| Lochalsh
|
Oops, I've reiterated some of rayven's questions. I'm just back from the doctor's office myself, so I guess I'm still in a zone.
Then again, I'm losing gray cells in my brain. They're going to my head, instead. :)
Reply #461. Apr 28 10, 11:22 AM
|
| lesley153
|
Thanks, Rayven, so would I - but I thought I'd have more credibility if I suggested retraining! And in fact that's how they approach complaints. Not how can we hang and flog this person, but how can their performance be improved. Sacking is a last resort.
Lochalsh, I don't know how our malpractice culture works either, but I do know we're becoming more like America in so many ways, and litigation-happy is an important part of it.
Interesting question about suing an NHS employee - I don't see why not, except most people don't. The best example I can think of is the doctor who gave me a (token) dose of sedative, even though I'd been telling every single person involved with the test that I didn't want one. I might be able to press charges for assault/battery, and he would say I consented. He had the unbelievable nerve to visit my ward and tell me I'd consented. Huh! He also gave me a cheery smile and wave every time he saw me. *ugh*
The final insult to my intelligence was to tell me that he'd rung Papworth and sorted out the best possible surgeon for me. I don't believe he has a say in who I get. Actually, I'd be surprised if anyone in my local hospital has a say in who I get. The local people refer me, and Papworth decides who my surgeon will be.
I don't know what will happen next. They did hint that they didn't see the sneery one as being the only one at fault. They'll compare my version of events with the crew's versions, decide where the truth lies, and they will get in touch with me. Generally, when people are disciplined, what happens is usually confidential, between the staff and the disciplinary body, so I don't expect to learn too much. We shall see - I may be pleasantly surprised.
This afternoon I chatted to a friend who's been a GP's receptionist for 25 years. She is confident that they will all be spoken to, but the sneery one, at least, will get a serious reprimand, and a black mark on her record. She was horrified that they didn't help me down from the high step of the ambulance - which could have been lowered and wasn't - and didn't offer me any help getting inside.
She had a suggestion about the remark that it was the driver's first day. I'm not a nervous passenger, but we all know people who are - they clutch handles, and squeal, and groan, and shout warnings throughout the drive. The worst ones refuse to go in any car that someone else is driving. If I had been of a nervous disposition, believing that I had a novice driver might have tipped me over the edge. I might have been terrified, might perhaps have told her to stop the ambulance and call for a "proper" driver. How nasty would that have been! In fact, I didn't give the driving a thought, because I was perfectly comfortable with it: and I didn't believe that a novice would be let loose with such an important piece of gear - they'd have to have a lot of training. And one of the managers said that she's one of the best drivers they've got. Which didn't surprise me.
Who needs hugs when they can have abrazos? :p |
Reply #462. Apr 28 10, 1:07 PM
|
| Lochalsh
|
I'm sorry to hear that the Reino Unido (might as well keep with the Spanish theme) is becoming litigation-happy. Perhaps the practice won't affect your health system, though; here, it drives up already-sky-high medical costs.
The doctor who gave you a sedative and then *decided* what surgeon would treat you in another hospital sounds as though he has delusions of grandeur, or, if I may use the vernacular, he comes off as a bit of a pompous you-know-what. *blush*
I cannot believe you weren't helped from the ambulance, just cannot!
Hope the day didn't wear you to a frazzle. I'm sending you some more abracitos, since I trust kind attention from friends helps you. It certainly does me.
(((((((((((Lesley)))))))))
Reply #463. Apr 28 10, 1:49 PM
|
| lesley153
|
I think it's been coming, slowly, for a long time, but that can change. Of course there are always people who will sue anyone for anything at the drop of a hat, but most of us are easy-going and forgiving rather than opportunistic - or perhaps just too damn lazy to complain.
The doctor who knows my mind better than I do? he certainly has delusions of adequacy - and must be pretty frightened, and desperate, to try to convince me that I consented to something I thought and still think was pointless, or that he has any say at all in my treatment at another hospital. He's been in Cardiology for three years, which is no time at all for a wannabe specialist.
Today I held one hand about a foot above the other, and said to the ambulance men that "that" doesn't look very high from this angle, but it's huge when you're stepping down from it. I asked if it was possible to lower the platform so you can just walk straight off it, not drop down, and they said yes, it is.
Not frazzled, thank you - just a bit tired. |
Reply #464. Apr 28 10, 4:29 PM
|
| lesley153
|
| And grateful for abrazos and abracitos! All sizes welcome! |
Reply #465. Apr 28 10, 4:30 PM
|
| robert326
|
Or an abrazoto or abrazón (did I just make up my own quasi-Spanish words?)
Reply #466. Apr 28 10, 6:23 PM
|
| Lochalsh
|
You made up the first one: try "abrazote." :)
Reply #467. Apr 28 10, 6:25 PM
|
| lesley153
|
Who'd have thought there were so many words for a cuddle!
Robert, I hope you're offering. :) |
Reply #468. Apr 28 10, 6:37 PM
|
| Lochalsh
|
Lesley said: Who'd have thought there were so many words for a cuddle!
____________________
Okay, Lesley, I may be forced to pull out the big hugs. Try "retequeteabracitos." That's something like "many, many affectionate little hugs."
Okay, feel spoiled enough yet? :-)
Reply #469. Apr 28 10, 7:19 PM
|
guitargoddess 
|
Aw, I only know English words for hugs :(
I'm supposed to be pretty proficient in French, but can't think of the word... embrasser is the verb, can't think of the noun!
Reply #470. Apr 28 10, 9:51 PM
|
| Lochalsh
|
GG, there is a feminine noun, 'l'étreinte,' for 'hug', but I'd be inclined to say "je te prends dans mes bras," instead. I know that that's "I take you in my arms" in English and sounds like something out of a 1940s romantic film, but it somehow seems less cold or clinical than the noun alone. I'm not a native speaker, though, and cultural connotations are hard to get at sometimes.
Reply #471. Apr 28 10, 11:03 PM
|
| Lochalsh
|
Just to add that this is Lesley's blog, after all, so I should leave her a "Bonjour!" to greet her next time she reads these posts ....
((((((Lesley))))))
Reply #472. Apr 28 10, 11:05 PM
|
| lesley153
|
I'm spoilt, I'm spoilt! :)
Robert, I hope I haven't frightened you off.
GG, isn't embrasser to kiss? Result would be un baiser?
Bonjour tout le monde!
|
Reply #473. Apr 29 10, 5:25 AM
|
| Lochalsh
|
Bonjour, Reine de la Jeunesse! :-)
(That makes me a princess, of course.)
Reply #474. Apr 29 10, 7:05 AM
|
| Lochalsh
|
Sure, you can say "je t'embrasse," which means both "I kiss you" and "I hug you." I can't think of any specific *noun* for 'hug' other than the one I mentioned earlier. There is 'embrasse,' but it refers to curtain ties.
Much as I love French, I'm bowing out of the present discussion before it reaches dangerous territory. ;-)
Besides, it's more fun to give hugs than to talk about them!
(((((((((((Lesley)))))))))))))
Reply #475. Apr 29 10, 7:16 AM
|
| lesley153
|
| Phew - what a relief - I can barely keep up. I really am reaching in the depths of my memory to come up with this much! And I couldn't agree more; most things are more fun to do than to talk about. {naughty grin} |
Reply #476. Apr 29 10, 10:00 AM
|
| Lochalsh
|
Sorry, I can be a real pedant.
Lesley, what's up with you today? Feeling all right? Entertaining yourself adequately? Getting ready to read Charterhouse of Parma in the original? :-)
Reply #477. Apr 29 10, 10:33 AM
|
| lesley153
|
Feeling OK, thank you! with every intention of staying alive till my op (and afterwards). Can't give up now. Too many people left to annoy!
Quite a lot of phone calls in the last couple of days, including lots of waiting (*beep* You are next in the queue. *beep* You are next in the queue. *beep*). Some interesting ones.
I rang Papworth and spoke to someone in admissions and then to the surgeon's secretary, who was about to phone me with an appointment! It's to meet him on 17th May. He'll decide what needs doing, and how, and how soon, and then I'll have a pre-op assessment a couple of weeks in advance. I've been referred as "routine" which is probably better than urgent! but they're hoping to get it done before September. I'm hoping they will too!
They also explained to me about patient transport. I think Papworth is awkward to get to from Bedford, OK with a car but not if I can't drive. I knew about patient transport taking people to and from hospitals but not GPs. They get funding for it so they're not allowed to argue or pretend they don't know about it.
Jonathan will take the afternoon off so he can take me and meet the surgeon with me, to talk about treatment and timetable, and to ask questions. I have two stock questions - where is the bucket of sand for me to stick my head in and who will wake me when it's over. Actually I usually have three - what will happen if I don't have this op? but this time this is one question I don't need to ask. Jonathan will have loads, and they'll all be intelligent. I'll request patient transport for the pre-op assessment but not for the surgery because Jonathan wants to be around for that. |
Reply #478. Apr 29 10, 5:34 PM
|
| lesley153
|
I also rang the practice manager about transferring from my GP to one of the other two in the practice. I didn't like his manner or what he told me. The protocol, he said, is that I send a written request to him for a transfer to one of the other two, and he and all three GPs will discuss it. It seems that the three GPs are separate when it suits them, and together when it suits them, just like cyclists are road-users when they want to take up the same space as a car but at a fraction of a car's speed; and pedestrians when they want to shoot through red lights.
He did say that it's unlikely to happen. Just think - I could arrive for an appointment to see the new one, and see the old one, and that wouldn't be very good, would it? When he said "see" I thought he meant have a consultation with, if the one I'm registered with is unavailable. That surprised me because they won't let you see either of the other two if yours isn't there, which is why I guessed "see" might have meant bump into, rather than have a consultation with. I'm still not sure, though, because the practice manager is too pleased with himself to realise how ambiguous he can be. He made it clear that he isn't medically trained, he's just there as an administrator. Afterthought: perhaps he does it purposely. People are much easier to manipulate if they've first been confused out of their heads.
And I'm not sure if I imagined the suggestion that if I have trouble with one GP I could have trouble with the others, and the threatening tone to his voice, that I could be branded a troublemaker. Nasty, nasty. So I leapt on that one straight away. I've had a few GPs in Bedford and too many to remember from my moves round London, and I have never (ever) wanted to change till now. I said that our relationship had broken down irretrievably - sounds like a divorce! - and I hadn't wanted to see him since he implied that I was a liar and a hypochondriac. I said I wanted a GP I could work with, not one who would say "just keep taking the tablets"; one who would communicate, not just roll his eyes whenever I asked him a question.
I also said that I'd had heart failure for a year and he had completely missed it - hadn't even bothered to pick his stethoscope up. When he did tell me I had heart failure, and sent me off to see a cardiologist, it was more by luck than judgment. The practice manager said doctors have six or seven years' training to do their jobs, and can see things the rest of us can't see. I suggested that, if you tell your GP you have shortness of breath, the first thing you expect him to do is pick up his stethoscope. The practice manager said not necessarily. He said he trusts his doctor and always follows doctors' orders.
Well bully for him. What else did I learn? Never argue with Company Man. Your breath is too precious to waste. |
Reply #479. Apr 29 10, 5:35 PM
|
| lesley153
|
I also had one minor social disappointment. A Bedford woman I've known for about 14 years, and see from time to time for coffee, lunches and chat, came to see me in the hospital. Nice of her to come but she brought her holiday snaps with her, on a USB stick I could plug in next time I was near a computer. She had been there for half an hour or more, when Jonathan arrived, bearing his laptop to show me what posts and emails had arrived since I'd been in. No chance. She grabbed it and plugged her memory thing in, and showed us about a third of a million holiday snaps. That's our tour guide that's a fish that's our tour guide cooking the fish that's us eating the fish the tour guide cooked. She then stopped and asked if I'd like some time alone with Jonathan. (I thought she'd never ask. We have a lot of things to talk about without an audience.)
"Yes please."
"Ah well," she said, "in that case, I won't show you all the photos. I'll skip this section and go straight to the last folder."
Two days later, she texted to say she hoped I was being well looked after and that Papworth did a good job. (I wish I had her optimism about hospital times. Or perhaps not optimism so much as sheer, enviable ignorance.) I said no, still here, it'll be a while. When I got home, she said so much better being at home, away from difficult patients and nearer pubs.
She rang last night to ask me how I was. I suggested lunch if she could be my chauffeur, because I'm forbidden to drive. No, she said. Let's just wait till you've had your op. Perhaps she's worried I might die and make a mess in her car, or pehaps she just doesn't like driving. Don't know, she didn't say, and I was too taken aback to ask. Am I allowed to be upset? She's as active as I used to be till 13 years ago, and about as compassionate as I was in my teens!
I've always referred to her as a friend. I'm beginning to wonder why. :( |
Reply #480. Apr 29 10, 5:36 PM
|
Legal / Conditions of Use
|
Play Now! 
: