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.

@Walkaround do you usually accentuate words when you speak? In my experience it's always people who think they know better who do that. I'm not trying to get personal either I just think my opinion is every bit as valid as your is all

@Walkaround Wee Betty doesn't know what happened to her egg she thinks a nurse deserving of a treat got it but I don't think she'd mind if it went to a care home.
*@groundedbyboris * to be fair that last post was a bit personal. You think your right Walkaround thinks she's right and to be honest you both make good points. Agree to disagree 😁

@Tonz your right it was a bit nasty
@walkaround I'm sorry I didn't mean to get personal

If you know Betty, do thank her for my egg.

I surely will @Pomegranatepompom😉

It’s the lack of thinking, the ready acceptance of anything on facebook as true, and the “you should only post positive things” response if anyone dares question...

MLM are having a field day setting up gofundme’s to raise money for nurses “pampering” kits, then using it to meet sales targets and offload their aloe shit.

I have seen countless posts saying “a nurse at x hospital says they are desperate for homemade ppe/crappy tat/handcream, and people falling over themselves to donate. No one thinking a) what nurse? If a hospital really needed public donations they have social media accounts, or b) who is this person and how do i know all this stuff isn’t going straight on ebay.

As usual the press isn’t helping with all their hero worship stories about little old ada knitting hats, sharon making sandwiches for the nurses lunches, and publishing great big articles about it with info on how you can join in.

I’ve been thinking right from the start it’s all been third hand, i’ve never once seen a hospital itself put out requests for acetate face masks or knitted hearts. It’s always someone who knows someone....

That’s all right, Groundedbyboris - apology accepted.

Yes that’s very true. I saw someone asking for funding to make pampering kits and it was a mlm brand. What a waste of people’s money - I can see how some people would want to help with this though.
It’s quite grabby.

I’ve been thinking right from the start it’s all been third hand, i’ve never once seen a hospital itself put out requests for acetate face masks or knitted hearts. It’s always someone who knows someone*....

The local hospital here have put out posts (on their official page) asking for homemade scrub bags, as well as people to make scrubs from donated fabric, along with another post the other day requesting long sleeved gowns like hairdressers might use.

As well as posts to thank people for donating hearts to their crochet heart campaign and thank you to the schools who have been sending in visors.

They did put out a letter to say they could no longer accept items like cooked meals as they were getting too many.

Sorry bold fail in that last post.

I do think there needs to be clearer messages from hospitals, and out out a message to say they won't accept anything if they don't truly need them. But I think the posts saying thank you for 100s cakes seems misleading to people because then others think the hospital wants cakes, which maybe they do, but maybe the guidelines on what they will or won't accept should be clear.

People should be donating to other key workers as everywhere you look it’s donations and money off for nhs, there’s lots of other workers who and just getting on with it who don’t seem appreciated

And keep donating to foodbanks, too, as more and more people will be needing access to those.

You know @Walkaround I work in a big supermarket and we always have big food bank bins at the front of store for customers to donate. They were always overflowing with stuff but the last few weeks have been only half full.

Except baked beans and pasta. Apparently they don’t want those in foodbanks now. Can’t remember which thread that was on.
It’s a minefield.

Tonz a friend in the NW said her local supermarket had posted the security guard by the foodbank bins as people were taking stuff out of them.

Why wouldn't they want pasta and baked beans in food banks??

I know, Tonz. It’s worrying, isn’t it? Everyone stressed and anxious, nobody being sure how or if they can help, and the stress making people tetchy with each other over simple misunderstandings.

Why wouldn't they want pasta and baked beans in food banks??

Maybe that's the foods they were overwhelmed with so don't need those right now? I know our local foodbank always posts to say which foods they currently need or ones they have enough of.

@HeffalumpsCantDance sadly that doesn't surprise me. When everyone was in panic mode and the shelves were empty we had people steal other people's full trolley when their backs were turned. Kinda funny thinking back on it 😂 not so funny at the time since staff had to try and sort it out. I once got told by a man in his 30s he'd kick my arse so hard I'd land in china because I caught him stealing toilet roll out a woman's trolley. Honestly thought the world had gone mad. Calmed down now though

Why wouldn't they want pasta and baked beans in food banks??

SOME local food banks said a while ago that they were overloaded with pasta and beans, and were asking for other things in preference.

Look at the lists on your local collection box, or food bank website.

Otherwise this is just another message that gets skewed.

@Walkaround 😁

@Tonz I heard about a lot of crazy supermarket behaviour and I actually saw a bottle of alcohol thrown at the fruit n veg guy in asda. If imagine people would still as low as stealing from the food bank

Very misguided people donating sweets and chocolate to hospital. High blood glucose is already a known risk factor for the worsening of flu type viruses and looks like it is for Covid too.

🤦‍♀️ seriously. Like a few sweets or a chocolate egg is going to hurt

I've seen an insta-yogi crowdfund a campaign to provide "wellness hampers" for hospital staff, which include a personalised carrier bag, a yoga mat, a water bottle and other "wellbeing tools"... nice idea but I'm sure there's better things for people to donate money to..