MEDICAL MATTERS

[Nolic]

Glad you're on the mend Moh. Things looking better for Cath though her blood pressure has been high and she is under obs for that. District nurses down to every other day for dressing changes. Mum and dad both seem settled in their respective nursing homes. Nolic

[PanBiker]

Take care Moh and although it will probably seem counter intuitive you will need to get mobile as soon as you can with you hip replacement. My dad had both of his done and his knees. Revolutionised his mobility, he kept on riding his bike until well into his seventies.
Glad to hear Cath is showing signs of mending up as well Nolic.

[Stanley]

Moh, lovely to hear that you are home but it sounds like the hip replacement from hell! I can only imagine what was going through your head as one problem after another assaulted you. Good job you are a strong character, I'm sure that has a bearing on your recovery. Ian is right about being mobile but I'm sure they have drilled this into you. The fact that you had such a rough time means that they must have been quite convinced you were OK to let you come home so that's a positive sign. Common to both you and Cath is the fact that after such intrusive treatment your body will need time to get back on and even keel. Antibiotics alone are a problem in that your immune system has to get back to normal so look after yourself and take your time before getting back to hang-gliding.....
Comrade, give Cath a big hug from me and tell her she is to take full advantage of invalid status and take all the help she is offered. How are the kids, worrying times for them.
My own medical concerns are minor in comparison. Last assessment next Tuesday and the op on my left eye on October 1st. Looking forward to getting some sight back in my left eye, I got the timing just right I think, the deterioration has speeded up in the last few months and noticed the other day that my vision in that eye was as bad with my glasses as the other eye is without and I have always been very short sighted. Losing your sight is, in some ways, a very valuable experience. In my case of course there is almost complete certainty that it can be rectified and compared to some my problems are minor so it is fairly easy to be objective. What strikes me in particular is that to the outside observer there is nothing wrong with me and it makes me wonder how many people are going round with the same level of impairment or even worse. Little things like the size of the print on food labels and price tickets in the supermarket and how badly steps and changes of level are marked. Then think of all the other impairments that afflict people and I begin to see the sense of what one of my ladies said to me once. "Old age isn't for cissies!" The world isn't geared to help disability!

[Tardis]

What a journey you have been on Moh, glad to see you are on the mend finally

[Cathy]

Moh (Welcome back) and Colin, lovely to hear good news from both of you.

[Tizer]

You've been through the wars, Moh! I'm glad to hear you're on the mend now - as Jack Warner would say, "Mind how you go."

It's good too to hear that Nolic's Cath is improving and her parents are secure in their nursing home. Mrs Tiz's parents are both still in hospital but places have at last been arranged in a nursing home close to her sister. They'll be discharged straight to the nursing home where the manager is trying to work with the two hospitals to make sure a care package is ready for them. Our experiences over recent days have unfortunately knocked my confidence in the NHS again. I've always been a strong supporter but now I'm finding it difficult - most of the staff are excellent, except for a few who let down the rest. But more important is the bigger picture, the lack of controls and communication within the organisation, the desperate need for better collaboration and collation of data. There's a lot of talk in the NHS about an `information revolution' but it's going to need a lot more than changed computer systems to make it work, it'll need a cultural revolution too. An example yesterday was a doctor at Mrs Tiz's dad's hospital who rang us wanting information about him. We had to tell her things that she should have known when he was taken in on Monday morning - that he has heart disease, Parkinson's and dementia. If she'd looked at the medication which came with him she should have realised from the Madopar that he had Parkinson's; if she didn't see the medication she should have contacted his GP and, anyway, why wasn't she able to access his information online on the NHS network? Instead she rang us and wanted to know if he was a heavy drinker because she thought he had delirium tremens (`the DTs') - tremor and confusion is characteristic of advanced Parkinson's disease (she must not be watching Doc Martin!). We had to convince her that he has never drunk much alcohol and hardly has any now because it doesn't mix with Parkinson's. But the call upset Mrs Tiz, not surprisingly. Last time dad was taken into hospital he had his medication with him but the nurses didn't give him the tablets according to the instructions and he was thrown into confusion and instability. With all these problems going on in hospitals is it any wonder that surgery patients also end up with infected wounds?

[Stanley]

Tiz, your post is supported by the current series on the NHS on BBC4.

[Tizer]

Mrs Tiz has now received the documents giving her Power of Attorney for her mum and dad and we're beginning to learn how organisations react to the PoA in different ways. The bank demanded that they were sent the originals to inspect but losing them would cause lots of trouble so we sent them by Royal Mail Special Delivery and told the bank they must return them by the same service...but they didn't, they came by ordinary post. When we asked Royal Mail for a redirection of mum & dad's mail to our address they didn't want the PoA originals but instead demanded `copies certified by a solicitor', and their application form takes a while to decipher and unravel some of the contradictions (must have been written by a committee). Both parents are still in hospital and it looks like the past criticism of the NHS for sending patients home prematurely has pushed them to the other extreme - they now hang on to people for too long.

[Moh]

As you say I need to get mobile but this is not made easy by the fact I have to carry the vac with me everywhere and it is not light weight. It feels lovely when I can unplug it and go for a shower! I am getting stronger and today got dressed for the first time which feels good although my clothes feel quite loose - not a bad thing. I walk around as much as I can and sat out on the patio yesterday in the sun whoch felt good. The wound nurses come twice a week to change the dressing and check the vac. I don't doubt it is going to be a long job but if all is well at the end it will be OK. Being the character that I am I find it difficult to sit and be waited on, wishing I could do it for myself!!

[Cathy]

Everything will be OK in the end Moh, hang on to that. When I had my problem a while back, I was rattling with tablets, moved only with great difficulty was always tired and lost quite a bit of weight. The world seemed to be a long way away at times. I still can't do everything quite the way I used to, today is a new type of normal for me , but I'm up and at 'em each day now and have been for ages. You're doing great and will get better and better.

[Tardis]

This covers Airedale:

the Bradford Renal team was congratulated on their initiative to reduce the consumption of water, acid concentrate and bicarbonate for dialysis. This was achieved by identifying patients suitable for the use of the dialysate "autoflow" facility on the Fresenius 5008 dialysis machine, which cuts down on waste by matching the flow of dialysate fluid to patient blood flows. The team calculated annual savings of £11,500, 3.7 tonnes CO2 equivalents and 1.1 million litres water from a 9% overall reduction in dialysate use.

Dr. John Stoves, Consultant Nephrologist in Bradford, said: "We continue to find that a multidisciplinary team approach to green service developments can deliver sustainable environmental and financial savings whilst maintaining or improving the quality of patient care.”

Innovation at the heart of the NHS

[Tardis]

Airedale would like people to comment on this:

https://secure.membra.co.uk/Attachments ... 417528.pdf

Dear member,

I am organising an event on the Trust’s Quality Account on Thursday 17 October 2013, between 1.00 pm and 5.00 pm in the Boardroom at Airedale General Hospital.

Every Trust in England publishes a Quality Account annually in the same way they do financial accounts, but the focus is about explaining the quality of care we offer. A copy of our 2012/13 Quality Account can be downloaded by clicking here.

The event will be chaired by Dr Andrew Catto, Medical Director and we plan to have a mixture of presentations, workshops and a question and answer session covering the following subjects: -

Friends and Family Test – this is the question we ask patients leaving hospital ie would they recommend our hospital to their friends and family Complaints/Patient Advice and Liaison Service Palliative Care – this is care to relieve the pain, symptoms and stress of serious illness Information Governance – this is ensuring safeguards for the use of patient information Emergency Department Redesign and Refurbishment Telemedicine – this is care provided from a distance via video link and telephone Transform and Integration – this is changing the way we work, along with other care organisations, to provide care closer to the patient’s home Dementia Care Equality and Diversity We very much want to involve patient representatives and those with a direct interest in the hospital in our Quality Account and invite you to take part. Please let me know if you would like and are able to attend, as this will help with room planning etc.

By all means contact me if you require any clarification or further information.

With best wishes.
Karen

[Cathy]

Stanley Good Luck with your op tomorrow. All will be well

[David Whipp]

Please can I add my good wishes, Stanley.

A friend of mine has had cataract operations on both eyes in recent months without complications. His sight is greatly improved.

Good luck!

[PanBiker]

Already said in another thread but I'm sure you will be OK and back with enhanced reading capabilities in no time. Good luck.

[Tripps]

You'll enjoy the next edition of Private Eye a lot more. Best wishes. DT.

[Tardis]

Good luck Stanley, the NHS is on a roll at the moment!

I just posted my lowest BP in 10 years and I'm having my flu jab on Saturday. The first time I've ever been sent my invite to the flu jab.

[PanBiker]

We got an invite too, first time for us also, must be a new thing. If I didn't already get it, I would gladly pay for it. Had 3 weeks of proper flu over Christmas and new year 1999/2000, good for weight loss (3st) but not to be recommended as a slimming aid.

[Stanley]

Thanks Cathy and all the rest of you. Am looking forward with keen anticipation of a good result but a small amount of trepidation of course because of the fact they are going to cut holes in my eye while I am watching!
Busy week, Jack's jab yesterday, op today and flu jab on Saturday. I postponed the flu jab originally scheduled for last Saturday even though the lady assured me it would not cause a problem. Better safe than sorry!

[LizG]

Will be expecting a report in the next few days Stanley; are the colours bright again, what was the most noticeable change et al. Good luck, you won't feel a thing.

[Stanley]

I've heard that one before Liz!

[plaques]

A shingles vaccination programme is now on offer to people who are 70 and 79 years old. (note only two age groups are eligible). If you are sat between these two ages it could be another five years before it becomes available to you. Other than spreading the cost / work load I can't see any logic in this approach.

[Stanley]

You were right Liz. Full report in 'Today I shall be mainly'.....

[Stanley]

NHS working in top gear for me.... Flu jab today, consultant on Tuesday for right eye, blood tests on 22 October and diabetes clinic on 29th. We have a l,ot to be grateful for....

[Tardis]

Flu jab today, blood tests last Monday. Medical study tests/update & Consultant Monday...forward care path explanations

Then we'll see what the options are