Friday 12 November 2021

This and tha

I apologise for no post yesterday and a mix up so far today.   Because my hands are so shaky I am prone to  put up a post and before I have a chance to press 'publish'  I catch another key somewhere (can anyone please tell me which key or how I can  get  - the post back) and the whole thing disappears completely for ever and no amount of searching can find it.

So here I am having another go.   What I said was that yesterday at the Summit an old familiar face suddenly loomed into view as I watched the one o'clock News.  It would be face familiar to everyone in the  UK .despite which side they favoured.  'Two Jags', John Prescott, a   Labour MP now well into his eighties and long retired.   But, may I say, still able to speak out about subjects dear to his heart in spite of having had a major stroke two years ago - a stroke which affected his walking and his speech.   He was Labour MP for Hull for many years and is still passionate about the Humber Estuary and the state of the water flowing into it - rivers from up here in the Dales, rivers like the Trent from the Midlands.   As I think I said in a post the other week - flying over the Humber estuary on my way to Amsterdam made me realise just how huge and just how important it is.   John once was famous for using his Jag to go just 250 yards.  Now he made it clear yesterday - he has got rid of both of his Jags and would like to be thought of as 'Zero Jags'.   I must say that in spite of his age, his disability and the fact that he is no longer a force to be reckoned with (many of you will no doubt say he never was) he is still an impressive figure and it was a pleasure to see him still going strong. 

Now to another subject entirely.  I am referring to the part of the National Health Service that we all experience from time to time= our local Medical Centres with our G Ps.   The role of the G P (General Practioner) has been changing for some time but has been speeded up by the arrival of Covid - the Pandemic none of us expected but which put a huge strain on GPs.   In the 'good old days' you scrolled down the appointments list and clicked against the doctor you wanted to see and on the available times to see him and back would come a confirmation that you were booked in. 

Life is no longer like that.   The procedure now is that you phone the reception desk and speak to a receptionist, telling her as much about your symptoms as you can so that she can relate this to a doctor who can then decide which doctor is suitable.   This in theory is a good idea.  It worked very well for me a month or two ago when I had what I thought might be a mole on the side of my nose.   I knew such things might be cancerous and the receptionist referred me to the doctor in the practice who is a skin speciast.   She telephoned me and asked if I could send her a photograph of it - my son took a photograph the same day and I sent it to her.   The receptionist rang the next day with an appointment to see the doctor, a couple of days later I went to the Medical Centre.   The doctor said the photograph had been very good and she had been able to diagnose immediately what she needed to do.   She gave me chemotherapy cream to put on it for one  month and gave me an appointment to go back - I go back next Monday but the mole has already disappeared.   The whole procedure worked well.   But it doesn't always.  Sometimes a simple appointment like I had with my annual check with the Phlebotomist a month ago, has dragged on and on-  it has been resolved but had I been able to see a doctor five minutes would have been ample time to sort it out.   As it was I had twenty minutes with a Phlebotomist, a quarter of an hour on the phone with a doctor (a charming man but with a quiet vice which I had great difficulty hearing) and finally a call from the Nurse Practitioner who didn't know why she was calling me but had a note to say would she do so.   We sorted out a simple problem which face-to-face could have been done in five minutes.   I am sure it must have been so frustrating all round.

Well friends, the sun is shining, the sky is black out of the Computer Room window but golden from the kitchen window.   Shall I risk a walk?   Maybe - shall review the situation after lunch which is going into the microwave now.   See you tomorrow.







27 comments:

Tom Stephenson said...

I had a soft spot for Prescott - particularly when he slugged that protester who threw an egg at hime.

Tasker Dunham said...

Whatever you think of Prescott, he did a proper job once. We had a family friend who knew him on the ships and mentored him in his early trade union days.

Rachel Phillips said...

I wonder what sort of strain you mean Covid put on GPs. All the ones I know pulled down the shutters, locked the doors and refused to see any one.

Rachel Phillips said...

As for disappearing posts, they normally save as we go so anything missing, in whole or in part, should appear in your post list. A post lost by striking the wrong key whilst typing can be retrieved by hitting the rounded arrow in the menu strip, left end, which will bring things back again.

Sarah Browne said...

I must be very lucky here in Dorset as I have had a face to face consultation with my Dr. 2 ECG’s at the surgery and numerous blood checks so very grateful to the NHS. I feel for the poor reception staff who are constantly subject to the most disgusting verbal abuse, why would people do that. The 1st and 2nd Covid vaccines were all brilliantly organised as are the flu and booster now. Glad to hear your mole had disappeared, little furry buggers make such a mess everywhere. Sarah Browne.

Derek Faulkner said...

What a lovely medical world you're living in. Round here where I live, it still remains as Rachel describes it. It appears that the minute the receptionists start work they switch their phones to an automated message that tells you they're busy and you can ring all day long and not get through. Before Covid we used to moan if we got an appointment in a week's time, now we're lucky if anybody answers the phone to offer you an appointment. As for Sarah Browne's experience, well that kind of service is just a distant memory to me.

Rachel Phillips said...

My jabs have all gone well. Two at a village hall run by volunteers and freelance and retired nurses and my booster at a GP centre, again run by volunteers on a Saturday without a GP in sight. My brother had a video call with his GP during Covid lockdown No 1 which went well but he did not describe the GP as under any strain.

Rachel Phillips said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rachel Phillips said...

I do not hold Prescott in high regard and hold him responsible for the travellers sites which now invade our county and came on his watch under his decree.

Derek Faulkner said...

My first two Covid jabs saw me having to drive 30 miles to a vaccination center both times due to my GP surgery being so long winded doing them. My flu jab was at a local pharmacy and my Covid booster is at another local pharmacy in a week's time. So far I haven't heard a word from my GP surgery about doing the last two jabs.

Susan said...

Our GP's are heavily booked yet when you finally get in to the office it appears nobody is there. Even medical staff looks reduced. The parking lots are now the waiting rooms. People sit in their car and wait to be telephoned and given the okay to come inside for their scheduled appointment. Unless a patient insists, follow-up appointments are not automatically arranged in many cases. All this is related to Covid.

The bike shed said...

You should be able to retrieve a lost post by pressing the undo key, or key combination (it varied from Mac to PC) so it is worth learning how to do that. Another method is to write the post in Word or another programme which autosaves every so often and you can go back if you lose it - but it does mean you have to copy and paste it into Blogger.

Rachel Phillips said...

That is key I was describing to Weave in my comment above. The curly arrow.

Librarian said...

As Rachel has described, your posts are automatically saved while you are typing them. You should be able to find them in the list of your own posts as a draft.
Here in Germany, GPs are surprisingly few and far between - especially if you happen to live not in a big city. Elderly GPs who wish to retire have great difficulties in finding someone young to take over, as the average GP has a huge workload and does not earn all that much. It's only the highly specialised doctors who can really fulfill the cliché of the rich doctor who plays golf most of the week.
Covid has made things more difficult for our GPs here, since they can not see as many people as they used to, what with the reduced number of people allowed in the waiting rooms at the same time, and the additional time needed to register everyone, and some of their staff quarantined and/or ill.
I hope you did get a walk in and made it back home without getting wet!

The Feminine Energy said...

Medical care has changed sooo much in my lifetime here in the USA too, so I think it has everywhere. When I was a child the doctor came to the house to check you out, if you were sick. Now it's difficult to get a video appointment with an actual doctor... most of the time it's a nurse. *sigh* I don't think things will ever get back the way they were, sad to say. As far as your disappearing posts, I don't have one clue. I don't even have a cell phone, remember? *ha-ha* ~Andrea xoxoxo

The Weaver of Grass said...

No Linrarian I didn't get a walk in - I got all togged up, opened the garage door and it was pouring with rain. Came in, took off my coat and the sun came out so gave it up as a bad job. Interesting responses - and varied = to GP Practices. I did not intend to criticise our Medical Ceentre - they have organised Covid vaccinations in the area and they have been excellently done. The ordinary flu jabs, as usual, have been done at the practice and as usual went like clockwork. I would just like to be able to be face to face with a GP to discuss an issue but this is only possible after a long rigmarole.
Thank you for the advice on getting lost posts back - I shall try it next time I lose one.

Heather said...

I cannot complain about the flu and Covid jabs in my locality - I get my booster next Tuesday. All are very well organised for everyone's safety and are done quite quickly. Flu jabs at my local GP and Covid at the larger group practice. However, it is still almost impossible to get to see a doctor. I don't know what the solution is but surely 5 minutes with one's GP would save an awful lot of stress and messing about on all fronts.

Anonymous said...

Susan is right. The parking lot is now the new waiting rooms.
I sat in the car with my husband 50 minutes past the appointment time, and he was quite ill.
I have a different doctor in a different surgery, and rather than see her, was only allowed to do a telephone conference.
Husband and I had (still have) the same condition , he ended up with the proper medication after a nose and throat swab analysis . I was just given the usual overprescribed antiobiotic which didn't help at all.
Please be aware that Human Metapneumo virus transfers rapidly from little ones in day care , to their grandparents, which is what happened to us. My husband's thorough doctor said she had seen quite a few cases. My doctor, clueless. We fell like a ton of bricks, and are still ill and isolating two weeks in. Keep well everyone! - Pam, Aust.

Anonymous said...

Both being double vaccinated against Covid, it was reassuring to rule out that possibility. -Pam

Brenda said...

My doctor appointments were on Faxetime during pandemic
I have since moved to Florida (March) and going to see a doctor in person hopefully Dec 2
I didn’t mind as I have not wanted to go into an office until Third Vaccine. I broke down and went to dentist and after thousands of dollars, was finished
Same with eye...
Love your blog.

You are articulate and do well.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Bedtime - just having a quick look to see what has been happening blog wise over the past few houes. Not a lot since I last looked. Sleep well friends.

Rachel Phillips said...

I suggest you look at the wiggly arrow on the left of the menu bar next time you post and do a quick experiment with it. Type a word and then delete it and then press the wiggly arrow which will restore the word. Trying it out once should help you when you really need it.

thelma said...

Also, on my computer the two straight left and right arrows help. Hold the L/H one down and you will get browse history, which will show you what you have been doing, I always delete past history when I have been on a bank site. But you can also find what you have been doing as well.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks for the suggestions - will try next time it happens.

Anonymous said...

I gave suggested previously getting an external mouse instead of using the built-in trackpad. My mother can no longer sign her name because of similar shakes.

Rachel Phillips said...

Next time it happens you will have forgotten what to do which is why I suggested an experiment.

Lynda said...

My best friend just died as a result of heart surgery postponed way too long....I’m heartbroken and have lost any confidence I had in the NHS. The politicians need to stop lining their pockets and start taking care of necessities...