Could you not do something similar?

TildaKauskumholm · 07/03/2020 16:25

I don't know what to say OP, what selfish thieving twats people can be. As if NHS staff are not going through enough at the moment.

SpongeBobJudgeyPants · 07/03/2020 16:25

Apparently some of the sanitisers actually fixed to the wall have been ripped off too Grumpy. Sad

mouldygrapes · 07/03/2020 16:26

It is beyond low to steal from hospitals, honestly how selfish can you be.
I work in an outpatient setting, I’ve been on leave this week (holiday, not self isolation!) but I guarantee we’ll have had the same. We usually have alcohol gel bottles on the desks, easy to nick. I’m sure we’ll have to order wall mounted ones but I hear they’re being ripped out too, or people emptying the contents into their own bottles

Starbuck8419 · 07/03/2020 16:27

People can be utter cunts.
Aside from that I’m speechless

Enough4me · 07/03/2020 16:30

I have access to a small amount of hand sanitizer at work. On Friday a colleague practically begged me for a bottle. I gave it to her as was worried about her mental health, but I said soap and water and proper washing is better anyhow. What concerns me is the hype about gel over thorough washing, particularly when I work in Higher Education and know my colleagues have soap at home!

AnneElliott · 07/03/2020 16:31

Terrible that people can steal from hospitals! There should be extra penalties for stealing from our NHS.

TraumaQ · 07/03/2020 16:33

How awful and low do you have to be to steal a (particularly limited at the moment) resource from a hospital Sad

ElderAve · 07/03/2020 16:34

IME these kinds of thefts are more often staff than the public.

bingbangbing · 07/03/2020 16:35

They caught parents stealing toys and laptops from peads at our place.

People are scum

mrsbyers · 07/03/2020 16:44

The alcohol based ones are always being stolen at our local hospital well before this new virus - by people taking to drink the contents

Original poster
Iamangel1901 · 07/03/2020 16:47

The thing is I bet it’s the staff stealing too... I wonder if they did bag checks how much stock they would find 😯

OP posts:
LadyLindaT · 07/03/2020 16:59

As for stealing from hospitals, in my experience, the TV that was bolted to the wall was stolen from the family room where people waited whilst their kids were being treated in the Intensive Care Unit. Charming.

FormerlyFrikadela01 · 07/03/2020 17:06

I'm not even remotely surprised. Although staff will no doubt be taking some too.
I havent purposely taken hand sanitizer but I have sorted through my bags this week and found loads of bottles from when I've unclipped them from my uniform on the way home and then forgotten to put them back on for my next shift.

TheCanyon · 07/03/2020 17:17

We had an anaesthetist in the school the other day telling the kids about their job, doling out face masks and hair covering things to the kids. Unreal. She's normally pretty sensible so fuck knows what she was thinking.

FormerlyFrikadela01 · 07/03/2020 17:27

We had an anaesthetist in the school the other day telling the kids about their job, doling out face masks and hair covering things to the kids. Unreal. She's normally pretty sensible so fuck knows what she was thinking.

If she was there for educational purposes is there a chance the times were out of date? All out out of date dressings, masks etc get sent to the education dept to be used for demonstrations or practice.

AJPTaylor · 07/03/2020 17:35

People will steal anything though. I passed on loads of books and toys to our previous busy doctors surgery. A week later not one was still there. All been nicked.

chomalungma · 07/03/2020 17:37

Anyone found guilty of such a crime should face severe penalties.

Kaykay066 · 07/03/2020 17:42

Our hand sanitizer is in a sealed dispenser and is foam and you can’t steal it it’s also locked away so surely that’s the case in most places same for our masks etc? We don’t leave our stores lying about for people to steal. Your maternity ward needs better security it’s a locked ward as it mine (paeds) so know who comes in and out and don’t you watch your stock and notice people rooting about to take things?

UserThenLotsOfNumbers · 07/03/2020 17:47

I'm so sorry this is happening, it's disgraceful!

TinnedPearsForPudding · 07/03/2020 17:57

Makes a change from people drinking the hand sanitisers....

Original poster
Iamangel1901 · 07/03/2020 20:13

People come and go when they like and take stuff, you can’t say no or question them or it ends up in an argument and the managers don’t back you up. The problem is no team work the other staff just let people do what they want but they aren’t the ones who are responsible for ordering stock. I suppose it’s not affecting them... until they need that item and then they start shouting abuse at me because it’s all ran out or been taken by other wards. On another note our ward managers are worse than useless, there is a special place in hell for them. They make everything worse and are nowhere to be found when you really need them. They actually told me I need to manage the hand sanitiser better to stop so many going missing.... how exactly can I do that??

OP posts:
WhiskyTangoFoxtrot · 07/03/2020 21:00

I think people do sometimes see consumable items as fair game.

Like taking the soap, but not the towels, from a hotel room

They don't pause to think a hospital is a little different

indemMUND · 07/03/2020 21:50

Just wait until this virus hits harder. The entitled scum will take it to new levels that ordinary civilised people wouldn't dream of.

lucky313ven · 18/03/2020 17:24

I've just had a thought...and I am a health worker. What about bounty? Visitors are being limited to one per bedside and kids not allowed..but bounty are going from bed to bed taking pics using same equipment for all babies and it seems unfair that they're allowed at bedside but the woman can't have her child. As it isn't a necessary service and is a risk should they still be working on the wards? I'm going to email our matron and see what they say

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