An NHS trust that gave teabags to staff as a “little treat to say thank you” says it’s a shame that the gesture has been “taken out of context”.

A TikTok video showing a small envelope apparently given out by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust containing a teabag has sparked criticism online.

Some on social media suggested the gift was a waste of money, particularly during the ongoing cost of living crisis, while others believed the treat was not enough.

But the trust has defended the gesture, saying the teabag had been part of a giftbag given out to staff back in May to say thank you for their hard work and encourage them to take a break.

The debate comes as nurses are set to vote on whether to strike over pay.

Trust chief executive Matthew Hopkins said: “Of course we are hugely grateful for the hard work done by all our staff caring for our communities and we are always seeking new ways to show appreciation and kindness to our teams.

“As a thank you for all their incredible efforts during the pandemic we worked with our charity and our trade union partners to show our appreciation in a number of ways.”

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He said this included offering every colleague an additional paid day’s leave and free meals for staff working over the winter holidays.

Mr Hopkins said that the trust has a “wide-ranging support offer to protect their mental and physical health and wellbeing” as well as free parking for all staff.

He added: “By way of an extra small but sincere thank you to our midwives and nurses for International Day of the Midwife and International Nurses’ Day, back in May, we sent each of them a certificate and a gift bag with a number of items in, including a branded teabag, to encourage them to take a break.

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“We wanted to let them know how much we appreciate all the hard work they do and also further raise awareness of the important work our hospital charity is doing to support our staff wellbeing.

“It’s a shame that one small act of kindness, done with good intent as part of one of the many ways we say ‘thank you’ has been taken out of context in this way.”

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