Clap for Heroes has been announced today, from tomorrow, people will be encouraged to stand on their doorsteps, weekly, once more and clap. This time the word has been changed from carers to heroes, and while I realise this may be controversial, I’m mad about it. I’m not happy, but I’m pleased to see most of Twitter isn’t either!

on our doorsteps to support our NHS, caring staff and key workers. It was a lovely thing to see for the first few weeks, emotional too. Then I think it had run its course. There was a turning point for me when the cases were getting higher and I began to think it wasn’t enough. Somehow, it was nice and then I feel it turned insulting. Much of the UK felt the same, citing that our carers don’t want just a ‘clap’,  so don’t bother. When it ended, I was actually glad.

I Support our NHS 

I fully, 10o% support our NHS, staff and key workers, but not this way, they deserve more.

I used to work for the NHS, I have family who work in hospitals, friends who were nurses and neighbours who currently are. They deserve more than clapping on the doorstep and it’s one reason why I won’t be participating. Another reason is that I have tested positive for covid-19 myself this week and I will not be standing on my doorstep risking the spread of the virus.

Our Government Should Act

The way we can say thank you is to our hardworking NHS, medical and caring staff is to actually reward them in a way that counts. Financially. Initiated by the government, allocating more funding for the NHS.

By increasing wages to reflect what these people deserve for the very hard work they do, may ease some strain. While this won’t take away from daily duties and hardship, especially right now, this may somehow help. A pay rise across the board is long overdue, prior to 2020 and prior to covid-19. This isn’t something we can necessarily all get involved with, but there are petitions online that you could consider signing. When a petition reaches a certain number of signatures it will have to be taken to parliament.

This week a friend of mine and former nurse shared on Facebook how upset she was that the government have decided to ‘set back’ and pay rises for nursing staff. I fully support her feelings here, as nurses typically work the most hours and shifts. Why are the government postponing this?

I’ve seen many conversations online lately about MPs having subsidised meals. In protest, I’ve signed a petition myself to revoke this. In my opinion, most MP’s are overpaid and certainly don’t deserve to ear more and have subsidised food and drink over our Medical staff. Apply the benefit to them.

My concerns

Clap for heroes can encourage neighbours to get outside and mingle with those in their area. While even from a distance this may be great and provide a sense of community, we all have to bear in mind that not everyone might adhere to *strict* social distancing. As long as everyone appropriately keeps their distance, it should be fine. But I’ve not entirely witnessed than on my own street. We’ve all been to the supermarket and had an employee brush past, another shopper reach across us for a tin for beans and all felt uncomfortable that people are getting ‘too close’ lately.

We’re all fed up of talking about covid, but we should still be doing out bit to avoid spreading the virus. Me and my family have been extremely careful throughout the pandemic, due to the nature of jobs and health. Yet now, we’ve somehow contracted the virus. We’ve been very careful, only had one household bubble as advised by the Welsh Government (following guidance after the firebreak) and only mixed with this household on Christmas Day. This goes to show that no matter how vigilant you are, you could still contract covid—19.

Final thoughts

We should show our support for our hardworking heroes despite the pandemic. Though it may be hard to think of ways to say thank you right now, I just don’t think this ‘clapping’ will do much. Is it going to spur the heroes on or is it going to make them feel insulted in a way? I think simple things like offering NHS discounts at hairdressers etc (when open) and allowing NHS and care staff allocated early supermarket hours is great. It’s a start, and discounts have been in place for a long time prior to 2020, which is great.

For me, clap for heroes isn’t the right direction, not right now. Our NHS staff want us to stay indoors so we don’t get sick enough to attend intensive care.

If you’re going to clap for heroes tomorrow and beyond, I won’t judge. I appreciate that many people will simply consider it the only way to show support right now and I do understand that.

Covid-19 cases are very high throughout the UK. We should all do our bit to stop the spread of the virus and stay home when we can. I know this blog post won’t be to everyone’s liking, but it’s something I feel very strongly about. Sending healthy and happy vibes to you all.