Off Topic Coronavirus

About 18 months ago.

 

Ah.

 

Can I add my Minor Ailment?

5 weeks ago felt a pain in my left foot, it became swollen and turned a lovely shade of purple. I hadn't whacked it or dropped anything on it so thought it could be gout or arthritis....... It hadn't improved in a week so went to Doctor who thought it might be infected, he perscribed antibiotics and anti inflamatory tablets plus booked me in for an xray and took bloods........ A week later no improvement so stronger antibiotics perscribed, bloods were fine, no problems and no uric acid which is a cause of gout........ Finally got to go for xray last week, 4 weeks after after initial visit and it showed that I have a stress fracture of the 2nd metatarsal and will have to where a fracture boot for the next 4 - 6 weeks......... What a bummer as we go on holiday in 3 weeks so will have extra luggage to carry...... oh and the whole thing has cost me close to €300 on doctor visits, tablets and xray...... no free health service here.....

Oh and we've got to take an antigen test less than 24 hours before departure, so basically living like hermits and not mixing with anyone as covid still fairly rampant here........ deep joy

 

Liked that out of sympathy.

Hope you have a great holiday. Where to?

 

Cruising around the Med from Southampton

 

Nice. Bon voyage.

 

You should call in; I’m just up the road.

 

I was hoping to see us in the Play off semi's whilst on board, but not to be sadly....

 

I think you’ll have to go into stasis for a voyage to Alpha Centuri for that.

 

Sorry about the foot.
Enjoy the trip.

 

Get well soon

I snapped a metatarsal in my foot years ago, and it was truly agonising, so I feel your pain.

Enjoy your hols, Mrs Trammers will have to carry all the bags for you!

 

I feel grand, it's just an utter and complete pain in the arse............

 

Enjoy your hols Trammers & hope yourvfoot recovers soon

 

Have a fun time Tramore. Hope it is plain sailing from here on in...( see what I did there)

 

Mother Uber update (for anybody interested)…

It was a heart attack - described by a doctor as “quite a big one” - and not anything brought to bear by her covid booster. Not treatable by a stent as she has a long line of fur rather than a single identifiable blockage, unfortunately. So, we’re into the realms of drug cocktails: aspirin, statins, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and others. Hospital chucked her out on Monday without any advice, doctor available to chat to her son etc. Had to get a bit arsey and eventually got a call from one of the cardiac nurses that cared for her - he was actually very helpful.

Eye-opener #1:

I’ve heard talk about the NHS hiding behind a wall of electronic call-waiting and impenetrable wires, claiming it’s worked off it’s feet. I can only speak about my own experience (so this is no criticism of the great work people like Stainsey do). My mother had to wait 3 days for a bed to become available at Basingstoke CCU - when she arrived and during her stay there were 3-4 beds empty. Presumably, this is all about staffing shortages? On my three visits to the ward - where you can only wave through a glass door - there’s nothing going on: nobody manning reception, nobody in the corridors, staff milling about.

It was pretty soon clear that having got the Old Dutch home that she couldn’t be left on her own. She was breathless, unsteady on her feet, the drugs upset her stomach and she was knackered - hospitals are not the place for a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, you’re discharged from these places and left to your own devices. Hospitals and home care services are not remotely joined up.

I called her GP to get her ‘into the system’ and see if they now had her hospital notes and what happens next. After a 40 minute hold, during which I was repeatedly told how important my call was, I got through to a receptionist. After being more pushy than I thought I needed to be, I was told a doctor would call me back “in the afternoon”.

I got the call 7-hours later. The GP would see my mother, but I’d have to bring her down now. I was at work in Basingstoke, she was in bed at her home, a half hour away, being cared for by her brother. I had to drop everything and got her there within an hour.

Eye-opener #2;

There was nobody there. The waiting room was empty. Two women having a natter behind the reception desk. Just one doctor and one triage nurse on duty to serve a town of around 8,000 people. Where the bloody **** are these people? Are they still getting paid? For what exactly?

We now have to wait for another doctor to follow up next week as (surprise, surprise) the one we saw is on leave. We also have to wait for a call from the Care Brigade. You just know that these calls will never happen and you’ll have to chase, chase, chase… then get shouty, giving them the excuse that they’ve been the victim of abuse (which they go to pains to tell you they won’t tolerate) and cut you off.

This is just my experience. Others will no doubt tell me how marvellous things are. Great, I’m pleased for them. But I despair at how **** things have become. When I grew up in that town, GPs (like elsewhere) made regular, often unannounced, home visits. You had their home numbers because you saw them at gatherings, fetes etc. All this has gone.

 

You know what I think of your Mum’s care Ubes.

 

And you know I agree.

 

Sounds appalling mate. My step mother (sort of) lives in Devon and only seems to have praise for the NHS there. She did seem to get shunted around the County to different hospitals when she had heart problems, but ended up having a pacemaker fitted which seemed to have helped her a lot.

 

All sounds very clusterfucked....hope your mum recovers soon

 

All the best for your mum Ubes.
We're having just such a frustrating time with Mrs Rangercol's mum, following a big stroke the poor old dear had last year.
Everything, from the stroke ward, to the nursing home, to the totally inept social worker is or has been a complete cluster-****.
We are left feeling that absolutely no one is on our side. All they worry about is how anything will be paid for.

Everything is falling apart and not one organisation talks to another. I won't bore you with all the problems as it would be a 30 minute read!

Others may have different experiences, I can only speak about ours.