Right then, kiddies, the pub beckons, and I can hardly decline, so I'm gone for the day. Have fun . . .
243 days ago
RT @rattlecans: How many suicides will occur in the UK before Lab Party is willing to reconsider their policies and attitudes to the poo ...
244 days ago
@crimsoncrip Yep - excellent day, thanks. A friend took me to Edale, in the Peak District, a Mecca for walkers… (cont) http://t.co/Ht08I91Q
244 days ago
@nigeldraper Screw that! I don't drive now, but that's way too much interference in what is purely a national, even a local, issue.
244 days ago
@crimsoncrip Thanks for #CT. Bit late - been out all day.
245 days ago
I was diagnosed with heart failure three months ago, and a couple of weeks ago was – finally – referred for an echocardiogram.
Yesterday I got my appointment letter – for May 4 – for an ECG! (Short for electrocardiogram, not echo…) I don’t need an ECG – I’ve had about 5 recently – I need an echocardiogram to find out just how severe my heart failure is (judging by how I feel, how extremely short of breath I am, and how enormously swollen with fluid my legs are, that’s pretty damn severe). It will determine how much blood is being retained in my left ventricle – more is worse. An ECG will tell them nothing useful.
If these cretins think I’m going to stump up £10 taxi fare to get an ECG which I could get at my GP surgery five minutes from home, they’re unhinged as well as incompetent.
And do I get to see a consultant? No, I do not – I get to see a GP with a “Special Interest” in cardiology. Bugger that – I have a right to expect a consultant or, at least, the consultant’s registrar/SHO. Not a GP with a hobby.
To add insult to injury, the appointment is for 16.30 – a time of day when it’s almost impossible to reliably get a taxi, especially a specific type – a hack with disabled access, as I’ll be using my powerchair, and traffic will be horrendous. Would it be too cynical to suspect that the timing is more to suit the GP than to suit me?
The fuck-up continues unabated.
I was diagnosed with heart failure three months ago, and a couple of weeks ago was – finally – referred for an echocardiogram.
Yesterday I got my appointment letter – for May 4 – for an ECG! (Short for electrocardiogram, not echo…) I don’t need an ECG – I’ve had about 5 recently – I need an echocardiogram to find out just how severe my heart failure is (judging by how I feel, how extremely short of breath I am, and how enormously swollen with fluid my legs are, that’s pretty damn severe). It will determine how much blood is being retained in my left ventricle – more is worse. An ECG will tell them nothing useful.
If these cretins think I’m going to stump up £10 taxi fare to get an ECG which I could get at my GP surgery five minutes from home, they’re unhinged as well as incompetent.
And do I get to see a consultant? No, I do not – I get to see a GP with a “Special Interest” in cardiology. Bugger that – I have a right to expect a consultant or, at least, the consultant’s registrar/SHO. Not a GP with a hobby.
To add insult to injury, the appointment is for 16.30 – a time of day when it’s almost impossible to reliably get a taxi, especially a specific type – a hack with disabled access, as I’ll be using my powerchair, and traffic will be horrendous. Would it be too cynical to suspect that the timing is more to suit the GP than to suit me?