Furious care home staff are calling for a boycott of Tesco after they refused to allow them to shop there during the special NHS time slots.<\/p>\n
Disgusted Senior care practitioner Ria Roberts, a 34-year-single mum who works for the Pendine Park care organisation in Wrexham, blasted the \u201clack of respect\u201d shown to them by the giant supermarket chains.<\/p>\n
Ria says she and\u00a0 team are on the front line of the coronavirus crisis and are putting themselves at risk just like NHS workers.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s understood Morrisons have imposed a similar ban but she praised Sainsbury\u2019s who have confirmed that care home staff are allowed to shop during the NHS hour in their stores.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cI\u2019m appalled that we are being treated this way by Tesco in Wrexham.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust like the people working in the NHS we are being exposed to the risks by working on the frontline in the war against the coronavirus.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s ridiculous. All\u00a0 we want is a bit of time in the supermarket\u00a0 without the crowds to grab our\u00a0 bits and pieces before work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am beyond anger. It\u2019s so frustrating because we are all working hard and leaving our children and picking up extra shifts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are doing\u00a0 anything\u00a0 and everything we can, exactly the same as the NHS and we are not given the same respect \u2013 nowhere near the same respect.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are dealing with people who have brain tumours subdural haematomas, vented patients. We are not dealing with someone who can\u2019t make a cup of tea and a piece of toast. They are people with really, really complex needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone at Pendine is really trying hard. Infection control has been brilliant and in all fairness everyone here is doing brilliantly. I couldn\u2019t work with a better team. They are absolutely fantastic.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the staff have\u00a0 pulled together so well but they are so disheartened when they see we don\u2019t get the respect the same has the NHS staff who we know are doing a brilliant job but so are we.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a single mother with a six year old daughter so it is really tough for me at the moment \u2013 it would be a massive help to be able to shop during that hour.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not asking much. We are not asking for more money or this that and the other. All we are asking for is a bit leeway in the morning just to pick up some essentials for our families.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know some of our staff are working 13 and a half hours a day and then we are not allowed to pop in for a loaf of bread, it\u2019s disgraceful.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all on the front line, all of us. We\u2019ve got the respect for the NHS and I\u2019m sure they do for us but I just think Tesco needs to gain that respect as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Highfield manager Tracey Smith added: \u201cI think it\u2019s extremely sad and disappointing that my staff who are coming out to work and struggling to get the shopping they need on their days off when other people are able to go at any time, and I just feel for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy team does an important job. We\u2019re also on the frontline, looking after vulnerable people. The staff are also putting themselves at risk the same as the NHS staff, and we\u2019re trying to help and support the NHS in what we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had confirmation from Tesco that care home staff are not eligible to join NHS workers and we\u2019re still trying to establish the position in relation to Morrisons but we\u2019ve been told they\u2019ve adopted a similar policy to Tesco.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to shop at Tesco but I won\u2019t be in future and I will be urging other\u00a0 people to boycott them as well any other supermarket behaving in such a reprehensible way.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll credit to Sainsbury\u2019s who haven\u2019t behaved like that. They\u2019ve seen the value of what social care practitioners do.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a sentiment echoed by Pendine Park proprietor Mario Kreft MBE, who is also the chair of Care Forum Wales which represents around 500 independent care providers.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cIt\u2019s a very sorry state of affairs. We have known for many years that the 1.6 million social care workers in the UK are largely seen by society as second rate to their colleagues in the NHS.<\/p>\n
\u201cQt this time of unprecedented national crisis this view is being reinforced by supermarkets who are actually cashing in on the difficulties.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe supermarkets and their shareholders are doing rather well but sadly they don\u2019t\u2019\u00a0\u00a0 value the huge contribution made to our communities and to our nation by this army of social care workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen all this is over people will be able to reflect on who was treating who well and who was just making money out of this crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all love and support the NHS and value its staff but we should never forget about the value to our community of the other social care workers, whether it\u2019s\u00a0 keeping people safe in their own homes or whether it\u2019s looking after profoundly unwell people with dementia in care homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Pendine, they\u2019re the coronavirus warriors.\u00a0 They deserve every bit of support and if you can\u2019t even allow them to shop while you\u2019re making a fortune out of a crisis, it\u2019s an indictment of the society we have. It\u2019s something that surely has to change.\u201d<\/p>\n