People need to stop knitting and donating chocolate etc our hospital!

[AuntyClockWise]

I was drafted in to help nursing staff today sort through 300 (yes, really) Easter eggs that have been donated over the past few weeks and sort these for food banks and care homes and childcare hubs. Took half a day plus lots of storage space.

A lady turned up at the hospital with 30 home made/sewn face masks. She was very angry when the main desk had to turn her away and decline the items as apparently she'd spent ages on them and had travelled a long way to get them to the hospital. Again, more time spent dealing with this person and not to mention the fact she had travelled unnecessarily.

Where has this idea come from for people to donate so much stuff to hospitals? Don't people realise that PPE has to meet a certain level of safety standard so we need to get from reliable and tested companies? Do people think that we have the space and time to deal with all the food and drinks donated?

Our hospital has put out a facebook post today to reiterate we can't accept donations like these and there are now hundreds of angry responses calling us ungrateful and that they're annoyed this wasn't said sooner as they've spent weeks knitting and sewing various things for the nurses and doctors to use on the wards.

I'm sure people are trying to be nice but why isn't common sense prevailing? Why not donate time and energy to a place which has the resources and ability to accept such donations?

Of course, I'm only able to speak for common feelings shared today in my place of work. Some other people here might say they are loving the donations.

Just wanted to suggest on here that if you are considering donating something to your local hospital, I'd suggest phoning the main desk first or sending them an email as the likelihood is that they can't accept it.

I run a large volunteer project which responds to covid. While it is lovely that people want to help, and there are lots of ways to help, bringing round 300 cakes sneezed on by your child or a bagful of homemade masks isn’t necessarily helpful, and requires volunteer time to sort.

Yup, got it. You don’t want help.
Me and mine will stay out of the way.

There are fuck all ways to help that are clearly explained and accessible. Like that poor fucking bloke in Cheshire making face shields and down £8,000 with no response from government, or all the businesses offering to make scrubs.
The whole effort is an inefficient shambles from a micro to a macro level.

@Heffalumpscantdance Your lovely caring sounding daughters masks would be very well received by care home workers, public transport workers, retail workers etc etc. Nhs need to have certain kind of PPE because of the high levels of covid they will be exposed to but that's not to say your daughters masks would not be appreciated elsewhere they certainly would be useful to a lot of other key workers, myself included

Sorry, Tonz and Groundedbyboris, but however you argue it, huge numbers of people responding to a few individuals crying about Easter eggs by inundating hospitals, which have never asked for these things, with Easter eggs, and then getting offended when a particular hospital politely requests that people do not turn up unannounced at the moment with unsolicited donations, or say that they really don’t need any more Easter eggs now but thank you for the thought, is not people responding rationally or helpfully. Yes, of course it’s a nice thought, but to get angry when asked not to do it any more is utterly ridiculous - especially when the effort isn’t even wasted if you just give a bit more thought to who might actually appreciate your donations and how your efforts could be better co-ordinated and thought out to ensure they are of benefit. And if you haven’t seen or read any rants by supermarket workers who feel hard done by, then you have not been looking very hard. It’s certainly true, though, that the general public are less interested in sharing them or responding to them, so they are never going to end up going viral in the same way.

When DD was 3 or 4, she put a random selection of food (still in its packaging) into the oven to "help" make dinner. Luckily DH saw before she worked out how to turn it on. When he told her off, she kept crying "but I'm helping, Daddy!"

And here we have grown adults doing the same thing. If you're creating extra work, you're not helping, no matter how "helpful" it makes you feel.

They were going to be for the care home, but why should they not have the same masks as the NHS? Their risks are as great, and the death tolls unrecorded. They deserve the best resources too.
They do appreciate the biscuits and treats I drop off. In sealed, dated containers.

@Walkaround this is part of what the OP said:

'that they're annoyed this wasn't said sooner as they've spent weeks knitting and sewing various things for the nurses and doctors to use on the wards.'

That seems fair enough really, why not say (like many, many other hospitals did back in March), sorry we aren't accepting donations. They obviously have a social media presence if they posted that, and if people were getting annoyed then at least some of those who had been donating would have seen it as they saw that post. Yes people could think a bit more (although they aren't to know unless told), but hospitals could be a tad proactive too.

Heffalump, of course care homes should receive adequate PPE, unfortunately they aren't, and they aren't a priority (for some ridiculous reason). Some around here have zero masks, it's scandalous and a disgrace.

Yeah @Walkaround but thats not really the point in making is it?

I couldn't give a fuck if a hospital wants eggs or not Easter is done didn't you know? My point is nhs staff recording themselves crying about things they can't get and people trying to help. NHS staff get perks nobody else gets and that's fine it's a tough job but the op wasn't nice about it. Nobody's trying to bury the hospital in eggs just trying to be nice. I didn't donate eggs my partner is self employed so lost £500 a week just now but I'm not crying making videos asking for handouts.
You have your opinion and I have mine...do you think ur opinion is more valid than anyone elses?

HeffalumpsCantDance - I’m sure they do appreciate them immensely, especially if you do it regularly and they know and trust you. If hundreds of people started doing the same things as you in the same place, though, they would eventually have to ask some people to stop - and hope they are not then abused for being ungrateful!

Groundedbyboris - why on earth are you asking whether I think my opinion is more valid than anyone else’s?! What on earth do you think you are doing that is any different from what I am doing - ie arguing your opinion?!

And btw, the OP stated that the hospital had to reiterate that it could not accept donations like the hand sewn facemasks - which means that it has already made this clear before, but the people who have been sewing them for weeks didn’t pay attention to it the first time.

Sorry @Walkaround not really the point I was making either. My point is if the public are seeing videos either on the news or posted on Facebook of nurses crying that they can't get stuff of course people want to help them. Betty down the road isn't to know the hospital has 257 eggs already and if the hospital accepts her egg it's not fair to then blame Betty for them having too many. My point is just say no we are not accepting eggs put a sign up on the door or window instead of allowing it to build up to a problem where 4 nhs staff waste 4 hours sorting it then acuse poor Betty of doing it for Facebook likes. Maybe Betty thought a nice wee nurse after her shift would have liked a treat. That's my point.

I dunno @Walkaround maybe it's the fact that you feel the need to make certain words bolder to get your point across

I'm not angry about my easter egg not being wanted either @Walkaround seeing as I've said several times I didn't donate any

Tonz - yes, I agree that Betty should not be blamed for trying to be helpful and kind. I think you and I read the OP’s post differently, as to me it was extremely clear that the OP’s main frustration was with the woman who drove a long way to donate homemade face masks that the hospital had already made public was not something it would be able to accept (as it had to reiterate this on Facebook), and who then got angry when the hospital did not accept it. If a hospital has already made public it does not want such donations, then even Betty has no right to be angry with them about this. And I do not think the OP’s post was particularly rude, as she did acknowledge that other places may actually really appreciate the gifts of food and that people should perhaps consider checking before donating - which is really not much to ask, is it? Otherwise you risk inadvertently making life more difficult for someone when you really want to do the opposite.

Tonz - no wonder you take things so personally if you think every time I use the word you, you think I mean Tonz. You do not need to repeat that you never bothered to give anyone any eggs anyway, I got that the first time!

Groundedbyboris - and maybe it’s the fact you need to use the word fuck to get your point across?

@walkaround the op had more of an issue with the eggs than the masks because they managed to tell the lady with the masks they aren't needed. Wee Bettys egg was accepted then moaned about afterwards. That's the difference.

@Walkaround that's just the way myself and people in my area talk it's not me directing the word fuck to you or anyone else

It was not the OP who accepted the eggs, she was just left to sort them out. The vast majority of the post was about inappropriate PPE and people getting angry because they had been sewing and knitting for weeks.

Groundedboris - and this is just the way I write. Yet you feel the need to criticise my use of bold. That’s you trying to make it personal.

@Walkaround maybe I took it personally because the post was addressed to me and the one boris grounded. I also haven't defended anyone sewing handmade masks either I know myself they aren't suitable for nhs nurses what I did say was other key workers would appreciate them. I know the op didn't accept the eggs but blaming people whose eggs were accepted isn't fair just say thanks but no thanks, leave a sign outside or something. People aren't mind readers. Poor wee Betty

I don’t think I’d feel that sorry for myself if an egg I had donated to a hospital ended up being sent to a care home, tbh.

I would quite like to be told, though, so that I could direct my gifts directly to the care home in future. So if Betty read this thread, it was helpful to her!