NHS Direct
When I had my first stroke in March, I called NHS Direct, as I woke up and couldn’t speak very well. After answering lots of questions and phoning me back a coiuple of hours later, they felt I needed a visit from an out-of-hours doctor. They called him and he arrived an hour later. He advised me to go to hospital, as he felt I had had a small stroke. I was then driven to Addenbrookes and they confirmed the diagnosis and said that I should go to A & E if it happened again.
NHS Direct actually delayed me doing, what I felt I should have done in the first place by their bureaucratic procedures and delays. Let’s hope that the proposed 111 service would either upgrade my call to 999, send a doctor immediately or tell me to go straight to A & E.
It would appear that the Royal College of Nursing is against replacing NHS Direct. Are they just protecting jobs or thinking what is best for the patients?
But whether we have NHS Direct bor 111, does it affect the real problem in the Emergency Service of those that turn up in A & E, with things that need a visit to their GP or a pharmacist in the morning.
Virgin’s First Class Toilets
Some coeliacs can be paranoid about toilets as many like me, have had so much diarrhoea, that it becomes a way of life. Now that I’m strictly gluten-free I rarely suffer that way, but I still sort out the best toilets. Certainly, one of the pleasures of travelling on Virgin is the quality of the First Class Lounge at Euston The free toilets were definitely up to the best standard expected.
On the subject of toliets,those at Portman Road are pretty good. It will be interesting to see how Gresty Road stacks up tonight.
Some Muslims Risking Their Lives During Ramadan
I couldn’t believe the headline of this article on the BBC’s web site.
Apparently, Barts and the Royal London Hospital has found that some patients are missing appointments and delaying treatments during the month of Ramadan at great risk to their health.
I’m not sure that any religion would put religious observance above health, but I’m certain if I had any religion, I would defy such a statute.
In fact the article does go on to say that local imans are urging patients to continue with their treatment, so progress is being made. Knowing the hospitals well, I’m saure they are trying as hard as is humanely possible to improve the situation.
Also in these times of austerity, surely we have a moral duty to our fellow citizens not to load extra costs on the NHS. And I would think we also have a moral duty to our friends and relatives to do the best for our health, as they are the ones, who could really suffer in the long term if we stop treatment.
It should be said that “No-shows” are a big cost to the NHS and that is why my hospital, Addenbrookes, has installed an SMS-based system to ensure attendance. Perhaps, those who are persistent non-attenders should go to the back of the queue.
Real Tennis as a Recovery Index
I played my first competitive game of real tennis since the last stroke yesterday. I didn’t do too well, but I think I was getting better as the hour progressed.
As real tennis has a computerised handicap system, it will be interesting if my handicap gets better or worse over the coming months.
SO if you’re recovering from a stroke or any other illness for that matter and you can play tennis, why not consider learning real tennis. It can be played at a gentle level if you wish, but as it depends very much on your thinking, as your physical prowess, you will at least know, if you are improving.
An Ideal Mouth Refresher
My mouth still feels rubish and I try to freshen it up with all sorts of things from curries to whisky.
Last night though when I cooked the chicken pie, I found the ideal drink to refresh my mouth. As I had some cider left over, I did the good thing and drunk half a bottle of Aspall’s Premier Cru Suffolk Cyder. It was so good, I’m drinking another bottle tonight!
Does The Watch I Wear Affect My Hand?
Normaly, I wear a heavy stainless steel bracelet-type watch on my left hand. As that is my gammy one, recently I’ve taken to wearing it on the right, but I don’t like to do that as it is inconvenient. I should also say that it used to be the Rolex that C gave me as my last Christmas present and that I nearly lost in Naples, but that is just too heavy for either hand.
So today, I got an old watch out with a leather strap and my hand seems to be a little bit better now that it is released from its steel corset.
I should also say that for years I always wore my watch on my right hand, as I felt that it was more comfortable. This was because my arm wasn’t very good for many years, due to it being broken by a bully at school. It almost seems to be that since the stroke my arm has returned to the state it was until fixed by a fitness trainer a couple of years ago.
It’s all very puzzling. But do I care, as it’s certainly better this evening.
Real Tennis at Cambridge
I went into Cambridge today to have a game of real tennis at the Cambridge University Real Tennis Club in Grange Road. I was also introducing an old Metier friend and colleague, Spencer Hamill, to the game.
I fared better than last time and still miss balls that are low at the left with a backhand. But then I was always crap in that area. But I did find that I could volley reasonably well and also I was serving overhead, which I haven’t done since the stroke. Here’s a clip.
Next time I play it’ll be off handicap and it will be interesting to see what happens.
Asthma Drugs
There was a lady on BBC Breakfast last week complaining that a new asthma drug has not been approved by NICE. At up to £26,000 a year, I can understand why not, especially as there are other cheaper alternatives.
Now I know a lot about asthma, as I funded the development of a metered dose inhaler to deliver asthma drugs. Sadly, the only people who made money out of the device were me and my fellow collaborators, as it offered completely green and very efficient delivery. But you can’t compete against the big drug companies, even if you are one of the top-ranked second-level ones.
Interestingly, one of the countries with the highest level of asthma, as measured by devices prescribed is that very polluted country, New Zealand. So there’s myth number one seriously questioned. Clean air is good for your asthma! Possibly, but then why do the Kiwis prescribe so many drugs?
A teacher once told me that in her classes of seven-year-olds, some years no kids had inhalers for asthma and in others a good proportion did. She felt there was a lot of peer pressure. As Johnny has one, can I have one Mummy?
Then there is research that shows that naked flames are a problem, as the oxides of nitrogen produced can cause the disease. So chuck out that gas cooker and never smoke, whilst your kids are around. It also would appear that sealed modern houses with fitted carpets are not good either. I have heard endless tales of people moving to a draughty cottage and the asthma in their children has gone. Especially, when kids now walk to school, rather than are ferried.
So before we prescribe expensive drigs, let’s sort out the lifestyle factors that cause the disease first! We’d probably all be healthier!
Would a Private Firm Ever Buy Anything with Something Like PFI?
It’s grim reading about the problems the NHS is facing over bloated PFI deals.
No-one with any sense would ever have locked themsaelves into such deals. I’m sure people like Tesco have probably used design, build and maintain for stores and depots, but they wouldn’t have ended up paying six times the cost of the building. They’d have also used standard designs to save building costs. I bet each hospital is very different.
The problem is not with PFI, but with the politicians, civil servants and administrators, who pushed these deal through. In a banana republic, I would be smelling the pungent smell of bungs, bribery and favours. But here it’s just bad economics and incompetence. And who was in charge of the country’s finance at the time? So add this to a list of his big mistakes, like pensions, banks, renewing Trident etc. Gordon Brown must rank as the worst Prime Minister any country in Europe has ever had. let lone the UK!
A New Test for Autism
This report on the BBC shows the way that modern medicine is going. I know that I don’t suffer from autism, although I’m a bit weird, but then programmers are a lot of the time. These sort of scans though, will help doctors sort out stroke sufferers like me.
Let’s hope the medics and the programmers, who work with them keep going!
They have had one of the researchers involved, Christine Ecker, on BBC Breakfast this morning. She reckons that soon they will be able to use the test with children. They have even developed a quiet non-claustrophobic scanner, so children won’t be frightened.
I am very enthusiastic about this test and feel it will have other beneficial effects. Obviously, as the research techniques get better and we know more about the brain, they will benefit people like me, who have had strokes to those with more serious brain problems or injuries.
I also think that C, my late wife, would have welcomed this test. She was a barrister and most of her work was with families, divorce and children. She said to me many times, that childen with things a like autism and ADHD, put a tremendous strain on the marriage and often caused the break-up. Sometimes, that strain was caused by the difficulty of getting a diagnosis.
Hopefully, this test will reduce those problems and might even help couples to stay together!
The Anonymous Widower 