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.

Jesus wept!! Just no. So many people have lost a lot of money so I won't be buying a wellness hamper for anyone lucky enough to still be making a wage. Nice idea though

Can I give a shout out to Dettol who have donated a care package each to all the staff at our trust with hand sanitizer and cleaning items in a reusable bag
, after consulting management t to see if it was acceptable

It still took quite a few members of staff to distribute over 10,000 bags across 3 sites though .

I love Dettol, one of my favourite smells. That's really good of them to do that though well done dettol

Nobody is buying Easter eggs for the transport workers or knitting hearts for the London bus drivers who have died of COVID-19 just quietly gong about and doing their jobs

It's more the people abandoned in care homes I think about with no proper PPE to keep them safe while their residents are dying.

It’s more the dying residents I think about ☹️

It's awful isn't it. Heartbreaking.

@Carriemack. Got mine today! Good job it was pointed out that the big bottle was not floor cleaner but antiseptic!

EveryFlightBeginsWithAFall it's not just a few sweets and chocolates though, it's people working long hours in conditions already likely to raise blood glucose - shift work is notoriously bad for you - not getting proper food and then snacking on sweet things is horrible for the immune system, even worse when staff in the acute areas are getting dehydrated and/or eating low fibre to avoid needing toilet breaks.
There are some great initatives cooking good meals and getting them into hospitals, especially for late workers, donating to those that the hospitals endorse rather than buying sweets and biscuits would be much kinder to staff.