doctor helps lead an initiative where people pour coffee health service workers has said she hopes staff feel they are “getting little support” amid ongoing strikes and pressure.
Dr. Julia Patterson, 37, is one of three directors of the nonprofit campaign EveryDoctor, a group founded in 2019 by a team of doctors to lobby for the Government for political change that will provide adequate support, conditions and a sustainable working system for doctors and NHS staff.
After partnering with Leeds-based specialty coffee company Echelon Coffee Roasting and engaging on social media, EveryDoctor has organized more than 1,500 coffee orders sent to NHS staff after members of the public and colleagues turned up to “show a sign of support”.
“The feedback we’re getting from NHS staff is that gestures like this make a big difference at a very difficult time,” said Dr. Patterson to PA news agency.
“I felt that if we could do even a small thing to show people that they are valued and that people are in awe of the things they do for others, it could make a difference.
“I think if I were in this situation I would feel like someone was behind me somewhere, and this can be really moving.”
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has been urged by unions to tackle the “staff crisis” consuming the NHS, with new statistics released on Thursday showing emergency room waiting times the worst ever as thousands of nurses and ambulance workers go on strike in a dispute paying too much with the government.
Dr. Patterson, a former psychiatric doctor, worked for the NHS for eight years but left in 2018.
She said that when buying a cup of coffee, a small donation is also made to EveryDoctor, which operates democratically with a membership program of about 1,200 physicians and 1,000 members of the public.
You can send three types of coffee: a solidarity, support or revive coffee, as the initiative is part of EveryDoctor’s wider campaign called Revive the NHS.
“We hope to keep this going through the winter, to make people feel like they’re receiving these little tokens of support,” said Dr. Patterson.
“(And) something really wonderful has happened – we expected NHS staff to order a bag for themselves, but what we’ve heard from staff are messages like, ‘Do you think I’ll get a bag for my fellow nurse or for the department manager who is currently doing so well?’”
“Actually, it’s terrible to see what people are going through, and yet the resilience shown by employees is nothing short of extraordinary.
“There is also a situation where many public sector workers are currently on strike or are considering striking, and some of the media reports coming out about NHS workers are not very sympathetic to the conditions they are working in. currently.”
Dr. Patterson said: “Things are worse in the NHS now than ever before”.
She thinks many employees may feel that they are not supported by “some of the things they read in the paper.”
“The reason we decided to do this is because during the pandemic we had a texting network between a lot of doctors where we contacted them to see if they were okay because some people weren’t okay.
“I am well aware that people who are under high pressure often look like they can keep their heads above water, and keep that up for a very, very long time, and then all of a sudden they stop because it all gets too much because the stress is really very high. high.
“The NHS is a huge employer, there are hundreds of thousands of employees who probably love coffee, and if we could get tens of thousands of people a bag of coffee that would be fantastic, to make people’s day a little bit better.” .”
For more information about EveryDoctor’s work, visit: www.everydoctor.org.uk