THE No Help Service
Now I know it's Friday night and that I've had a wonderful week but I'm going to have a little moan. Poor Chris (Manda's other half) hurt his back playing football last weekend. He struggled on manfully for the rest of the weekend but it didn't improve. He really needed to see a doctor so on Monday morning he tried to phone for an appointment. The system at the surgery is that you have to phone at 8am in order to get an appointment for that day; you cannot phone to make an appointment in advance. Therefore EVERYBODY who wants to see a doctor is naturally hitting their dial button as soon as 8am comes round before the surgery runs out of appointments. When Chris finally got to speak to the receptionist all the appointments were filled. He asked if he could make an appointment for the next day......OH NO...he would have to try again at 8am the NEXT morning and hope to get through in time. No luck Tuesday either...by now he is in agony and his back shows no sign of improvement. So "taking the bull by the horns" he struggled into town and presented himself at the surgery and told the receptionist he was willing to sit there all day if he needed to but wanted to see a doctor. NO LUCK!... he said "What if I come down here at 8am tomorrow will you give me an appointment then?". NO...he would have to phone. Wednesday and Thursday he went through the same routine of phoning with no luck and then going into town and calling into the surgery again! Finally today...no doubt they are sick of seeing him...the receptionist has agreed to book him an appointment for NEXT TUESDAY!!!!!!!
I know we should be grateful that we have a National Health Service; we are one of the few countries that do I believe.....but honestly.....is this the way to run it!!!
Ironically enough one of my Blogfriend's mother had to go into hospital this week. It was expected that she would be out the same day but the hospital decided to keep her in overnight...that's fair enough but then the doctor didn't turn up to discharge her so she was stuck in there another day!! Yet the NHS are always moaning that they are short of beds!
It reminds me so much of when Mick went and had his biopsy. All he wanted to do was come home after we heard the news that nothing could be done. He was so frightened that he was going to die in hospital ....he wanted to be at home with me, the family and sitting in his beloved garden. I went everyday and stayed with him for every second of the visiting times. We would go and sit outside for most of the time...he only had to go back to the ward for his meals and to sleep. We often thought of doing a "runner"! After a week Mick was on the verge of discharging himself when finally the doctor said he could come home the next day. I was over there ready to get him home but then we had to wait until gone 5pm until "somebody" would write his drug prescription. I'll never forget that moment when he walked through the front door so HAPPY!!! As it was Mick only had a further two weeks before he started to loose his speech and physical abilities. How I regret that wasted week he had in that hospital when he was well and fit and away from his little paradise..................
Our garden May 2005
Right deep breath Ruth....end of whinge...
DirtyButter; my very own Sherlock Holmes, has now found out that there is an artist called Libby Moore; if she is the Libby that is Greg's wife it's possible that Henry (the artist) was really a friend of hers. DB has emailed two galleries that sold some of her paintings. There was even one on eBay, but the seller is no longer a registered user, so she has been unable to contact them. She is such an angel with all she is doing.....I feel more hopeful each day as she unravels more of the mystery. She suggested that it may be an idea to put a photo of Mick, as he would have looked around the time of the painting, on my original post. I've done this and shall repeat it here.
MICK
7 visitors have commented:
Doctors receptionists are the spawn of the devil! (OK not all of them, but a lot!)
Really sorry to hear about Chris, but why is it always sport related injuries with these blokes! they manage to not harm themselves at work, but put them on a cricket, rugby or football arena and away they go!lol!
The amount of time mum has spent in hospital instead of being at home, hit a new record last year of 4 months and i mean she really could of been much better off at home!
I would do anything to give you that week back Ruth, but whatever time Mick had if he was with you, that would beat any garden, even one as nice as yours!
Dirty Butter is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!
I spotted a Libby Moore in my google trail yesterday will have to go and check again!
Im waiting for the post Ruth that says youve tracked that painting, can feel it in my water..got a gut feeling on that this is going to prove successful and Dirty Butter is just wonderful.
That week must have been the longest week for you and Mick, time becomes so precious x
As for doctors receptionists I agree with Claire lol
Hope chris isnt in too much pain, I can relate to how he felt, brought back times I felt like staging a sit in when my grandson was really sick and couldnt get an appointment, have never understood the logic of that system at all.
That appointment story is awful; our doctors had the same system until recently when they changed it so you can now book some appts in advance for other days.
The photo of your garden is lovely. I feel so sad that Mick was unable to spend that week at home in his garden :(
good news about the painting!!
Please change doctor - even if you have to ring the Primary Care Trust to do so.
Most of us try to run systems that provide same day access for those that need, access within a couple of days if less pressing, and access to the doc of your choice within a week (leave permitting)
Surgeries with systems this bad are an embarrassment to us all - and if the 'front of house' is this badly organised, the healthcare behind it probably isn't much better.
Passing GP speaks!
passing GP; just in case you drop by again. It sounds like the practice you work for must be one of the better ones. Sadly in my experience we would need to travel a long way to find anything remotely like a "caring" health system around here!!!If you need evidence of that just read my archives. Thanks for the visit; a better response than we'd get from out own doctor!
The Libby Moore artist trail has ended with a dud. I tracked her down, and she was nice enough to reply, but she is not kin to the Greg Moore we're looking for. ;(
The more I read about National Health Care, the more convinced I am that the US does NOT need to move in that direction!
As for my Sherlock tendencies ... well, I'm kinda like a pit bull .. I can't stand to let go HeHeHe!!
Dirty Butter; how kind of her to reply. Thanks once again for all your efforts. Although this may seem negative that this Libby is not the one we are looking for I shall look upon it as a positive; after all it's one dead end out of the way!:->
Rx
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