| Professer
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was ok Lesley i ate 1 and a half of chicken breasts and some of the rice more then i have eaten for a while, i need to force myself i know to eat, but no one here to prerssurise me or make sure i do. Am worried what the Doc will say but will post tmw
Reply #801. Jun 30 10, 12:30 PM
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| lesley153
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One and a half chicken breasts sounds like a big meal. I hope you enjoyed it.
I'm a bit fraught because I was told that the man driving me would phone me "tonight" but it's almost 9pm and I haven't heard anything. Perhaps that's wrong and he'll just turn up at stupid o'clock. I shall crawl into bed now, pray for sleep and pray to be conscious and ready at stupid o'clock!
It tomorrow's arrangement fails, I've still got a fortnight to be seen and checked over.
Goodnight.
(((((()))))) |
Reply #802. Jun 30 10, 1:58 PM
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Deunan 
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Good sleep, excellent calm dreams and tomorrow a man who shows up at smart o'clock and knows exactly what he is to do about driving, waiting and returning Lesley to her home.
Reply #803. Jun 30 10, 3:05 PM
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satguru
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Glad the transport is arranged, and the fees if any won't be near a taxi (he says...). Fingers crossed it all actually happens to plan tomorrow and they don't forget who you are, send you to the wrong building, amputate the wrong limb (hold on, you're not having that, wrong notes...), give you a bacon sandwich, spell your name 'Leslie', or tell you you're well enough to get 4 buses back. I think I've covered everything and headed it off as a result. I would like a bacon sandwich now though.
Reply #804. Jun 30 10, 3:58 PM
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| Professer
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Yes please david bacon sandwich with brown sauce
Reply #805. Jul 01 10, 12:06 AM
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| lesley153
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Morning! Don't faint but I've been up and scrubbed and dressed and painted and ready to go since quarter to eight and I haven't heard anything from anyone. Thank you, I hope so too.
I just had a really rotten night. Jonathan was watching a film so he decided it was more important to ring me back quickly at 11pm than to listen to the voicemail or read the text that said goodnight at 10pm.
I went straight back to sleep again though till 6.30. Oh wait - it's 00.30 - so I can go back to sleep. Can't I? Apparently not. Everything's back to a year ago when I was saying I would kill for a good night's sleep. I have just started on an egg and mayonnaise and tomato sandwich I made last and left in the fridge for this morning. It's horrible and I feel worse.
The worst that can happen is that today's arrangement falls through and I have to re-book. I have a fortnight to do it in.
My bro rang last night and I told him what the "GP" had done with my transport (my SIL hadn't mentioned it), and bro called it spiteful. I am constantly in awe of my bro's politeness. |
Reply #806. Jul 01 10, 1:12 AM
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| lesley153
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At 8.30 I rang Admissions and was lucky enough to get someone who started at 8.30. She was wide awake and alert and friendly, and I somehow managed to string a sentence together.
She said not to worry. Not all the drivers ring. They're volunteers so some of them draw the line at using their phones too. But it has been arranged and he will be there and they are looking forward to seeing me.
Phew. |
Reply #807. Jul 01 10, 1:56 AM
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Rowena8482
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Hopefully you are by now ensconced in a car, proceeding smoothly Papworth-wards! I shall be thinking of you all day, and fingers are firmly crossed that everything goes off as it should, and that as that useless excuse for a GP steps out of his house this morning, a large bird gives him a hefty deposit right on top of his head! :-D
Reply #808. Jul 01 10, 2:32 AM
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| lesley153
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I was, thank you!
I didn't know when the driver was coming, but it's 20 miles, and would take about 35-40 minutes. At about ten past nine, I decided to wait outside, partly to get some fresh air, and partly to be more visible. He was parked across the road, making phone calls and communing with his sat nav, and crossed the road to pick me up when he saw me. So that was nice.
His driving was smooth, comfortable, immaculate. He has just retired after twenty years as a driving instructor.
On the way, I got a phone call from the new surgery I'd registered with, to tell me that the transfer was complete, and I was now on their books. That was very nice.
I also enjoyed telling the Papworth people I had moved. They didn't blame me when I told them about his act of spite over the transport. Just imagine if I'd told them all the other things.
The driver who took me home goes to the wilds of Derbyshire every week to pick up a cystic fibrosis sufferer. It's about 100 miles and more than a two-hour drive. Can she walk? She has her ups and downs, he said, but yes, she can walk.
Thank goodness Papworth staff are human beings. Is it too late to put my ex-GP on an induction course to introduce him to the human race? Probably. Do I care? Not so's you'd notice. Not my problem any more! |
Reply #809. Jul 01 10, 7:45 AM
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Deunan
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Absolutely wonderful, Lesley! The move to the new surgery is complete. It is also good the ride was as desired.
Good news!
Reply #810. Jul 01 10, 8:59 AM
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honeybee4
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I am glad everything went well.
Reply #811. Jul 01 10, 9:25 AM
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| Lochalsh
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Hail to the, blithe spirit! / Bird thou never wert--
(Well, okay, for a while in the 60s, I guess)
Glad your day was successful!
Reply #812. Jul 01 10, 10:33 AM
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| lesley153
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Thanks all - and a little chirrup for Lochalsh.
At 3.45 I rang the OLD (!) surgery and asked to speak to the practice nurse. She was very sympathetic and cooperative when I said I never wanted to speak to the GP again, and she generally protected me from him. I told her I planned to move, but probably post-op.
She was with a patient but the receptionist would put a message in her book.
It's Lesley (no surname this time) on this number.
"May I ask what it's concerning?"
(They never ask that! Did I detect a faintly suspicious tone to her voice?)
I just want to thank her for something.
I don't appreciate being asked my reason for wanting to talk to a health professional, unless it's by another health professional, and even then it's a waste of time to have to go through everything twice.
It's nearly 6.20 and the office closes in ten minutes. I wonder if Ruth even got my message? I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't.
6.20 Has Ruth gone home?
"Yes, I'm afraid so. She was rushed off her feet this afternoon, and there are about five messages she couldn't return. She definitely got your message. She'll start again in the morning."
See what tomorrow brings. All I really want to do is thank her. I've actually got an appointment with her next Thursday. I wonder if anyone will make the connection and cancel it? |
Reply #813. Jul 01 10, 11:24 AM
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| lesley153
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Ruth did ring, and we had a good chat.
I thanked her for looking after me, and for protecting me from the GP after he said I was a liar and a hypochondriac... but I'd gone now. I'd transferred to a different practice. She hadn't heard that I'd gone yet, although someone somewhere in the surgery must know, because they transferred my records. I've got an appointment with her next week - it'll be interesting to see if it occurs to any of the receptionists to tell her I've left the practice!
I told her about relating my sleep patterns to Metformin, we talked about blood sugar control, and she said what she thought was the next thing to try after Metformin. The nurse I saw yesterday at Papworth was a sympathetic insomniac: said that there is nothing worse than not getting enough sleep to be able to function normally, and they would introduce me to their diabetes nurse when I got there on the 14th.
Ruth knew I would be leaving, but we'd thought I'd wait till after the op, so I told her what had happened to prompt me to go now. She said that the woman who booked my patient transport was the longest-serving and most knowledgeable receptionist, and the one Ruth would go to for advice on how things worked. She thought that the GP's cancellation of the booking was "most peculiar" (that's one way of describing it - I told her I'd taken it personally and seen it as an act of spite), and we agreed that the other receptionist would not have been happy at having to call me with bad news.
I told her there had been a happy ending - Papworth had done the GP's job for him and arranged patient transport for me, and the appointment went well. She wished me well with the op, and that was it.
Except to tell me that the third member of the practice used to work at the practice I've just joined. He brought with him vast numbers of patients who all gasped with relief at getting away from the large, busy, impersonal practice, and discovering this small one. That's nice. I'm pleased for them. I don't care what size the practice is - as long as nobody in there tries to kill me. That's not too much to ask, is it?
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Reply #814. Jul 02 10, 4:12 PM
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| lesley153
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Oh and I got a phone call from my nephew - the one who says he rings me when he's bored, because he hasn't got a life.
Today he asked me how I got on yesterday, and said he wasn't concerned; just curious. We talked for an hour and ten minutes. :) |
Reply #815. Jul 02 10, 4:14 PM
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| lesley153
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Today was the my turn to make the phone calls. Three of them were most irritating.
When I saw the Bedford hospital haematologist on the 18th, he said he would send off one of my blood samples to test for gluten antibodies. They have to be sent to a different hospital: results in about a fortnight. I rang the hospital this afternoon and asked for Haematology.
"Hallo, Path Lab!"
I asked the switchboard for Haematology for a test result. Were they right to put me through to you?
"No, I'll put you through to Haematology."
"This is the secretary to the Haematology department; please leave a message..."
So I left a message - name, phone number, hospital number, gluten antibody test result - and had an idea. Perhaps I can talk to someone in the department. Someone who is actually there.
So I rang the hospital switchboard again, and said that I'd rung a few minutes earlier and asked for Haematology, but been put through to the Path Lab. Was that policy or just a mistake?
"It sounds like a simple mistake. I'll put you through to Haematology.
"Hallo, Path Lab!"
Oh dear - it's happened again.
"One of the Haematology secretaries has left, so they only have part-time cover. Suggest you ring this extension at about 11am tomorrow."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next one was to LIDL. Every Monday, there's a flier inserted half-way through the letterbox, rolled up so that it props the letterbox open. I emailed them about a month ago, and told them where I'd be tempted to insert it if I caught the delivery person doing it again.
Their very polite response, more polite than I deserved, was that they would tell the distributors, and make sure they deliver them properly. The leaflets have continued to be rolled up, and used to prop open the letterbox.
I emailed them the first time, because they only give you an 0870 (premium rate) number. This time, I remembered to look at the "say no to 0870" website, got a normal number, and spoke to a human being. I told the human being what I had started doing, and admitted that it was petulant: I push the leaflet back out so that it lands on the doorstep, and I leave it there. If enough people show their displeasure in that way, the advertisers will not be pleased. We'll see if my phone call makes a difference.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I also rang the advertising department of a local monthly advertising magazine. It usually comes through the letterbox and lands on the floor, but the delivery person has decided to get creative - the current one was rolled into a tube, and propping the letterbox open.
"Ooh you don't want that, do you? Makes it look like noone's in. I'll get in touch with the distributor."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The fourth call was to the hospital where Prof Gary is. Yesterday, I left him a get-well-soon message, and thought the cleverest thing I could do was get off the phone as quickly as I could, but it occurred to me later that he might have wanted to reply, so I rang again.
"He says he's doing fair and will talk to you when he gets home."
I hope so! Does it sound to you like "Don't ring again"? |
Reply #816. Jul 05 10, 11:30 AM
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Deunan
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What a day you've had. I don't like the letter box propped open either. If it is cold out, it brings cold inside. It is it hot, why run the a/c if the blasted box is propped open.
It's a shame we cannot be told "yes, you've reached such and such a department. The one you require is rather short staffed of late and rather than just let the phone ring and ring or force people to leave messages, we decided to have their calls sent over to us". Simple, to the point and it saves additional calls.
So, Professer's dismissal orders from hospital will include "you are to call Lesley and speak to her"? Yes, it sounds like "don't bother us". Fine! I also shall not bother to acknowledge you if our paths should ever cross.
What is so wrong with taking a moment and stating "I've told Gary of your call. Unfortunately, I cannot give you any information regarding his condition other than he is doing well. Thank you for your call."
Lesley, while I know these calls are a trial, it does encourage me to mess with people when I call and get the same type of response.
Let me think...do I need to call anyone? No. Darn!
Reply #817. Jul 05 10, 12:00 PM
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| lesley153
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Most people object to having their letter box propped open. It's the people who deliver things who don't give a hoot, because it's not their letterbox, and not their house that's being advertised as empty, or that they're allowing to chill, or bake. The local woman I spoke to was quite bemused. "Surely it's more work to roll something up than it is to keep it flat and just push it through the space?" I think so!
The greater shame is that diverting calls won't work, because there's no such thing as a department that isn't short-staffed.
I may have given the wrong impression by the way I described the phone call. My experience of phone calls to wards is that staff wouldn't dream of speaking on behalf of the patient. They give a direct quote, or nothing. It didn't sound like dismissive staff to me at all. When I rang the first time, to see if he was in hospital, I said that he lives in Lincoln, he'd gone on Friday for blood test results, and hadn't been heard from since, so I was wondering if they'd kept him in. I made it clear that I wasn't family and therefore appreciated that there were no questions they could answer; not even how long is he likely to be in for, or if the ward he's in has a speciality. All the hospital people I spoke to - one switchboard operator and one member of ward staff on both days - were friendly and charming. It sounded like it was Gary who wanted a bit of peace. Goodness knows he hasn't had much of that recently. |
Reply #818. Jul 05 10, 2:05 PM
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satguru
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I get about 4 Lidl shmatters a week but all loose A4 sheets. I know where Lidl is, know if I need anything there and don't need them to tell me they sell cheap generic versions of food which only has one variety compared to the choice elsewhere. And remember to bring your own bags as we don't provide them. I never did and had to walk back and forth between the car each time filling a few boxes I'd found scattered around the shop.
I hope Gary's OK and finds out what was wrong at last- it's odd so many of us here have had mystery symptoms finally sorted out at the last gasp. Now he may actually start feeling OK after so long.
My only Meldrew moment currently is while the NHS include a clean and polish in the dental checkup fees my new dentist hasn't got the time and sends us privately. The hygienist appears to earn as much as a footballer according to the collective daily fees adding up while any dental nurse could do the job after a few week's training. Find the calculus and poke it away. We could do it ourselves with a mirror if someone showed us. I may have missed my calling.
Reply #819. Jul 05 10, 4:28 PM
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| lesley153
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Good point. I don't shop in Lidl's either. I tried it when it was new. Going home with putrid chicken and exploded vegetables, because the shop wasn't equipped to cope with really hot weather: 40 customers, and ten tills, of which only two are open; forgetting to bring bags and scavenging for boxes; standing in a queue for 20 minutes.
We could go on a training course. Never too late for a change of career. I should think it would be great fun - people who would just die if they went out without their lipstick on: people who've just had a curry for lunch but didn't bother cleaning their teeth afterwards, because isn't that what you're going to do? What do you think? |
Reply #820. Jul 05 10, 8:33 PM
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