WORCESTERSHIRE Acute Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Matthew Hopkins has defended the trust after it was mocked on TikTok for giving a single teabag ‘treat’ to a staff member.
The county’s health boss spoke after a video went viral on TikTok which showed user Eva’s dad, allegedly an NHS worker, opening the gift which came with the message: ‘A little treat to say thank you’ alongside NHS branding.
Inside was a single tea bag and the gesture sparked fury on the social media platform with some criticising the cost of sending the item while others sarcastically shared the post with #clapforcarers hashag, a reference to the applause for NHS workers during the pandemic.
One TikTok user said: “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”
However Mr Hopkins responded to the online furore with a statement which highlighted the trust’s work with health unions and the Worcestershire Acute Hospital’s Charity on how best to show its appreciation to staff.
“We’re hugely grateful for the hard work of staff caring for our communities and always seeking new ways to show kindness to our teams,” he said.
“This included offering every colleague an additional paid day off as a thank you for their incredible efforts during the pandemic.
“Over Christmas and New Year fortnight, we provided a free meal each day for every member of staff in our hospitals.
“Last year we relaunched our Staff Recognition Awards as another way of saying thanks to some of our teams.
“We offer wide ranging support to promote their mental and physical well-being. We also continue to offer free parking for all staff at all our sites.
“As an extra small but sincere thanks on International Day of the Midwife and International Nurses Day in May we sent individual certificates and gift bags with items including a branded tea bag encouraging staff to take a break.
“They were another way to say to our staff how much we appreciate them and share the important work our charity is doing to support them.
“It’s a shame one small part of one of many ways we say ‘thank’ has been taken out of context,” he added.
