Another bonkers medical week

As teachers we used to try to write reports using the sandwich method. Positive negative positive. Bread jam bread. I don’t like jam so that sort of made sense. Ish. I changed the approach, and tried Cornish Scones ie scone jam cream. As I am not keen on jam or cream I guess it would go nice things, not great not great. ..then in Devon it goes scone cream jam. But what about putting the lid back on? the perfect cream tea is a formula worked out by the lovely mathematician Eugenia Cheng But I digress…

The positives: In an effort to cheer a few people up I made scones this week. I thought it cleaner to take the finger splint thing off. Wash hands repeatedly throw flour and sugar together.

The negative: Mission accomplished I set off for some doorstep deliveries. Alas could not find my finger splint anywhere. Imagine my panic when I realised the possibility that the splint maybe was within a scone. How the recipients must have laughed when I texted: Please take care, maybe something in the scone!

another negative: Dentist, next bit of treatment. Now postponed. No PPE available. FFS.

Bladder. After so many confusing messages I was asked not to take antibiotics this week. ( I in fact finished the dentist ones though). Attend the microbiology clinic on Monday for face to face, bloods, msu etc etc. As you might imagine bladder does not like this plan and somehow I will keep going til Monday before shoving in more antibiotics.

A Positive: You may also remember I wrote about the computerised system I called ERIC . Well now I have been invited to sign into the patient portal. Now that is very interesting. There I can see all the letters.

A Negative: I can see that Jerome referred me to Dipstick for implant SNS change in January 2020. I have heard nothing. I have not even heard from what I was told was an MDT about me. No one really could give a dam and my next appointment is April 2021. There is an interesting letter from some registrar man. He refers to me as ‘patient’ and says ‘patient says SNS battery life is low’ ‘ presumably true’. God do they not get training in how to write letters? not least ones that patients might read. I have a name. I do tell the truth. I do know what is going on.

I am so incensed by the crassness of all this I have written to ask for help as kindly as I could. I wrote to say I understand Covid has caused massive issues, not least the exhaustion and change of direction of all the staff in hospitals. The problem is that all the issues that were prevalent before Covid are still there if not worse. What on earth are Messrs Johnson and Hancock doing about this? One of my daughters had a CT scan during lockdown. Nodules on lungs had been spotted at an earlier xray BEFORE Covid. CT shows more nodules. Follow up? Advice? NONE.

A better story is: My daughter has had a bike accident. She was offered a timed slot in A and E . Was seen. Xrayed. Sent home. 48 hours later Fracture Clinic virtual appointment. Elbow broken. Advice. Leaflet was sent in post. Never did arrive. Why not email ffffsss.

In other news to my delight the formation of a patient advisory group for a research bid went ahead this week. On zoom. Amazingly honest, open helpful sessions to guide the lead researcher. A very amazing lady with lashings of humour. There are some utterly brave stoic ladies out there. I truly salute you. You know who you are. There are also the newly redundant, the tense home situations, the care for the elderly and so many others just trying to keep heads above water. Its crap for so many for so long.

Finally I am delighted that the BBC rang me yesterday. Yes the real BBC, Hugh Pym BBC. He had my number after a piece we did a few years ago for the launch of the Excellence In Continence Care publication. Hugh wanted to know what I felt about Covid Rates and my local hospital. So I told him!

Now as for the scone jam cream thing….. if you find my splint …erm…could you please send it back!