WalesOnline readers have shared their disgust at a Tory MP's defence of the Prime Minister's rule-breaking when he stated nurses and teachers and done the same thing. Litchfield MP Michael Fabricant said many would have a drink at the end of a shift during the pandemic, which would have been a breach of the strict rules. Commenting on WalesOnline's Facebook page hundreds of people have vented their frustrations with the situation.
Teachers and nurses, their partners, and others shared an overwhelming opinion of disgust at the statements, with many sharing just how strict the rules were for workers. Other comments referenced the frontline workers who moved out of their homes to protect their families during the height of the pandemic, so would never do anything as thoughtless as attending a birthday party.
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Teachers
Many teachers quickly commented with their experiences to highlight the lack of sense in Mr Fabricant's comments. Annmarie Wilson wrote: "As a teacher, I can assure you, we were not doing the same thing! However, we were putting ourselves and our families at risk by helping to run hub schools for key worker children without any PPE, masks or even hand sanitiser to even try to protect ourselves."
Adrian Smith added just how ridiculous his defence of Boris was, commenting: "I am pretty sure that if I had alcohol in the staffroom, I would be in serious trouble. In actual fact, the teaching staff where I work went to great lengths to keep pupils and staff safe. It really is quite insulting."
Teacher Leanne Grabham highlighted that strict rules were kept in all areas of the school. she said: "Makes my blood boil! In our school we were allowed a maximum of 3 in a staff room at one time due to social distancing. Kettles we’re sanitised after use. Photocopiers had to be wiped down. Split breaks meant staff were not even seeing each other. Add to that that alcohol isn’t allowed in school premises - shows how utterly deluded these buffoons are! After a hard day/week/term teaching in the pandemic the only thing I wanted was my bed!"
Nurses
NHS Worker Sian RW stated she was "sickened" by the MP's remarks that nurses would have an alcoholic drink at the end of the shift. She shared: "Firstly it's a sackable offence to consume alcohol whilst on duty or not in an NHS setting. As a nurse who worked throughout the pandemic at the end of my shift, I was having three showers terrified to take the virus home to my family and then falling into bed as soon as I got home.
"I spent many shift in extreme upsetting situations where patients at end of life were apart from their loved ones all because of measures set out by the government. Such measures were kept. All staff I worked with were could mostly take a literal 2 minute break in a room on their own due to the 2 metre rule. Now when I was working with these people at no point did I think it was OK TO BREAK the rules. Not even for a drink or a mouthful of food on the go!"
Tracy Davies added how impossible it would have been to socialise like that. She wrote: "I’ve never worked in a hospital that has a staff room and our canteen was closed. We had to moved all our office furniture to separate rooms so we weren’t in the same room unless we could be 2m apart and did our clinical meetings from different rooms via teams. I’m a nurse, so no, no get-togethers during work let alone after!"
Other readers
Other WalesOnline writers also quickly came to the defence of key workers during the pandemic. Julie Fletcher wrote: "Total disregard and utter disgrace! Clearly has no understanding of the what the real world and how hard professions worked!"
Philip Derges highlighted how hypocritical Boris Johnson has been. He commented: "My father died of Covid-19, in a care home. Words fail me! Johnson has lied to Parliament and the people and should resign."
It was also highlighted by many that drinking alcohol on shift would be a fireable offence. Paul Williams wrote: "For 99.9% of the working population of the UK. It’s a sacking offence to consume alcohol on the works premises. Many companies use alcohol and drug testing on the work sites too. Instant dismissal." Get all the latest news from WalesOnline straight to your inbox with our newsletters.
