Limp Handshakes, Sincerity and Hank Wangford
They are talking about handshakes on BBC Breakfast this morning, after it had been reported that Ed Milliband has rather a weak one.
C and I always used to describe the United States as the Land of the Limp Handshake, as most of the people we seemed to meet on our travels there, performed it that way and also seemed to be quite insincere.
Sincerity brings me to possibly the funniest moment on BBC Breakfast. Some years ago, the incomparable Hank Wangford spoke about a product called Sincerity. There was also an American on the program, who happened to be selling something that most notably wasn’t. C didn’t watch breakfast television after that episode, as she laughed so much, she nearly did herself some serious damage.
I’d thought that Hank had retired but apparently he’s still singing and practicing his own unique brand of medicine according to his web site.
Be Nice To Nanny and You’ll Get Your Warfarin!
As I’ve said before Warfarin testing in this country and I suspect most of the world is complicated and it may be prone to error. Two respected doctors have told me that.
Today, I took a prescription to Boots to get some more Warfarin tablets. They wanted to see my yellow book, which I hadn’t got with me. So I got the third degree! I wasn’t rude, but as a scientist who understands the way Warfarin works well, I resent being treated like an idiot. It’s not the pharmacist’s fault, but the person, who made up the new rules.
Now, my INR has been spot on for months and the dosage has only changed marginally since December last year. That change was when I changed surgeries and the new one now does the tests themselves on a small monitor, whereas the previous surgery did it by blood tests that were analysed by the hospital. The change is that previously, I was on 5 mg. a day and 4 mg. at weekends, and now it’s 5 mg. a day and 4 mg. on Saturdays and Mondays. Or as the computer printout says, one 3 mg. and one 1 mg. on Saturdays and Mondays. I don’t like the inference that I can’t work out how I can give myself a 4 mg. dose, with 3 mg. and 1 mg. tablets.
Thev pharmacist indicated that next time if I didn’t bring the book, I wouldn’t get the Warfarin.
I actually think the next time I go, I might not take it, as I prefer to keep it safe at home. After all suppose I dropped it, I would then have to go back to the doctor for another book. But I would take a photocopy of my last INR test result. To me that is much more important as it carries the date of my next test.
One thing that is worth noting is that testing method one using blood tests and analysis at the local hospital, said I should be on 4.8 mg. per day. On the other hand testing method two using an electronic monitor in the surgery, said the dose should 4.8 mg per day.
In other words, both methods carried out in a correct professional manner gave exactly the same result.
Danny Baker Is Coming Back
Christian O”Connell said on his radio show this morning, that Danny Baker will be returning next week for his Radio 5 show. He has done one show on radio since he started his battle against cancer and there is a report here.
I shall be listening.
Repeat Prescriptions
I have several drugs on repeat prescriptions from my doctor.
Having once been caught out, on Wednesday, I took the form in to get some more. I wanted to pick the actual prescription up at lunchtime today, but it looks like I won’t be able to get it, without a special trip today, until Monday. The surgery is shut on Saturday.
At my previous surgery, I just e-mailed the dispensary and 48 hours later I just went in and picked up the drugs. I could even do that on a Saturday.
It’s not important and I’m not complaining, as I have enough until the end of next week anyway, but it makes me wonder if some of the problems in the NHS are caused by simple procedural problems.
If we had a central drugs database, then on production of suitable identification, I should just be able to walk into any pharmacy and pick up the drugs I need. Obviously, the system would make sure, I wasn’t taking out more drugs than I was entitled too or needed!
One point that should be said, is that I’ve had some drugs on visits to private hospitals. Where the drugs only cost a few pence, they often give you three months supply, rather than the 28 days that seems to be normal in the NHS.
Another is that the repeat prescription form doesn’t say what the drugs are for, so in one case I ticked the wrong box and got the wrong ones.
It strikes me that we could have a much more customer-friendly system, that improved the efficiency of the NHS.
But then I’m not a doctor or a pharmacist, so what do I know about healthcare?
I’m only a patient and our needs are at the bottom of the NHS’s priorities.
Do We Have Too Many Heart Transplant Centres?
Doctors at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital have questioned whether we have too many heart tranplant centres in the UK.
Apparently, the number of transplants is down, but the number of potential donors is up.
My cardiologist performs transplants and other radical heart surgery. We have chatted about technology in appointments, so could it be that the reason the number of transplants is down, is bcause surgeons are learning more tricks to keep us alive and in many cases we are doing our bit with less smoking and drinking and taking the right exercise and eating better.
Closing a heart transplant centre will be a difficult political decision, but as in many things these days, technology may be a better alternative, that takes good care nearer to the many.
I suffer from atrial fbrulation, caused in part by a dodgy heart valve. My mother-in-law had the same problem and had a valve replacement, which wasn’t a trivial operation in the 1970s.
My cardiologist’s prognosis to me was that if I keep getting the Warfarin right, I won’t have another stroke and pehaps in te years he might do something to fix the valve.
The way things are going with technology, I might suspect that when that valve is fixed, it might well be a trivial procedure.
So perhaps there’s a bit more life in this London mongrel yet? Here’s hoping!
Scot Nats Sink Prudence’s Aircraft Carriers
It looks like Prudence’s jobs bribe to Scotland of the manufacture of two unnecessary aircraft carriers has been sunk by the performance of the SNP in the elections yesterday. Labour voters have deserted the party in droves.
I watched the most unusual double act this morning on the television when Alex Salmond of the SNP and Annabel Goldie of the Scottish Conservatives had a forthright discussion on their cooperation in the future.
Scotland has a lot of problems, like funding the NHS and universities, poor health, too much drinking and creating worthwhile jobs that will last.
I wish the new government of Scotland a lot of luck. They’ll need it.
I have said many times, that Gordon Brown will rank alongside Lord North as one of our worst Prime Ministers. It would seem now that his country and his supposedly loyal supporters there have deserted his policies.
An Uplifting Moment
There is an old Chinese proverb that says that a long journey starts with a single step. This is actually a mistranslation of Lao-Tzu. A better form is “Even the longest journey must begin where you stand.”
What it doesn’t say is that there are a lot of steps in a long journey.
I was walking down Upper Street this lunchtime and I saw an aircraft crossing over the Angel. Even at that distance, I saw it was a biplane and despite my supposedly bad eyesight, I thought it was a de Havilland Dragon Rapide.
de Havilland Dragon Rapide Over Islington
This picture was taken when it crossed in front of me, as I stood by Barclays Bank at the start of Essex Road.
So why is this an uplifting moment? I seemed to be the only person who spotted this iconic aircraft from the 1930s and despite my dodgy eyesight, I was able to identify it and then take several photographs.
My only regret was that I only had my little Nikon CoolPix.
So perhaps I’ve taken another step along that long road!
How To Get Up a Coeliac’s Nose
If there is one thing that annoys me living here, it is the amount of junk I get through my letter box. Most is flyers for fast food restaurants, none of which I would dream of using. As most of the food on offer is gluten-rich, it would do me harm.
I actually had one today from Subway, who claim that all their meat is halal. But their gluten-free offerings can be counted on the fingers of Nelson’s right hand.
I shall be sending a copy of this post to Subway.
Sniffing Out Cancer
The title of this post came from a little article in the Metro about a device called the Na-Nose.
Here is an article which describes the technique in more detail.
Liverpool Takes on Its Biggest Challenge
The reports today about Liverpool University’s leadership of a large trial of a pancreatic cancer vaccine is very much to be welcomed.
If there was a motto that sums up the city, it is “Think Big”. Just think.
- Architecturally, it is the Second City of the UK.
- St. George’s Hall is one of the most magnificent neo-classical buildings anywhere.
- Liverpool City Centre is a World Heritage Site.
- It has two cathedrals, one of which is one of the largest in the world in many ways.
- The Beatles transformed the world of music more than anybody else.
So you can never say the city is full of shrinking violets.
So when Liverpool established itself as a world-class cancer centre, it didn’t take on the easiest of targets. It concentrated on one of the biggest and morst deadly;pancreatic cancer, which has one of the lowest survival rates.
Now are we starting to see a small step on the road to a successful fight against this awful disease, which killed my son at the early age of just 37?
You will see a link to their research on this blog. Click it and donate!
The Anonymous Widower 