[Closed] NHS priority shopping - moral dilemma

I'd skip the queue

Just by the fact you have had to ask the question means you know the answer.

However, it is raining.

Not sure on the moral dilemma but seems pretty pointless in our local area. The nhs shopping hours are 9 until 10 when they would be at work. My wife goes at 6.30 once a week now (mid week) and is in and out in 30 mins

I might be cynical but to me it feels like the supermarkets are doing something to pretend they are trying to help whilst providing very little benefit.

Take an umbrella 🙂

The rest of the queue would do it to you and all the daily mail readers will be back to slagging you and the rest of the public sector off, in few weeks so get straight in.

I really do not need this perk. I guess its aimed at those who are working long hours. Others really need it more – the single mum, anyone disabled etc

You answered your own question.

Well... I'm actually finding the NHS priority REALLY useful...

I love the fact that on my morning off from surgery I can do my Aldi shop super quick, as no need to queue outside, nor really at the tills either.

Honestly, it would be a stress and struggle fitting it all in otherwise.

I appreciate NHS workerrs aren't the ONLY ones who would benefit from this sort of thing, but... it's a perk being offered to us at the moment..

DrP

I could trawl back through the forum to find posts of TJ proselytising about how rain is nothing to be afraid of and regaling us with tales, complete with photos, of how he spent an entire fortnight of his holidays walking through a constant rainstorm without complaint....but I genuinely can't be arsed.

It's only rain. You won't melt.

If you're working today, skip the queue.

If it's your day off, wait your turn. The other people in the queue might have to get to work too.

Not all key workers are employed by the NHS.

LOL at the STW member with the highest horse asking this question.

Honestly, it would be a stress and struggle fitting it all in otherwise.

Thats the key thing isn't it. I do not have that excuse 😉

It’s only rain. You won’t melt.

You mean dissolve 😉 melting occurs at high temperatures

If you are working 2 days a week skip the queue, go in and by 40% of what you need then join the queue to buy the other 60%. It's pretty simple really isn't it.

Or you could look at the blindingly obvious solution to your dilemma offered by perchypanther

I think the queuing thing is more about encouraging you to plan a big weekly shop rather than just popping in every few days. You see the queue, you think sod that, I won't bother. In the larger stores the only factor seems to be letting the immediate area inside clear, i.e. the produce department, I'm not sure they are limiting total numbers inside as it can still be pretty busy.

I was waiting the other day and some manager came out and obviously decided the queue was too long (I thought it was pretty short) and opened a fire exit and just let half the queue straight into the booze isle.

At least my local store have come to their senses and rejigged things, they had the queue coming in and blocking the cashpoints and pedestrian exit, and then at the store they had one entrance shut so you had to cross paths with the shoppers exiting and another queue crossing for the instore argos.

This is the first I have heard about the critical umbrella shortage in Edinburgh! What will they come for next?

Umbrella - what do you take me for? some sort of metrosexual?

melting occurs at high temperatures

Incorrect.

The melting point of helium is -272 degrees Celsius and this only achievable under high pressure conditions.

I’ve used the early shopping twice since it was introduced both times to get the fortnightly shop my parents who are in isolation. Every other I queue or just return when it’s quite, the queues aren’t as bad now.

some sort of metrosexual?

Not very inclusive language that mind. The STW pitchforks are coming out.

Ive got my old NHS and BBC ID, I suspect I could walk in just about anywhere at the moment 😁

Where's the moral dilemma? It's not for NHS workers on the clock. You're just on the clock even less than normal.

Ive got my old NHS and BBC ID,

Same here (both). I suspect one is worth more than the other. And no, I haven't barged into Morrisons in front of a starving orphan. Give it another few weeks.

At what point does the NHS 'perk' end? Reports (confirmed by two consultant friends but happy to be corrected) state that the hospitals are fairly well within capacity..... which of the supermarkets is going to pull the plug first?

which of the supermarkets is going to pull the plug first?

None of them! Imagine the social media shitstorm for the first out of the trench. It will stay in place until there is no queuing.

That's what I mean..... it may never go!!

My partner is similar to the OP. Shes a psychologist working on a dementia ward in a hospital. She feels really guilty using it and hasn't simply because shes not working on a C-19 ward. Personally I think its for people like my sister in law who is a GP and shopping for her family and her parents who are isolating due to age and condition. But, as said the majority of people would use if if they could so don't lose any sleep over skipping the line if you want.

At what point does the NHS ‘perk’ end? Reports (confirmed by two consultant friends but happy to be corrected) state that the hospitals are fairly well within capacity….. which of the supermarkets is going to pull the plug first?

I’m not sure it’s based on hospital capacity.

At what point does the NHS ‘perk’ end? Reports (confirmed by two consultant friends but happy to be corrected) state that the hospitals are fairly well within capacity….. which of the supermarkets is going to pull the plug first?

TBH when CV isn't the top story on the News every day, when people stop trying to out-do each other banging stuff on a Thursday night etc.

It's caused us much stress at home. My Wife is a Nurse, but she can't shop for shit. At the height of the panic buying she took herself off to Sainsbury's for one of their early slots. I gave her a list (I do the shopping usually) and said "we don't need much", in fact I only asked her to go to give her some space away from the kids / work. I joked "try to keep it under a £100". It was a £30 mid-week shop really. She laughed and said "okay [add your choice of swear word here] I doubt I'll get near half that". She returned 2 hours later, with about half the stuff on the list, the rest she forgot after spending £130, mostly on scented candles it seems.

As for the NHS, I can't comment on other areas, but in our Trust area our main Hospital has 200 spare beds, more than any time ever. The Covid wards are about 2/3rds capacity with contingency to open another 2 wards if needed. Our 'Nightingale' which is actually 'Dragon Heart' has welcomed it's first patients, it's not really ready, but they wanted to say it was, it won't been finished for a few weeks yet, it was designed for 2000 beds as a sort of field hospital. As numbers here never reached 'worst case' it's being downsized to 1500, or possibly 1000 and will take all Covid work from the main hospitals. A&E admissions are down 60% The Nursing agency that I know were expecting to be inundated are having their quietest period in years.

None of that is bad news, really going against type the UK actually went 'full-arsed' to fight Covid, this was how it was supposed to be. The NHS had the advantage of seeing the problems faced in other Countries that didn't have the notice we got and built contingency for a worst case and thankfully, as bad as it got, it never got that bad. We're also ready for another spike - even if the gutter press start frothing at the mouth in the few months about empty Nightingales etc, they're not going to shut them any time soon.

I've got an NHS ID card, with a crap out of date photo of me on it. But as I'm a back office worker (IT, obvs) I personally think it would be taking the piss a bit to use it for this purpose.

The free tea and sausage roll that a local shop are offering to NHS workers did have me checking my moral compass though 😅

NHS workers have higher exposure to the virus than others. And you could be a spreader before you see symptoms. You shouldn't wait in the queue and increase risk for others.
You have a moral obligation to skip the queue.

I think an issue here is that people who work in the NHS care greatly about what they do (like many other service providers) because they want to help people. They want to do it properly and feel guilty about perceived taking advantage. This means that for most of their lives they are held over a barrel by unscrupulous agenda and data driven greasy pole climbing managers. Use the perk you have now as very small payment for the exploitation you suffer at work from these (self servers) the rest of time.

Edit- (replaced poor choice of words)

Skip the queue, minimise the risk to the rest of the queue as working in a high risk occupation.

Weirdly at the beginning of this my 78yo did did a shop for us because being teacher/police we couldn't get to the shop until late pm and the shelves had been stripped bare.

I do use my ID to queue-jump about once a week when I do a bigger shop, even though I'm back office/IT as well - do feel slightly awkward about it to be honest, but in true Hugh Grant-esque British style I'll blush, bluster, feel embarrassed and carry on regardless.

That said, not long after things kicked off I got 'confronted' in Morrisons during their early NHS hour by a Practice Manager from one of the GP surgeries we support. She's fairly confrontational at the best of times, but seemed to want to insinuate that 'my department' shouldn't be using such privileges. I smiled and nodded and then asked her how she was enjoying having dropped down to 2 days a week, which I'd love to do since we'd been working 6 days a week since things started...

Well I got my shielding letter last week so apparently I'm entitled to Priority delivery and/or a free food parcel. The truth is however that I don't need to shield at all and whilst I'm not going to take advantage of the free food parcel the delivery slot is very tempting!

It is a moral choice so you can't really use other people's choices for your own barometer. I wouldn't use it if I didn't need to. We are not using online deliveries or click and collect for the similar reasons. We don't need to so leave the limited capacity for those that do, but are not making and judgement on those making a different choice in difficult circumstances.

When I arrived there was no queue! I feel swindled. I was so looking forward to flaunting my status walking past the queue waving my NHS ID and shouting - "let me thru, I am special"

Actually I had no intention of doing so but thought this thread might provide a little amusement especially as I have lost my ID card 😉

I doubt I have higher risk of exposure than the staff in the supermarket.

I have an NHS badge and haven't used it to q jump. But then in my area there are no queues longer than 5 mins so I can ride my moral high horse at little cost.

I took my fair share of the free trays of Pakora dropped off at the hospital though.

Actually now I think of it I let my wife deal with the shopping mainly.

I feel swindled. I was so looking forward to flaunting my status walking past the queue waving my NHS ID

I doubt I have higher risk of exposure than the staff in the supermarket

They won't be in the queue either

They won’t be in the queue either

asked the checkout lady last week - they can only shop in their break or after shift. said was very disheartening to ring up load after load of bread/pasta/eggs knowing that they would be sold out before she could get any

Which supermarket is that? Staff I know from Morrison’s. Co-op and Sainsburys get priority too as they’ve offered to get bits for neighbours.

Only a few places offer a queue jump. The priority hours are pointless for most of my colleagues are we are 2 on 2 off so I’m either in work or I’m having a lie in. Don’t know anyone getting up to get the early hour. It’s mostly PR.

Actually I had no intention of doing so

I see the Edinburgh defence has been rolled out.  Anyway, is it still raining?

Don’t know anyone getting up to get the early hour.

I know loads who’ve done it as they’ve young kids to look after who they can’t take with them so they shop while they’re in bed and the partner still at home. Pretty much not needed now people have stopped stocking piling and shopping for just in case.

It wasn't even raining Kryton. I was all ready to take comedy photos and everyfink!

You dont get many perks working in the NHS, take them when you can. (DOnt forget your 10% off at Morrisons too)

I've been at NHS times and Non NHS. Actually found it quieter to go at non NHS times. Interesting watching the behaviour between NHS times/Non NHS. NHS times no one really sticks to social distancing, because lets face it you dont really at work. Its also very pleasant and people chat and are civil with each other.

If you remember way back when this was about NHS staff working a full day, and then going shopping and finding no stock left. Hopefully now all the idiots have realised that supermarkets still have products they can still get everything they need.

I was outside Aldi one morning and a bloke 90+ turned up. All the NHS staff queuing up wanted to let him in the shop ahead of them, but the management refused.

I just walk to the front of the queue, shouting 'I'm an NHS Hero', even if I'm only buying a jazz mag, cider and a Twix.

If it's a really long queue I wear scrubs, push an obs trolley and threaten people with a rectal thermometer. 😀

and threaten people with a rectal thermometer. 😀

Round here, that's not a threat, that's a pickup line.

Does it work?

Asking for a friend.
In Edinburgh....

Our local supermarket at the start was comical, they had NHS one morning for first hour, and a vulnerable persons hour. MY wife who is an NHS consultant, went shopping alone as my daughter is classed as disabled, took her DLA proof of her being disabled etc, was told that she had to take my daughter as the vulnerable person had to be there!! She then asked if they didn't kind of defeat the object of it all?

She then showed her NHS ID, was told the NHS hour was yesterday, so she'll have to wait til it opens to public in an hour (at this point queue for public was already 2 hours long), so she told them to stick their shopping up only where a proctologist will find it.........

So to clear some things up, there was no queue, no rain, no NHS id.
I suspect there was no moral dilemma either. It may even turn out that the op is not even a proper nurse.

🙂