One In and One Out!
I had a bone density scan some weeks ago and as I’ve not heard anything, I asked the nurse to see if there was anything on their computer, when she did my Warfarin blood test and gave me a shot of B12 today.
There wasn’t any news and judging by how I feel, my bones may not be tip-top, but they certainly aren’t in falling apart mode, as I would have hoped that I would have been called in for the bad news.
It strikes me that there could be a big increase in efficiency here, with possible cost savings!
If you have a test that can be quantified accurately and you are well on the right side of the problem level, surely, you can be told the results either by a more or less standard e-mail and/or letter.
With my bone scan, it might say that I’m reasonably fine, but I should come back for another scan in say six months. A copy could also go to my GP, so she would know as well. I have a feeling, that a lot of communications from hospitals to GPs are actually letters not e-mails and are scanned in the surgery. If I’m wrong, which I hope I am, about these letters please correct me!
There must be hundreds of instances in the NHS, where a sensible bit of automation could save money and redeploy staff to more important duties, than writing lots of similar letters.
We are seeing instances of automation, like appointments systems that text you reminders, but we need to see more. I personally would like to see a better system for anti-coagulant testing.
A Slow Bus from Cambridge to Ipswich
After the film, I did a bit of window shopping in Cambridge and then had lunch in Carluccio’s before catching the four o’clock bus to Haverhill, where I was going to get the coach at six o’clock to Ipswich for the football.
The weather was atrocious and it was almost pleasant to be at the front on the top of a warm 13 bus, as it meandered its way through the villages to Haverhill. At least, I had a little shelf in front of me, which allowed me to do the Sudoku.
Haverhill though is not the place to spend an hour at five ‘oclock on a very wet Tuesday afternoon. There was no cafe open and the one or two pubs that were looked very much like the places I would only visit in direst need. The rain looked friendlier! I walked up to Tesco’s as I needed a banana and a juice with which to take my Warfarin. They did have single bananas, but I couldn’t find any small drinks of juice or smoothies. As everything was in litre bottles or larger, I decided that it would be better to try elsewhere. I got what I wanted in the Co-op. But they didn’t have a gluten-free section, so my thought of buying a packet of suitable biscuits went out the window. Tesco’s did have a gluten-free section, but it was rather poor, with no nice biscuits. I did ask in the Co-op about gluten-free and they said it had been successful, so they stopped it.
So supper consisted of some sandwiches, I’d made before I left, some chocolate, a smoothie, a banana and a 5mg. Warfarin tablet.
The coach from Haverhill to Ipswich was probably the fastest part of the journey as the weather seemed to have kept the crowd very much below what I would have expected.
The Corner House, Newmarket Road, Cambridge
After the CT Scan, I was dropped at the Park and Ride in Cambridge and took the bus into the city centre. I had the intention of seeing the film, Made in Dagenham before going to see Ipswich play Northampton in the evening.
This pub caught my eye from the bus and you can see why in the picture.
The Corner House Pub, Cambridge
You probably can’t see it in this small photo, but under the “Home Cooked Food” banner, it also says “Including Gluten Free”.
Now I’ve never seen any establishment, broadcast that fact in so large letters. Certainly, if you were looking for a gluten-free meal and you were driving past, you’d take notice and might try it. They do have a web site.
Perhaps, the message is getting through.
Gene Therapy on the Horizon
Horizon tonight was on gene therapy. It really did give people with genetic diseases hope.
As both my wife and our son died of cancer, it was thought that he may have inherited a faulty gene. He hadn’t, but I can understand how much something like that, would blow families apart.
On the other hand, I have an inherited genetic disease in coeliac disease. Would I want to be cured by gene therapy? Probably not now, as I control my symptoms through diet, but it would have been nice to know, I carried the faulty gene earlier and I could have modified my diet accordingly.
Doves Farm Tricolour Pasta
I cooked a pack of this for supper with my son and a friend. They both liked it.
Doves Farm Tricolour Pasta
So thev sauce was a bit runny, but it was just created with two onions, some garlic, some tinned chopped tomatoes, some chopped salami and possibly too much stock.
But it tasted good and everything was eaten up!
Every Town Should Have One!
Nottingham is one of the best places to visit as a casual visiting supporter, as the station, town centre and the football ground are all within about twenty minutes walk. I have eaten in the centre before a couple of times and have never had a problem. I walked up the town to a restaurant I know, called French Living, where I had a simple lunch of an ommelette with all the trimmings and a glass of house wine for just £9.85.
They are a bit more than a restaurant and bistro, as you’ll see from their web site. They sell cheeses and other products andare also in quite a few respected guides.
It would be nice if this concept of shop/restaurant/bistro was to be repeated all over the country. After all judging by the full restaurant on a wet Saturday in October, it is a concept that works.
Especially with a one course lunch with wine for just £9.85!
Gluten Free Goes Mainstream
There has been an announcement that Genius gluten-free bread is going to spend £3million on a television advertising campaign for their products.
It’s even got a mention in The Sun.
I probably wont see the advert, but it will be interesting to see if it raises the awareness of coeliac disease and gluten-free products.
As to their gluten-free bread, I usually have a loaf in the bread-bin for sandwiches and toast. So I can’t say that I’m unhappy with the product.
Allergy Alerts
Yesterday, I was informed that Marks and Spencer had made a mistake with one of their gluten-free products. This is the gist of the problem.
Marks & Spencer has withdrawn some of its own-brand Gluten Free Rich Fruit Cake, because the product contains wheat flour. The product label incorrectly mentions that the product is ‘made without wheat’ and is ‘gluten free’. This makes the product a possible health risk to anyone who is gluten intolerant or has an allergy to or intolerance of wheat. The Agency has issued an Allergy Alert.
The full text of the message is on this web page at the Food Standards Agency.
There apparently is a syste of allergy alerts that you can subscribe to here.
Obviously, the system works, but in these days of austerity is it done as efficiently as it can be?
A Bit of a Scare
I got up at the usual time of about six this morning, as I was intending to see the Japanese Grand Prix. However, within a few minutes, I had such pain in my face, that I did the only thing I could think of and that was dial 999. The thought of another stroke occurred to me, but then I could still type and speak!
The ambulance arrived fairly quickly and I was taken off to Addenbrooke’s after they found me wandering about in the house.
It turned out to be a blocked sinus, or that’s what they think it is. I’ve had bad taste in my mouth for months, teeth and cheek pain and a lot of other symptoms that fit with a severe sinus problem. I should also say, that for years as a child I suffered from the same problems and they really only went away when I went gluten-free.
At least now, as i write this, I feel a little bit better! but i must get to see a specialist.
For example could the blocked sinuses, which often cause a lot of muck to discharge into your throat and gut, be the cause of my almost permanent soft and very ginger motions?
Carluccio’s Is Open In Bury St. Edmunds
As I said I might earlier , I sampled the new Carluccio’s in Bury St. Edmunds today.
Strangely, I had a little trouble finding the restaurant, as it was tucked away in a corner of the arc Shopping Centre and the maps in the Centre didn’t show it. But thinking about it later and it was positioned, where many would either come from the cinema or the car parks. But I don’t use that cinema, as it almost exclusively shows American films in 3D and I don’t drive.
This was my first visit to any of the restaurants, since a new gluten-free menu has been brought in. It’s a bit different and it might be slightly larger. I had some bresaola followed by a mushroom risotto, all washed down with two glasses of lemonade.
One of the things I like about the restaurants in my present state was innocently illustrated by a two-year-old sitting with his parents. He managed to tip his food all over the floor. I worry about doing that with my gammy hand, but I know that if I did, it wouldn’t be too much trouble for the staff.
However, I behaved myself and thoroughly enjoyed my meal.
The Anonymous Widower 