Hospital staff appreciation gifts in/near London?
June 19, 2018 7:04 AM   Subscribe

I’m in a London hospital with c diff. Nobody can tell me how long I’ll be here and the staff are overburdened with patients. What is an acceptable gift to send my traveling companion out to get or order for staff?

Food? How much? Candy? Pizza? Donuts? Fruit basket?

I am usually good at this but I’m American and I’m not usually the person in the hospital. It will not occur to said companion to even say thank you, much less provide a tangible gesture.

I’m exhausted by the volume of emotional labor I’ve been doing for this person as much as by illness and pain. I’m exhausted. I need to be specific and direct.

I’ll be writing thank you cards from the states. I understand that technically that’s ‘enough.’ Please don’t make me feel bad for wanting to do more. These people are being very gentle with me and I’m a mess. (Except the one doc who spent ten minutes telling me I don’t understand medicine well enough to know that the American system is superior to the NHS. That doctor is not my favorite.)
posted by bilabial to Shopping (11 answers total)
 
Any sort of nice food that can be easily shared and eaten quickly will go down well with nurses -- small cakes, cookies, pastries, etc. I wouldn't get anything that requires being warm to be good, since it's likely it will be sitting out in a break room for a while.

Since you're in London, I highly recommend Crosstown Doughnuts, which can also be ordered online. They're delicious, come in large boxes and have vegan options as well.

And I hope it goes without saying that it's ok for you to abstain from doing emotional labour for your travelling companion. You're in hospital ffs, you shouldn't have to be taking care of them! If they're being a pain, send them out to do touristy things for a while and concentrate on getting yourself well. I hope things get better soon.
posted by fight or flight at 7:14 AM on June 19, 2018 [3 favorites]


Ask at the nursing station around lunchtime if they'd like some pizza, then send your companion out to grab some margheritas? I did that before in a maternity ward (in the UK) and it was appreciated. Basically any of the food items you suggest would be go down well I suspect - quantity-wise, say 1 box of Roses or Celebrations chocolates, 1 tin/box of biscuits (cookies), 12 donuts, 2-3 pizzas (depending on staff numbers/pizza size).
Don't feel bad for wanting to do more, I'm sure the staff absolutely appreciate it and I would do the same (and I'm British).
posted by EndsOfInvention at 7:15 AM on June 19, 2018 [1 favorite]


That's a really nice thing to do. When my father was in a care facility, we made a gift basket where most items were individually wrapped. A bunch of little packages of nuts, savory snacks and chocolates. Everyone thanked us profusely.
posted by BibiRose at 7:28 AM on June 19, 2018


If you can afford to, a delivery for each shift would probably be appreciated. Those Crosstown donuts above look like the perfect treat (and delivery to boot!)
posted by Ftsqg at 8:16 AM on June 19, 2018


You are lovely to do this, it will be hugely appreciated, especially if you're able to cover the shifts and fight or flight's idea for online ordering of Crosstown Doughnuts is genius. Hope your recovery is swift and complete.
posted by humph at 8:47 AM on June 19, 2018


If you need a really low-maintenance solution, I have a friend who is frequently the attending family member for someone in the hospital a lot and she brings in 2 boxes of wrapped snack bars (like Kind or Lara bars) for each shift, leaving them in their boxes but putting a note on the boxes. They're appreciated because a) wrapped means they can drop one or two in their pockets for later, b) if there are allergen concerns the bars are wrapped and the ingredients are on the wrapper and box c) remaining bars can be left in a break room or shared with patients/family.

A very unofficial vetting (checking the Tesco website) suggests Kind bars in boxes aren't as prevalent there, and boxed bars only come 3-4 to a box (so maybe 3-4 boxes per shift depending on staff size, running about US$3.50 per box), but the Naked, Eat Natural, and Trek brands all fit the same niche.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:57 AM on June 19, 2018 [2 favorites]


While the research is now nearly five years old, scientific study would suggest some tubs of Roses chocolates (available in just about every supermarket, possibly in the hospital shop) would go down well. From less rigorous personal observation, Miniature Heroes and Celebrations go down as well as Roses.
posted by Vortisaur at 12:20 PM on June 19, 2018 [2 favorites]


Yep, “normal” is Roses, Celebrations etc. Donuts are the kind of special gift that would get specific “ooh look what Mrs Smith’s friend brought us!” appreciative comments at handover. Most people don’t bring anything though, so don’t feel you have to if your friend is being hopeless! It’s nice to have, but a personal thank you will be just as much appreciated.

Never buy Roses from the hospital shop! They ratchet the price up. A Tesco/Sainsbury’s local will be about half the price.
posted by tinkletown at 2:29 PM on June 19, 2018 [1 favorite]


Quality Street, Roses, Celebrations and Heroes are all ubiquitous but well received in patient facing parts of the NHS, because they're small enough to snack on and have long shelf life. If you can trust your companion to track them down, snacks from the American shelf at a Tesco or Sainsburys would be good. Tootsie Rolls and Twinkies are very easily available but still not unusual and would make it 'personal'.

If you want to show your thanks with gifts once you're back home, the hospital will have a charitable fund which, e.g. provides pretty bedspreads or Christmas parties & gifts for patients, and other things which are pretty strictly segregated from actual healthcare but are directly involved in making it less miserable to be a patient. Whoever coordinates donations will definitely make the ward know you donated in their name.
posted by ambrosen at 2:47 PM on June 19, 2018


Any time I have asked health care staff what they like, the answer is food. Pizza, doughnuts, cookies, great coffee, chocolate will be welcome.
posted by theora55 at 4:11 PM on June 19, 2018 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: I tasked the person with getting a box of chocolates or cookies each day.

I'm home now and all better. Thanks for helping me be less stressed out about emotional labor while I was sick. There was so much emotional labor and I'm glad it's done.
posted by bilabial at 1:05 PM on July 19, 2018 [4 favorites]


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