MEDICAL MATTERS

[Stanley]

I go one further Wendy and email my doctor....... I do it regularly to let him know I am fine so when I ask for something it usually gets a response.

[Cathy]

I’ve had a horrible week, somehow I have upset my back again, my Med. Cert. says “Temporary exacerbation of a permanent condition.”
It goes back to when I suffered 2 bulging discs a while back. Med. Cert. is for 3 months, but hopefully I will recover earlier and be able to go back volunteering, with duties that are less physically demanding for me.
But for now, I am resting up and being extra careful.
Anyway….

[Stanley]

I've been there Cathy and you are right, take it easy but at the same time don't let it seize up!
If it's any consolation mine got easier to control as I got older. The only thing that triggers a storm now is if I do something silly.
Good luck with it and I hope it eases quickly......

[Wendyf]

I go one further Wendy and email my doctor....... I do it regularly to let him know I am fine so when I ask for something it usually gets a response.

We can't email the Pendle Medical Partnership. There is no other way of contacting them but by the awful phone lottery or 111 if its an emergency! Any thought of talking to a doctor who knows you went out the window ages ago!

[Stanley]

When you think about it , the situation we face now is the worst (In terms of communication.) ever. Even in the days before the NHS you could have a personal doctor and talk to him or her.....

[Big Kev]

A nurse from Barlick surgery phoned me yesterday, I now have another pill to take. I'm sure I can hear myself rattling

Dapagliflozin, now that's a name and a half.

[PanBiker]

Would the MyGP phone app be of any use? I know I can use that for communication with Barlick surgery but I suppose that depends on whether your surgery is signed up to it.

[Big Kev]

A friend of mine is a receptionist at Earby surgery, I'll have a chat with her when she's back from her holidays and see what's available.

[Big Kev]

There isn't.

[Stanley]

In that case Kev it's a disgrace and should not be allowed.
All I can suggest is my favourite way of busting these log jams. Send an old fashioned letter by snail mail to your doctor. Mark it as confidential and put the return address of a firm of bookmakers on the envelope. Such a letter never gets intercepted!

[Tizer]

Mrs Tiz (like Wendy) has been using prescribed eye drops for some time now. When she went online at Patient Access to order her next batch the original item was not there - instead there were two different eye drops listed. She asked about the change and has been told that a letter would be sent to her. That was on the 11th, there's been no letter and she's still trying to find out what's going on. She's using up the old drops for now. Communication is one of the biggest failings in the NHS.

[PanBiker]

Communication is one of the biggest failings in the NHS.

I have a text to remind me of my scanner appointment on Wednesday.

[Big Kev]

Communication is one of the biggest failings in the NHS.

I have a text to remind me of my scanner appointment on Wednesday.

I get text reminders from Barlick surgery but, as the O2 mobile signal is virtually non existent within the walls of Chez Kev, I only get them if I leave the house.

[PanBiker]

My first text came on Saturday, I have received another today.

I think I will sort my train tickets on my phone.

Wiz buses to Skipton are 18 mins past the hour after the morning commute period.

[Tizer]

Mrs Tiz went to the surgery this afternoon and explained the problem to the receptionist who arranged for her to get a phone call from the doc this afternoon. That's taken place and the doc has searched and found an email letter from the hospital ophthalmologist referring to the change in eye drops. The surgery hadn't done anything because a copy of the letter was supposed to have been sent by post from the ophthalmologist to Mrs Tiz (yes, they still use snail mail for patients!) and it would have told her to contact the surgery if necessary.

The issue has been taken more seriously because someone else has come to the surgery today with exactly the same communication problem. The doc doesn't understand why Mrs Tiz has been prescribed two eye drops, both different from her present medication and one of them in double concentration. Mrs Tiz is also going to contact her optician and explain what has happened because they thought her present eye drops were right for her and they also have close contact with the hospital. Nobody has been able to tell her yet why the drops have been changed.

[Stanley]

Doesn't exactly fill you with confidence about the profession does it.
I suppose the root cause is not enough staff but is the answer as easy as that?

[Wendyf]

I would contact the ophthalmologist's secretary Tiz.

[Wendyf]

I'm sat here trying to call the surgery for an appointment. I can't even get a phone connection, it cuts straight off. I presume their system can only handle a certain number of calls at one time. Ooh, after 9 mins of constant redialling I just got a line busy notification before it cut off, that's progress!

[plaques]

I'm sat here trying to call the surgery for an appointment. I can't even get a phone connection, it cuts straight off. I presume their system can only handle a certain number of calls at one time. Ooh, after 9 mins of constant redialling I just got a line busy notification before it cut off, that's progress!

Wendy. Some weeks ago I reported that the Colne Health centre had gone onto a new telephone number. This did exactly what you are describing. Go back to using the old number we were told. We did and it worked perfectly. We have not tried the new system since that time. Just a thought for you.

[Wendyf]

I tried every 30 seconds or so and finally connected with the surgery at 8.35 just to have a recorded message telling me that I was 14th in the queue at which point I gave up! The chance of getting one of today's triage phone calls probably nil.
Plan B tomorrow as suggested by the receptionist at Earby which is to turn up at the desk for 8am!
Plaques that's interesting, I believe the phone number is the same for both Earby and Colne, 731370 is that the one you used?

[plaques]

Plaques that's interesting, I believe the phone number is the same for both Earby and Colne, 731370 is that the one you used?

The old number is 731731 The new system is 911401.
Normally a No6 position in the queue is a 15/20 wait.

[Wendyf]

Plaques that's interesting, I believe the phone number is the same for both Earby and Colne, 731370 is that the one you used?

The old number is 731731 The new system is 911401.
Normally a No6 position in the queue is a 15/20 wait.

We haven't been told about that one yet! Were you with the Colne Corner Surgery originally? It's unclear as to whether we are all treated as one group or two separate ones.

[Tizer]

The surgery printed off a copy of the ophthalmologist's letter that should have been sent to Mrs Tiz two weeks ago. The doctor has given her a repeat prescription for the original drops to keep her going until all is sorted. She's going to try and contact the ophthalmologist too. She's been in touch with the opticians but the boss is away this week. When he comes he'll look into the problem. He's been very good to us and will be annoyed by what has happened.

[Tizer]

Sorry but it's me again - another communication cock up...
I'm posting this here because we've been discussing failures of organisations to communicate properly. Some weeks ago I booked my car into the local Honda garage for a service and rectification of a recall problem. I was given an afternoon slot and booked in for 1.30pm. Arriving at 1.15 I was told by a young salesman that they'd phoned my wife about it and said it would have to be an all day service because of the recall job (a software update). At first I said my wife hadn't been phoned or she would, of course, have told me. After a bit of disagreement he admitted that they'd phoned her while I was on my way (about a 10 minute journey!). He said we'd been told about the change but all we'd had was one of those generic emails that showed the day and date and there was nothing about changing the time. So the car is now being serviced but we have to make another 4-hour appointment for the software download.

The email they sent also had a link to the DVLA page where you can make a one-time code for your driving licence instead of having to show it and you can download a PDF of all the details to send to the garage. I've used this before and it was easy. But this time I couldn't send them the PDF in a reply to their email - it just bounced back with the reason given as the garage company's security. None of their literature nor their web site gives an email address to use. In the end I wrote down the code on a piece of paper to do it the old way and took it with me. When I showed garage man he claimed to have no idea what it was and said there was no way they could use it. Luckily I carry my licence so I got it sorted. Yet I've used it with them before and with the VW garage when I had cars serviced there. Once I've got our car back I'll be writing (snail mail!) to the boss of the whole group and updating him on the incompetence I encountered.

Oh, and Mrs Tiz was annoyed and gave the young man a piece of her mind before ending his phone call! We don't seem to be able to get anything done properly any more. There's a very serious systemic problem that needs identifying and correcting....

[PanBiker]

Booked my anytime return trip to Leeds and back for tomorrow. I got the e-tickets as they save a lot of messing around. Two PDF Q Code tickets one for outward and the other for return. Dead easy through the Trainline App on my phone. 10.18 Wiz bus from Barlick should get me to Skipton station in time for the 10.47 train or I can get the 11.01, both are straight through, (some services have a change at Shipley) just over 40 minutes so I should be there for 12.00 at the latest. I will get the first bus up to the hospital, which is only a 10 minute ride and grab a bit of lunch in the cafe before my go in the scanner at 14.15.