NHS bosses have since defended the controversial gesture
An NHS trust has divided opinions this week after an employee allegedly received a single tea bag as a thank you.
Eva O’Connor claimed her dad, who is an employee at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, received the peculiar gesture in a small cardboard envelope in the post.
She shared a video of her dad opening the gift onto TikTok, which came with the message: “A little treat to say thank you” alongside NHS branding.
In the video, Eva added the text: “what my dad got at work as a ‘treat'”, alongside sarcastic hashtags such as #teaisahumanright and #clapforcarers.
Treat yo self #nhsworker#teaisahumanright#nhs#clapforourcarers#treat
Social media users were less than impressed by the gesture, with many pointing out the ongoing issue with low wages and chronic under-staffing among the NHS’s workforce.
One person commented on the TikTok video: “The amount of money it cost to design and make could have gone toward a pay rise… Or at least just put a box of tea bags in the staff room.”
Another noted: “Ah yes. A nice cuppa to have on your break that you probably won’t get because of staff shortages.”
Other NHS employees used the video to share their own experiences with gifts from their employer, which included stories of hot chocolate sachets, pens and biscuits.
Ahh yes, who needs fair pay when you can have *checks notes* a teabag (From Tiktok) pic.twitter.com/gjz2hlfWSh
One person shared: “My work gave us all a free sample (one sheet) of those colour catchers you put in the washing machine. Didn’t even try to hide the free sample bit.”
However, the NHS has defended its actions, saying the tea bag was merely one part of a hamper of gifts sent out as an ‘act of kindness’.
Matthew Hopkins, Chief Executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said in a statement to Proper Manchester: “Of course we are hugely grateful for the hard work done by all our staff caring for our communities, and we are always seeking new ways to show appreciation and kindness to our teams.
“By way of an extra small but sincere thank you to our midwives and nurses for International Day of the Midwife and International Nurses’ Day, back in May, we sent each of them a certificate and a gift bag with a number of items in, including a branded tea bag, to encourage them to take a break.
Saying thanks to @WorcsAcuteNHS staff, a Thread:⁰ We're hugely grateful for the hard work of staff caring for our communities and always seeking new ways to show kindness to our teams⁰ We work with @WorcsCharity & trade union partners on how best to show our appreciation [1/5]
“We wanted to let them know how much we appreciate all the hard work they do and also further raise awareness of the important work our hospital charity is doing to support our staff wellbeing.
“It’s a shame that one small act of kindness, done with good intent as part of one of the many ways we say ‘thank you’ has been taken out of context in this way.”
This comes as NHS nurses prepare to vote on what could be their first ever strike in a dispute over pay.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said it will be advising hundreds of thousands of its members to support industrial action in a ballot that opens in mid-September.
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The barbecues pose a massive risk in unusually dry and hot weather
Sainsbury’s and Tesco are the latest supermarkets to pull disposable barbecues from shelves amid the ongoing heatwave.
As the UK bakes in temperature highs of 35C, the supermarket giants have made the decision to stop selling disposable barbecues across all their stores.
Sainsbury’s said the policy was a precautionary measure, after pausing the sale of disposable barbecues until further notice due to the fire risk they pose in the unusually hot and dry weather .
A spokesperson for the supermarket said: “As a precautionary measure we are removing from sale all disposable barbecues until further notice.
Crews from Oldham were out again last night dealing with a fire in moorland caused by a disposable BBQ. Fortunately our crews were able to bring the fire under control by this morning. Having a BBQ (or any fire) on the moors is thoughtless & irresponsible in this extreme weather. pic.twitter.com/YEGxHTu2z1
“Safety is our highest priority and we have made this decision due to the hot and dry weather that we are currently experiencing across the country.
“We will continue to closely monitor the situation and listen to customer feedback.”
Read More: MPs call for disposable barbecues to be banned ahead of summer
According to ITV News, Tesco has temporarily paused the sale of disposable barbecues across the UK, but it will continue to offer small metal portable barbecues for customers, saying that disposable barbecues will be made available again once weather conditions allow.
This comes after other retailers including Waitrose and Aldi announced they would no longer stock disposable barbecues due to their ‘detrimental impact’ on the environment and wildlife.
Co-Op and Morrisons don’t sell the barbecues in any of their stores near national parks.
Just last month, the Oldham Fire Team were called out to reports of a fire caused by a disposable barbecue in Oldham moorland.
While the fire was eventually brought under control, the crew took to social media to warn of the dangers these barbecues can pose, especially during extreme weather.
They wrote: “Crews from Oldham were out again last night dealing with a fire in moorland caused by a disposable BBQ.
“Fortunately our crews were able to bring the fire under control by this morning. Having a BBQ (or any fire) on the moors is thoughtless & irresponsible in this extreme weather.”
That’s an expensive Sausage, Bean and Cheese Melt…
A man has issued a warning to JustEat customers after he wound up spending over £200 on his Greggs haul.
Liam Halewood, thirty-six, treated himself to a Greggs takeaway on the JustEat app yesterday. His order consisted of a sausage, bean and cheese melt, a four-pack of cookies, a bag of Walkers crisps and a hot sandwich meal deal, totalling to a reasonable £11.80.
However, he was in for the shock of his life upon discovering he had been charged a staggering £249 for the JustEat delivery fee.
The Boy George impersonator, who lives in Blackpool, went on to share his receipt on social media as a warning for other customers to check their bank accounts.
A @katyperry no wonder they can pay you and @SnoopDogg megabucks for these adds just been charged £249 for a delivery from @JustEatUK xxx all jokes probably get it back but bloody hell is my order coming on a flight xx pic.twitter.com/zbvNhKei0p
Tagging JustEats in the post, Liam joked: “@katyperry no wonder they can pay you and @SnoopDogg megabucks for these adds just been charged £249 for a delivery from @JustEatUK xxx [sic] all jokes probably get it back but bloody hell is my order coming on a flight xx”.
However, Liam told the Liverpool Echo that he wasn’t the only customer to face extortionate delivery fees yesterday, explaining: “One [customer] said it was costing them £900 and another said it was going to cost them £399 for the delivery charges.
“I think JustEat has had a glitch in its system, which to be honest for a big company, it shouldn’t happen really.
“If someone didn’t check their statement and that money got taken out they say you only have like 24 hours to rectify any order that you have made.”
After sharing the receipt, JustEat reached out to Liam with a refund for the delivery fee and a £5 voucher for his next order.
Liam explained: “I think it is important that when you use delivery companies and when you’re paying on your card over the internet and the phone that you do check things anyway.
“Some older people who don’t really know how to use the internet might have just let that go but because I pulled mine up it got rectified dead quick.”
A JustEat spokesperson said: “We’re aware of an issue on our platform today that briefly affected the price of delivery orders for a very small percentage of our customers. This issue is now completely resolved and we are in the process of offering a full refund for all customers affected.”
Emergency services rushed to reports of a car crash in the early hours of Thursday
Tributes have poured in for a young dad with the ‘biggest heart and biggest smile’ who died in a car crash in St Helens this week.
Merseyside Police confirmed emergency services were called to reports of a car crash on Scafell Road, St Helens, at around 2am on Thursday August 11th.
Twenty-four-year-old Jordan Yates was found at the scene, but sadly died a short while later.
Detective Sergeant Kurt Timpson from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family of the man who sadly lost his life this morning.
UPDATE | We can confirm that the man who sadly died in a fatal road traffic collision in #StHelens in the early hours of this morning was Jordan Yates, 24, from St Helens. Info/dashcam to SCIU on 0151 777 5747, or SCIU@merseyside.police.uk ref 22000584994https://t.co/2hMMd8fO99 pic.twitter.com/7ASKy1JqMm
“They are being supported by our specially trained liaison officers while the investigation commences.
“I would appeal to anyone who witnessed this incident or properties in the area that may have CCTV or doorbell footage to please contact us.”
Since the news of his death, tributes have been pouring in for Jordan from heartbroken friends and family, including the owners of The Duke pub, who said in a social media post: “Woke up to the saddest news of Jordan Yates’ passing who I would class as not just a friend but also as a brother!
“Jordan always came into the pub with the biggest heart and biggest smile, of course, spending many nights stood in the corner chatting s**t with me.
“I feel literally like I’ve a lost family [member]. Words can’t explain the way this feels to me.
“So tonight we will be raising our glasses for Jordan from 9pm. All family and friends will receive a free drink from me. Absolutely devastated.”
“Love you always Jordan mate fly high in the sky.”
Another person added: “Can’t actually get my head around it!! Too young to go! RIP Jordan brother, until we meet again.”
Anyone who witnessed the collision or captured anything on CCTV or dash cam is asked to contact SCIU on (0151) 777 5747, or email SCIU@merseyside.police.uk. Alternatively, DM @MerPolCC quoting reference 22000584994.
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