UNISON want to hear about your public service champion - £300 to be won! NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

The team at UNISON is putting the call out for your very own champions of public services in the UK – who do you want to show your appreciation to?

They say "Our public services are in crisis. Comment, tweet, campaign, vote, say thanks – but whatever you do, back your public service champions now.

“We can all relate to being under pressure and having to put a brave face on. For public service workers this has become part of daily working life, but now the crisis in our public services is so bad many of them are at breaking point. They are telling us about their struggle to support the schools, health and social care services, libraries, youth services and policing that our families and communities all depend on.

“Every day thousands of people turn to mumsnet for support, so what better place to get behind our public service champions and show them some love? This is your chance to share stories of how a public service champion has made a difference to you. Thank the teaching assistant for giving your DC the confidence to put their hand up in class. Shake hands with the police community support officer who keeps your neighbourhood safe. Show the care worker who helps your nan get up in the morning some appreciation. It doesn’t matter what you do to support them, it just matters that you back your public service champions now.”

So to get involved, you can do two things. One, post on this thread some info about the public service champion you want to thank – you don't have to give their name but just let us know briefly what they do and what this means to you. Or, two, you can get involved at: champions.unison.org.uk/.

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will get two £150 Love2Shop vouchers (which the winner can either keep or split with their nominee!)

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

Mumsnet Insight T and Cs apply

The NHS staff who work hard with the limited resources that they have.

I would nominate my GP - she is always booked up but that is because she is such a good doctor. Often, when I attend an appointment, she is running late but I never mind - she gives each and every patient the amount of time they need with her. She is always helpful and friendly and will admit if she doesn't know the answer to something, in which case she will refer her patients to someone who does know.

my physio team!

My local doctor, Dr Williams. Two kids, anxiety, some other struggles along the way. He's amazing.

The junior doctor who saved my daughters life

having read the comments above i would like to nominate WorraLiberty
I can understand their frustration at the low pay and i think they deserve recognition for working hard in the public sector x

I would nominate all police officers and firemen, who often risk their lives in the course of their work.

Mine would be NHS workers, the times that I have dealt with them they have always been wonderful.. kind, helpful, non-judgmental and able to put people at ease. I think they do a sterling job on low wages for long hours and should be paid more, something is wrong with the world when kicking a ball is more lucrative a career than being a brain surgeon.

The NHS are just amazing!

My son's teaching assistants (he has a lot of 1:1 in mainstream school because of asd and intellectual disability ) have been simply wonderful. He is 15 now, but his primary school ta still sends him birthday cards and he pops in to visit her. He has just completed his Duke of Edinburgh award, they have worked alongside him in his charity work, gone camping etc etc...they don't have to do anything beyond support him in lessons, but they do so much more. They have facilitated friendships, created after school clubs that fit his needs, never judge him or us and keep a very close eye on him because he is vulnerable. There's 1500 children in the school and yet I feel like my child is genuinely important to them and loved.

GP

The amazing nurses at my local maternity ward who made the birth of my DD so easy and wonderful. How they manage to do their job with all the govt cuts and job pressures I have no idea!

I'd nominate my daughter's GP at just 23 and in the last four months she has gone from being fit and well and living a full and active life to being in constant pain dependent on Morphine and many other painkillers. Managing just two hours at work a day and spending the rest of the day resting. Her GP has been incredibly supportive both medically and emotionally.He has chased referrals, sourced information and support for dd. Her consultant said herself that he has been exceptional in her experience. Dd is still very unwell and facing up to a very different future but at least she has a GP she can turn to.

Our local head librarian, she has boundless energy and organises so many wonderful community events! She puts in loads if her own time and just keeps smiling (she is basically Joy from Inside Out). I like that her focus is engaging all of the community and making our library a meeting place.

I see many in my working life... but in my personal life I would nominate the many CAB volunteers, who give up their time often to listen to significant abuse about the cuts and limited services which are far from their fault.
Also - maybe unpopular but true - our local MP is exceptional. The time she gives to groups and individuals, the energy she puts in to local campaigns, and the way she speaks out in parliament when needed. I'm actually delighted she is my MP and she goes above and beyond the call of duty, which is what she's in it for.

NHS staff for the amazing work they do, especially while the government are trying to sink the ship

I would nominate my local GP as he has been absolutely fantastic to both me and my family and always makes me feel important and like a person instead of just a patient he needs to see and have out within 10 minutes.

The nurses at my local minor injuries unit at the hospital! They are so wonderful in every way, and have faced so many set backs recently with the NHS closures all around their unit. It won't be long before they are closed as well. The emergency unit that was next door to them has now closed, but people still make their way there after an emergency without knowing they can no longer receive the treatment they need, so of course, it falls back on to the minor injuries nurses to provide emergency care to these people while they wait for the ambulance to arrive.

It would be wonderful if they had a reason to smile. They deserve it.

So many people have said the same but it has to be NHS workers. The job is getting harder and harder and so many people blame front line staff for the fact they are stretched so thinly, when it isn't their fault at all.

The practice manager at my GP surgery. She had gone the extra mile to assist when asked.

I think most people in the NHS, police etc do a great job

Antenatal department Newham general hospital.

I have had the same Doctor now since I was 12, am 37 now, and he is just amazing. If we need him he'll call and chat, will always pop round if me or mine are ill, nothing is too much trouble for him. He truly puts his life into his work and he never makes you feel like you are a burden. He even helped when My son was told he would have to start at another school placement as there was no more room, he wrote to everyone he knew saying how detrimental to his well-being it would be, until he finally got his rightful placement! He's amazing! xx

A tough choice as I'm sure all (the vast majority at least) of Police, NHS, Fire service etc deserve a medal for all their hard work under very difficult circumstances.
However, if I had to pick one sector it would be the NHS- for saving a relatives life for starters!

Unison are awful. I had the worst experience with them .

I am with the RCN.