NHS Hour at the supermarket.. totally bonkers!

[shivermetimbers77]

Just got back from the supermarket 'NHS Hour' where doors opened for NHS staff to shop before the public come in (nice idea).... BUT the kicker is you cannot pay for your items until doors open for the public due to Sunday trading laws. So , we all stood cheek by jowl in a queue with other health staff for half an hour (I did try to stand 2 metres apart but the rest of the queue didn't seem bothered) and then the doors opened and a thousand other people piled in. Surely freeing up online slots , or relaxing Sunday trading laws so NHS staff could be out before others arrive would make more sense?! (Of course also feel sorry for the poor supermarket staff who didnt have any masks or protection or anything.) It's all a bit of a shambles.

I didn’t realise you couldn’t pay until 10!

That’s nuts. You’re right...they have to relax Sunday trading hours for while.

I think it's so the nhs staff can actually buy stuff off the shelves before they are stripped bare.

Sainsbury's emailed this morning with revised hours stores now open 8-8 with the hour from 8-9 for nhs staff and social care workers

That’s crazy!! Plus they all finish at different times anyway, so good for some and not for others.
They need to use the cafes they have closed down. Stock them up with essential items - they even have fridges and freezers usually - admittedly not many but they could perhaps sort that. Create an NHS staff area to shop in.