Arthritis?

[PlaneMan]

Have another short notice appointment, this time for another arthrogram,

That’s on friday afternoon, 3pm. The worst time possible, horrible to get to the hospital and horrible to get back and because of the anesthetic I can’t drive so that means mum is driving and she hates rush hour traffic.

[Richard]

That is a downer that is for sure, hospitals do not appear able to realise that transport issues do form a major issue in many people’s lives. At least you knew in advance… I had a couple of injections which were highly unpleasant then drove home. The next one was not done on the spot I was given an appointment for a few days hence and told I could not drive for 24 hours after the job was done. I asked what had changed I drove home the last times – they went a funny colour and suggested that I would have done so without insurance… oops. They did not even want me to walk home, it is only a twenty minute walk.  With my eye operations my wife drove me to and from home, it was the first time she had driven her car that year.

I trust it will go well, arthritis is a real bummer though there are other options which can be even worse.

[Bob Williams]

Nolan I hope it goes OK and you get some better news.

Don’t recall if I suggested this before, but do you have anything like our Voluntary Driver Scheme here in Lincolnshire? (possibly other places too) There is a small charge dependent upon income/benefits over here. Try googling ‘Voluntary Hospital transport’ in your area.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[PlaneMan]

Thanks Bob.

Looked into that before but I can’t do ‘public’ transport (the mini buses always pick up as many people as possible, which I understand as they have to keep costs down), for long term reasons that were well established before the arthritis issue raised its head. It’s been 12 or more years since I’ve been able to use a bus or train.

[Bob Williams]

The Volunteer Drivers use their own cars Nolan. The guy next door uses them a lot, there are cards about them in every surgery and hospital over here.

Is this your area?     http://tinyurl.com/ycnerutg

Put your Postcode in and check the map.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[PlaneMan]

Different system here, the one linked to don’t do transport in my area. Only other option is booking an ambulance or a taxi. I don’t need an ambulance and don’t want to tie one up and don’t qualify for refund of the taxi fares, which would be £30 plus for both ways.

I’ll probably drive mum’s car over and she’ll have to drive back.

[Richard]

All I can say is good luck PM for tomorrow, I hope the traffic is less of an issue and that all goes well.

Our local health ‘mob’ have a number of sites in their group, some are hospitals and some were grotty run down offices in grotty run down buildings, possibly some still are. One of them has happily been torn down now – hooray. The central records had to be plundered for the records of patients for each day’s appointments. It cost the NHS a fortune in Taxi fares as the records never got sent out on time so missed the official post run and patient had to wait for the taxi to explain their condition.

Another site is a couple of towns away on the wrong side of a motorway roundabout that’s famous for hold-ups. The roads on to and off of the roundabout are pretty good at collecting accidents with deer and stupid bits of road works, oh and stupid drivers. The ‘about half an hour trips’ can easily and unpredictably take an hour and a half or more. After one two hour trip I swore I would never go there again, but my wife was next up for an MRI and the route was clear as a bell. A trip to urology could rival medieval torture if the traffic had it in for you. Many of my appointments have been chose and book, I will wait longer to get a more accessible location if I have the chance.

[PlaneMan]

Thanks Richard.

The hospital tomorrow is the far side of town, last time it was done at the hospital 2 miles away from me and maybe 1/4 mile from mum’s house. Ample disabled parking close to the relevant department. Most of it is pretty new, the core is old but has been updated.

Tomorrow’s hospital (UHW, Heath, Cardiff) is a nightmare, Tippon will know it well, disabled parking is ample but a fair distance from the main hospital and x ray is another slog down the main corridor. I literally have no idea how long it’ll take me get to the x ray department as I fatigue quickly these days and need rests far more often than I like.

[Richard]

I have not driven round Cardiff for a while, but I know what you mean about the city. We sometimes go to Addenbrooks, getting there is fine but and it is a big but, moving round the place is a huge challenge. I am sure it is where the Olympic marathon trainees do their work outs. My wife has several issues, a lung problem, Allergic Pulmonary Aspergillosis, an autoimmune disorder which she knows is a one way ticket, it finished off her mother, leg and knee problems which I do not think she really wants to accept as being an issue and the results of her anaphylaxis episode during a November hospital examination. Her walking makes the average loris like like a speed demon, we might well get passed by stone carvings. That is not the main problem, it is the pain which is a real challenge, so I know what you mean. Modern hospitals may be paragons of something but the walks are something else. My wife has not entered the realms of sorting disabled parking, she has reached the stage of wanting to stay in the house rather than go out, at all. I feel that disability support is the next stage for her and that it is near, but as the unpaid carer for our daughter, that is her main thrust for most of her time.

Sorry, that was far more depressing than I intended.

I trust it will go well tomorrow, sometimes, the advanced fears are far worse than the event.

[Bob Williams]

Always makes me wonder at the ‘planning’ which puts Disabled Parking a distance away from the main building you need to visit, especially when the building is a hospital. Best I know in my area is actually Grimsby DPoW: all lined up opposite the main building, short walk into the hospital itself. Of course, then you have to get to the department you need to visit. They also have the most efficient and most numerous payment machines. Easy to use, contactless if you want them. Then you have the “customers” – stood behind a guy, probably around 50 yesterday, trying to pay cash. He forgot or mistyped his reg. plate, shouted at the machine, dropped his money. Shouted at the machine some more, picked up his cash. I asked if he had a bank card: “Yes, why?” he almost snarled. I pointed out the details telling him that he could pay by card. He read it, went quiet and paid by contactless. “I didn’t know you could do that!” “It’s clearly signed” said a guy behind me. If he had possessed a tail, it would have been between his legs as he slunk away.

Worst payment machines are at Scunthorpe General. Always breaking down, big queues forming, people not reading the signs “Don’t forget your registration number” at the car park entrance and walking exit. I hate going there.

Best of luck tomorrow Nolan.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Tippon]

PlaneMan wrote:

Tomorrow’s hospital (UHW, Heath, Cardiff) is a nightmare, Tippon will know it well, disabled parking is ample but a fair distance from the main hospital and x ray is another slog down the main corridor. I literally have no idea how long it’ll take me get to the x ray department as I fatigue quickly these days and need rests far more often than I like.

Oh yes, I know it ?

A few things to be aware of for tomorrow:

General visiting is between two and four, so the disabled car park will probably be full. If you’re feeling brave, park in the drop off area outside concourse instead. It’s a bit cheeky, but it’s usually full of taxis anyway. If you get caught, just explain that it takes you a while to walk anywhere, so you took longer than you expected.

The entrance to the hospital has been changed. If you’re coming in off the flyover, you’ve now got to go all the way around the back of the hospital instead of passing A&E. It’s pretty straightforward, and brings you out by the roundabout at the multi storey car park entrance.

There’s a new coffee shop and some basic seating about ten yards further up than the x-ray department entrance. It’s not much cheaper than Starbucks, but I think it’s nicer. The seating is under the stairs next to the radio station.

Good luck ?

[PlaneMan]

Thanks for the heads up Ryan, didn’t even think about visiting hours.

Need to find a site plan I think.

[PlaneMan]

Just got back, traffic was nowhere near as bad as expected in both directions, thanks to some shortcuts I remembered and the live traffic info on Google Maps.

Also got seen quicker than I should have (3rd of 3, all the same procedure) because the bloke in front of me hadn’t had pain in his hip for months and didn’t bother telling anyone. The doctor told him many times he wasn’t having the procedure  and he kept insisting on having it. It was only when a rather large male nurse turned up he changed his mind and went away.

Wait and see if it helps now.

[Richard]

While I speak for myself I am sure I will be echoed by others when I say,  very glad it all went smoothly.

[PlaneMan]

Thanks Richard.

Only major issue was parking, the disabled car park was full, as Tippon predicted, it was a case of waiting for a space,one car out, one car parked, took about 15 minutes to get a spot which wasn’t terrible but bad enough.

[Bob Williams]

Glad you got sorted Nolan, hope you get a favourable result.

I have experienced one or two “problem patients” during my own increasingly frequent hospital visits. Not seen one such in Grimsby, but in Boston and Scunthorpe I have. One BFAB* in Boston, a few years ago, actually punched a female nurse. Several patients dragged him down and held him for Security. Such idiots should be struck off all medical lists.

*Big Fat Aggresive Barsteward.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[PlaneMan]

Thanks Bob.

Totally agree about the human scum, they should be denied treatment. That of course is a huge can of worms for health care professionals.

[Richard]

PM, I totally agree, the medicos claim the service is short of money but refuse to have anything to do with filtering out health tourists; the attitude is a bit different in other locations! As for the abusive sods, leave them to cure themselves.

Car parking at hospitals can be a problem many locations. Our eldest daughter was born in Japan at just over 30 weeks and getting into the regional children’s’ hospital was along some roads that were far longer but no wider than our drive here in the UK. Then one had to wait for a space to fall vacant. That was several months of challenges. Suctioning, feeding and changing a baby in an incubator is a black art – only afterwards did I realise that the Japanese way was to leave all that stuff to the medical staff., who had stood referentially aside while I was busily dealing with the ‘three part baby’. The incubator cover had unfortunate optical ‘issues’ with anything inside.

[The Duke]

After seeing that Richard said he found a teat I went looking. I failed too, I got “mid level symptoms”. I don’t hold much faith in the online test, but as PM says, it would explain a lot.

[Ed P]

Steve, I would have said that there is no pass or fail. I don’t know if it was the same test (autism), but to me it looked more like a screening test for auditors. In that respect at least I failed as I do not have a ‘tidy’ mind!

My old company invested zillions in ensuring that all their management staff went through a battery of personality and sensitivity tests. Most of which I thought were borderline bs, but it culminated in a T-group session on top of a Swiss berg of about eight people which was a positively dangerous experience for some. I remember a Greek individual (probably borderline paranoid) who stated that he was going to go back and ‘kill’ all the staff who filled in nasty responses to the ‘anonymous’ questionnaires! He was probably one of those who were actually damaged by taking a personality test, so I’d treat the results of a simple test with a lot of caution.

[Author]

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