Page 2 | Health workers not social distancing outside of work?

rainysun · 30/09/2020 16:02

Part of my job as a nurse requires me to be out in the community carrying out tasks, there are no changing facilities!

Nor are there toilets so yes sometimes I need to go to a shop and use the toilets, whilst wearing my uniform!

What solutions can you offer so that I do not have to do this any longer due to so many joe public being judgemental and narrow minded??

I also wear my uniform home as still no changing facilities, I even launder it myself as no laundry facilities at my work!

Maybe us health care staff should just go on strike, the pressures, low pay, poor working conditions and the judgement of those who have no idea the challenges we face is seriously pushing us to the edge!

I hope you do all you can to maintain health, eat well, exercise, stay slim, no consuming alcohol or drugs, no smoking etc etc as I wouldn't want you to NEED health care staff when you think so little of us!

Haenow · 30/09/2020 17:45

@Disconnect

Ideally, you shouldn’t be wearing it in public anyway which stops the comments and judgements This is true, guidelines/rules for nurses are that they must not wear their uniform outside work, but unfortunately hospitals often don't provide adequate changing facilities. And care workers in care homes who are not bound by RCN don't have these rules anyway. Doctors wearing the same dirty suit and tie to and from work, shops etc won't be as visible as nurses in uniform.

Oh yes, hospitals absolutely bear the responsibility of ensuring adequate changing facilities. It’s totally unacceptable that there aren’t enough. Care workers are encouraged to change but community bases carers travel between peoples homes anyway and may use public transport especially in big cities. Good point about the doctors too.

Toddlerteaplease · 30/09/2020 18:03

We are having to get changed in toilets and patient bathrooms as we have no changing facilities. We also have nowhere to store all the extra bags that people are having to bring in with their uniforms in.

addictedtotheflats · 30/09/2020 18:13

Because tbh its all a load of crap. I cant see my family but I can take my child to a playgroup indoors with 15 other kids. I can send my Son to nursery to mix with 30+ other kids but cant have anyone in my house.

The number of positives isnt rising, the amount of testing is. If we tested as much in april/may as we do now if would probably have been 20-30,000 cases per day. I wear PPE, mask and goggles for my entire 13 hour shift (bar eating) and im literally sick of it. The numbers are bollocks, every single person I know of who had died in my workplace was never tested positive for covid but it gets put on their death certificate. Then you have the radiological diagnosis of covid and tests come back negative 🤷🏻‍♀️

Haenow · 30/09/2020 18:15

@Toddlerteaplease

We are having to get changed in toilets and patient bathrooms as we have no changing facilities. We also have nowhere to store all the extra bags that people are having to bring in with their uniforms in.

It’s outrageous that this goes on, it really is. :(

Haenow · 30/09/2020 18:21

@addictedtotheflats

Because tbh its all a load of crap. I cant see my family but I can take my child to a playgroup indoors with 15 other kids. I can send my Son to nursery to mix with 30+ other kids but cant have anyone in my house.

The number of positives isnt rising, the amount of testing is. If we tested as much in april/may as we do now if would probably have been 20-30,000 cases per day. I wear PPE, mask and goggles for my entire 13 hour shift (bar eating) and im literally sick of it. The numbers are bollocks, every single person I know of who had died in my workplace was never tested positive for covid but it gets put on their death certificate. Then you have the radiological diagnosis of covid and tests come back negative 🤷🏻‍♀️

You’re not correct about the number of positives rising. It is rising and has been since mass testing was available. If you look at the trajectory, it is rising within the time frame of testing being available to all. Chris Witty made that clear today. However, he did also acknowledge that the numbers were low earlier in the year due to lack of testing.

I do think the government have made a total balls up but I’m intrigued that you know multiple people who died testing negative for Covid but it was put on their death certificate. What was the cause of death? Do you usually have a plethora of dying colleagues or do you mean patients? AFAIAK, they did revise the death figures for those who did not die from covid e.g. hospitalised with a serious injury, caught covid, but cause of death was not covid.

5amonSunday · 30/09/2020 18:32

*Right now not having a job is awful especially as whole sectors of industry may be gone for the foreseeable future.

I get that you have worked hard but it doesn't give you the right to judge those who are not working through no fault of their own*

The poster's point was that the public often think they own nurses and feel quite comfortable laying on their criticism and judgement, often with no relevant experience or qualification.

The OP's expectations thankfully hold no relevance to the nurses she's come on here to complain about.

Nurses have been through alot in the last year and I imagine they struggle to socially distance on a ward. I do.

Pomegranatespompom · 30/09/2020 18:39

We SD at work, since March I have minimised my contact with anyone apart my DH, DC, not even held my new baby niece, have seen my sister once in the garden. DH and I arranged work so our DC only attended school on 6 days during lockdown in order to protect teachers/other children. many HCP are making sacrifices to protect others,
What really saddens me is some of the school mums have told their children they can no longer sit/play with my DD 😢

OpheliasCrayon · 30/09/2020 18:59

@Pomegranatespompom

We SD at work, since March I have minimised my contact with anyone apart my DH, DC, not even held my new baby niece, have seen my sister once in the garden. DH and I arranged work so our DC only attended school on 6 days during lockdown in order to protect teachers/other children. many HCP are making sacrifices to protect others, What really saddens me is some of the school mums have told their children they can no longer sit/play with my DD 😢

Oh poor thing! That's so unkind and unnecessary of the other mums. I'm sorry they're doing this to your DD :(

weetoot · 30/09/2020 19:03

About a dozen midwifes from the local nicu posted pictures from their boozy hot tub staycation recently

Pomegranatespompom · 30/09/2020 19:08

@OpheliasCrayon they don’t even know my job... I guess it’s fear. DD seems ok at the moment thankfully, she’s such a sociable child, but really taken on board being careful. I’ll make it up to her somehow.

Pomegranatespompom · 30/09/2020 19:10

I mean they just know I work in a hospital, DH also a dr. So I guess they’ve decided we’re DD is high risk. DSs class parents all seem fine about our occupation thankfully.

addictedtotheflats · 30/09/2020 19:13

@Haenow But cases will rise it was only last month kids went back to school, shops/restaurants opened and they told us all the eat out to help out, along with the increased testing I dont really know what they expected.

I meant patients, I work in urgent care and we dont know if people have covid or not when they come in (unless recently tested). People die of a multitude of things - MI, strokes, heart failure, pneumonia, sepsis of various parts of the body and I kid you not COVID is always listed as one of the reasons of cause of death - they arent even swabbed.

I wear my PPE as I should and I SD where I can at shops and (begrudgingly) wear my mask aswell. But I am absolutely not not seeing my friends and family at mine or their homes.

TwilightSkies · 30/09/2020 19:28

I work in a care home. I’m trying. But corona virus is never going to go away, we can’t live like hermits for years until a vaccine comes. We need social interactions for our own health.
The vast vast majority of people who get corona will be fine (99% survival rate if I’m not mistaken) so on balance, to me it’s not worth it to live a totally miserable existence for the next few years 🤷🏻‍♀️
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t socialise in groups or anything, but I do interact with people sometimes.

KillingEve20 · 30/09/2020 19:31

I have to say as a healthcare worker I am not socially distancing with my work friends who I see outside of work about once a week because we don’t at work yes obviously we’re in masks but in the changing room and staff room where we eat there isn’t enough room for us to socially distance so we have decided as a group of (luckily) 6 that we will see each other outside of work to keep ourselves sane, we are just as fed up as everyone else and we all agree worse things could happen to us then to get COVID as we’re all young and healthy. I think it’s hard enough without judging everyone if you want to distance then do so. I keep distance with my other ‘non’ work friends and the public as this considerate and safe for them.

Also we’re no allowed to wear uniform outside of work, it’s always been a rule but not really followed until covid, unless these are community nurses, we have to wear our ‘everyday’ clothes when traveling to and from work and use the (disgraceful) unisex changing room at work, there can be 8 of us all trying to get changed in this tiny room!

Disconnect · 30/09/2020 20:39

*Toddlerteaplease

We are having to get changed in toilets and patient bathrooms as we have no changing facilities. We also have nowhere to store all the extra bags that people are having to bring in with their uniforms in.

It’s outrageous that this goes on, it really is. sad*

Yes, healthcare professionals don't have adequate changing facilities and many don't even have a locker now to keep their things in during a shift.

Sheepareawesome · 30/09/2020 20:50

Maybe they have already all had it? We are in a very low area but several work colleagues have had it (community hcp). We have no changing facilities in our hospital either so unless I am going shopping on the way home I just go in uniform to the washing machine and strip into it. I have been sitting in the same car all day between patients anyway...

MushMonster · 30/09/2020 20:51

I think they should social distance themselves, as it sets a bad example.
But that is risky for them, you can just stay away and safe.
What worries me more is the scrubs (assuming they work in patient care in a hospital?). Have these been used at work that day? No way for the public to know. It puts the public at risk if worn after work, and the patients at risk if worn before work.

AnneShirleyBlythe · 30/09/2020 20:51

In the 10 years I've worked as a healthcarexqorkwr it has always been Health Board policy (2 health boards) that we are not allowed to travel in our uniform. Very surprised that some areas allow this.

MushMonster · 30/09/2020 20:54

I just have seen that some nurses do not have access to changing rooms! When every other work environment that requires the use of PPE have changing rooms. That is rather poor and hope the NHS does something about this pronto.

AnneShirleyBlythe · 30/09/2020 21:04

To clarify my pos- those hcps who work in the community wear their uniform travelling between patients homes.

OpenlyGayExOlympicFencer · 30/09/2020 21:05

@WorriedMummy2020

I'm curious because I am seeing quite a lot of people I know to be health workers (nurses mainly) whether at the school gates every day or at the kids' activities that are still happening who are not social distancing at all. I know they're health workers but the ones not distancing while wearing scrubs are obvious to anyone. Friends and acquaintances stood right next to each other with no distancing at all, chatting, laughing like normal, no masks worn, for a good few minutes at least. They don't work on the same ward or unit btw.

Has anyone else experienced this? I find it very bizarre and quite irresponsible. Should they not be setting a good example? Equally, I see doctors wearing face masks on the school run, so it's by no means all health workers. But, even so....

I find your attitude bizarre and concerning.

Healthcare workers have the same rights as anyone else. They are not obligated to do anything other than comply with the law, and social distancing isn't a legal requirement. If you think they ought to be setting an example when they're not delivering healthcare, start campaigning for them to be paid during that time and you might have a point.

SlB09 · 30/09/2020 21:11

Rather short sighted and purposely provactative post in my opinion.

This is not about nurses (and please remember alot of people call themselves or look like nurses in a uniform but are not qualified and may be care workers etc) but about anyone who works in a people facing role.

What about the doctor who has been in clinic in their shirt and trousers and gone to pick their child up?

What about the delivery driver who has handled hundreds of packages and knocked on lots of doors and then picked their child up?

What about the nursery worker who has had close contact with 20+ asymptomatic children that day and then come to collect their child?

What about the supermarket worker who until recently hasn't had to wear any PPE at all and has been in a closed environment for long hiursingling with 100's if not 1000's of people then collected their child?

Thing is you wouldn't have a clue about any of these people would you as they probably don't have uniform on! I am also a senior nurse and wear a uniform but sit in an office all day, it's not always straight forward!

It is often impossible for nurses, especially community based to change anywhere and working late a necessity along with all of the other reasons PP's have given.

Bottom line everyone has a responsibility whatever they do so let's not single any one group of people out. Things are bad enough.

OpenlyGayExOlympicFencer · 30/09/2020 21:12

I was just thinking that about care workers actually. Lots of them wear scrubs.

Msmcc1212 · 30/09/2020 21:15

*LethargicLumpOfLockdownLard

Yep, that's me. I even had to do the school run in scrubs yesterday as I got back late from flu clinic. Walked home with a friend, while DD and friend's daughter walked behind us. No social distancing at all. We even discussed it and decided neither of us cares. We're in a low transmission area and neither of us have vulnerable people to worry about, but mostly we're just over it all now.

We don't socially distance at work either. Occasionally we remember and step back a bit, but mostly everyone just forgets, though we are usually wearing masks and of course lots of handwashing.

I do, however, observe the 2m rule strictly when shopping, out and about etc. For the sake of others, I don't want to make people feel unsafe or uncomfortable.*

Jesus Christ. We are screwed.

If healthcare workers don’t set the example and those in government don’t set the example.

Hospital in Wales has just closed A&E because too many covid cases now. Non emergency surgery stopped. That’s the reality.