You may recall I had reason to take incontinent dog to the vet.

I spent the next 48 hours trying to get a urine sample as requested.

Finally in my pjs, in the garden I grabbed a jug one early morning. Both dogs seemed to look at me expectantly, treats? walks? balls? eventually they got bored and wandered off. You should have seen me dive to the older dog’s nether regions clasping my jug. A sort of rugby tackle to the ground. I held the pee in the jug aloft. victorious.

Anyhow, vet, on examining the pee found many organisms present. ( I suddenly worried that that jug maybe had been used for some culinary purpose previously). Whatever, the dog is today at the vet for a bladder scan.

He will be away for the day whilst they scan, test and indeed if necessary treat a stone or suchlike. The bill of appox £200 has been estimated. Agreed. And the insurance company will repay me on receipt of the final invoice.

You maybe can see what I am thinking. If we can do this for dogs . Could we not get gps to have bladder scanners in their surgeries? I am not sure what they cost. Indeed I do not think they would know what to do with the results. But maybe just maybe with a bit of education they could help out. The distinct lack of face to face encounters with GPs is putting unimaginable strain on hospitals. Attendance at A and E for issues which a GP used to be able to diagnose and treat is making life very difficult for the Emergency Doctors. Meanwhile my GP receptionists seem to have decided that they can do the triage. But if that is the case maybe they might learn a bit of basic medicine too?

As for me? MRI scan was at last completed last week. So utterly knackered was I (asthma issues and bladder issues), I in fact slept in the scanner. I bet I snored too for the whole 45 minutes.

This week is a Parliamentary Dinner at the House of Commons. ‘The Hidden Cost of Covid 19 on Continence Care’. I am a speaker. I am also a speaker at the All Party Parliamentary Group on Bladder and Bowel Health. More on that in due course. Remind me to explain a frilly knicker story.

More later. Hope everyone is ok.