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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13751
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I went, today, for a 90 minute education session on diabetes given by the UK NHS. It was to eductae me on what diabetes is, how to handle my diet, and what care I need to give extremities like feet.
I arrived in good time. It started 10 minutes late.
The nurse explained, taking 30 minutes to do so, that diabetes was a bad thing, and meant you have too much glucose in your blood. She took about 20 overhead foils to do this.
The dietician told us about food. But incorrectly. She showed us a pie chart of a plate for a well balanced meal: veg, carbs, protein. Half the plate was veg, 1/6th protein, 1/3rd carbs. She said "think of your plate as divided into quarters: half veg, and 1/4 each of protein and carbs." I mentioned this to her. She said she had simplified it!
The podiatrist explained that feet were important and vulnerable. She told us to wash them carefully, and dry them, but not to pull the entire bath towel between the toes or they woudl be forced too far apart. She then showed us (3 men and 2 women) suitable shoes. These were old granny shoes, and all female.
I spent 90 minutes on an uncomfortable chair to listen to this crap!
All the time the podiatrist's daughter (about 9 years old with unfortunate ears, and who would have been pretty if she had a different face) was crawling around on the floor. At one point she tried to overturn the table! Mummy said "Be careful, Joanna, darling" and carried on.
GIVE ME STRENGTH, it's my insulin function that's wrong, not my mind.
[Updated on: Wed, 04 October 2006 21:42]
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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I would be annoyed too. thats why I like my doctors. the way the clinic is set up they arnt competing with each other and trying to be the "Im smarter than you " bunch. If I have a question I can go to the childrens ombudsman and ask and I will get an answer and one i can understand. You need to talk to a dietician you like and one who has your best interest at heart. Just exercise and keep your blood flow good to your legs and keep clean, Im sure you do anyway.
As far as the kid, send the parents an invitation to your lecture on bringing up children. lol
I believe in Karma....what you give is what you get returned........
Affirmation........Savage Garden
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*huggles Timmy^^*
I hope your day gets better^^ It sounds like it was interesting^^ Tho I dont know what a podiatrist is. o.O what is it?
(And yes, I use MSN way too much^^ lol)
~Josh~
21.
Love who you want to.
~Josh~
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13751
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I was careful to be objective on the asssessment sheet. The words "Banal" and "dumbed down" and "Proofread your slides" (bad spelling errors) were included, together with "Total waste of my time"
I "had to go" in order to get the next step from my doctor, but I feel very much like strangling all who took part.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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Hi Timmy,
Sorry to hear about that. If you're really upset about it all, why don't you write a letter to the health authority? Point out what is wrong with it. Put in some (patronising) suggestions of your own. It might help them improve it in future. At the very least, it'll make you feel a bit better for having had to put up with it.
David
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13751
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It is a foot attendant! Chiropodist? They do the things old folk can't reach
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13751
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I have started on that. I have put in a request under the Freedom of Information Act wanting to see an analysis of the ratings for the event at that location plus a comparison to the events ot other locations. I've also asked about the qualifications for dieticians to allow them to educate at these things.
Once I have this information I will write a very serious letter to the chief executive of the health trust explaining my concerns.
But the FoIA request will start to set the cat among the pigeons, because people wil lwonder what is happening. If the results are bad I may write an article for the local press on them and involve local radio.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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I don't blame you for being annoyed - the ability of the NHS to infantilise and disempower the users of the service never ceases to amaze me!
One practical tip that I have learned the hard way is to present oneself to the NHS as busy, self-assured, competent, and liable to make waves if badly treated. In my case, this meant having appointments on days when I was at work (and so dressed in a suit), specifically asking how long I could expect an appointment to take (so that I could arrange meetings before and after), and for afternoon appointments ringing late morning to check if the appointment times were running late.
It's a joke, really. It should not be necessary to have to think about image in order to access appropriate medical care, and it goes against everything I believe in. But it works ...
As regards the nurse who had slides that were factually different from the slides she was using, a formal complaint would be in order (go through the patients help service if there is one). You are undoubtedly bright enough to cope with conflicting information - other patients may not be ... and I dread to think what could happen if this nurse were ever to give out drug dosage instructions where the written and verbal instructions did not agree!
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. ... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night devoid of stars." Martin Luther King
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timmy wrote:
> These are real people, and probably very pleasant ones, but they forget that we are not cattle.
>
Some of them are. But some - and not a small percentage - have real difficulties in relating to other people as autonomous adults: they need a structured environment where they can feel that they will be the unchallenged boss, as they are too insecure to cope with proper human equal interactions. The NHS is not alone in attracting such people - local government, and schoolteaching, also have more than their fair share of such people.
None of which, of course, is in any way to detract from the excellent work done by the very many good people who also work in these three sectors!
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. ... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night devoid of stars." Martin Luther King
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No wonder that you are annoyed. Unfortunately, it's reminiscent of the over-bureaucrized Norwegian health service, and the arrogance and lack of will and ability by doctors, nurses and office workers to treat patients with due respect.
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Not all NHS staff are there to make your life a misery. Many -- doctors and nurses especially -- are doing the best they can on the limited resources allocated to them by their managers and the health authority. I hope, Timmy, that you make a distinction between those who are overworked and doing their best and those who are in fact lazy, incompetent or have a poor attitude to patients. Because in some cases -- the lateness you mention might be an example, I don't know -- it is not immediately clear who is to blame.
Playing the system can be fun, but only if you ensure you're not gumming it up and preventing those people who might genuinely be helping other people from doing their jobs. From your description of today it does not sound like it is the case: however, some of the comments in the parent post do suggest it. "I am their worst nightmare", for example.
David
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13751
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I believe in service, especially from something labelled as a service.
If I were a paying customer at a till I would be able to deal with that simply, but I am not.
OK, there are some overworked people. And there are some ridiculous systems, too. How about "Consultant's Rounds", with 6 people walking behind him and doing nothing whatsoever except paying homage to the great man?
How about the myriads of people carrying piles of papers through wards when one paper delivery would have solved it wih a mailman style service?
Redeploy those people to real jobs.
Yesterday's crew had each been told to prepare a 30 minute presentation which lasted for 30 minutes. They have given it numerous times before. 3 pamphlets would give more information than these three. They were even incompetent at answering questions.
The people who invent jobs and then do them bady, those are the people who need to go. This is why "Management by Objectives" fails. Some fool said We must educate the new diabetics". A wise person said "Yes, on the ailment, on diet, and on footcare". Unwise people created the event.
Remove a whole layer of middle management and the whole thing will continue to work, but with lower bureaucracy and lower cost.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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Oh, I'm fully aware that middle management is one of the major symptoms that is crippling the NHS, but largely this is a political decision, not the fault of those who are employed as such. If you are going to criticise these people, write to your MP or the health authority. Do not take it out on them directly, unless they are clearly incompetent.
Timmy said,
>How about "Consultant's Rounds", with 6 people walking behind him and doing nothing whatsoever except paying homage to the great man?
Er... there are lots of possible reasons. My father, for example, a consultant, teaches. He might take medical students around with him. Perhaps junior doctors still in training. Do not tell me that these people are wasting time -- on the contrary, following my father around is essential if they are to become good doctors themselves. If you like, I will talk to him about it.
>How about the myriads of people carrying piles of papers through wards when one paper delivery would have solved it wih a mailman style service?
Who are you talking about here? Assuming that these are secretaries working in the same hospital, within a certain distance of each other, you cannot possibly be telling me it would save time or money for them to bundle up all their papers into a parcel, call someone about it, get it delivered, wait for it to arrive, unbundle it at the other end, distribute it to whomever it is supposed to go to. If you could give a specific example of what these papers are, then it might help. Otherwise I do not understand your reasoning.
David
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13751
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Deeej wrote:
> Oh, I'm fully aware that middle management is one of the major symptoms that is crippling the NHS, but largely this is a political decision, not the fault of those who are employed as such. If you are going to criticise these people, write to your MP or the health authority. Do not take it out on them directly, unless they are clearly incompetent.
That is what the Chief Executive is for.
>
> Timmy said,
> >How about "Consultant's Rounds", with 6 people walking behind him and doing nothing whatsoever except paying homage to the great man?
>
> Er... there are lots of possible reasons. My father, for example, a consultant, teaches. He might take medical students around with him. Perhaps junior doctors still in training. Do not tell me that these people are wasting time -- on the contrary, following my father around is essential if they are to become good doctors themselves. If you like, I will talk to him about it.
This is not a teaching hospital. This was a flock of ladies in uniform doing precisely nothing. No, one held a felt pen and passed it to the registrar, who, presumably, was not strong enough to carry his own. The overworked ward sister also thought this was ridiculous.
>
> >How about the myriads of people carrying piles of papers through wards when one paper delivery would have solved it wih a mailman style service?
>
> Who are you talking about here? Assuming that these are secretaries working in the same hospital, within a certain distance of each other, you cannot possibly be telling me it would save time or money for them to bundle up all their papers into a parcel, call someone about it, get it delivered, wait for it to arrive, unbundle it at the other end, distribute it to whomever it is supposed to go to. If you could give a specific example of what these papers are, then it might help. Otherwise I do not understand your reasoning.
There is a normal system where a low paid mailroom clerk has a regular round to collect from out trays and deliver to in trays - A sneakernet mail server. How can I posisbly give a specific example? They looked like some form of folder.
>
> David
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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Timmy said,
>That is what the Chief Executive is for.
Yes, correct.
>This is not a teaching hospital. This was a flock of ladies in uniform doing precisely nothing. No, one held a felt pen and passed it to the registrar, who, presumably, was not strong enough to carry his own. The overworked ward sister also thought this was ridiculous.
A hospital does not need to be part of a university for teaching to happen there. St. Peters in Chertsey has medical students from St. George's in London. However, if the people following the doctor around truly did not have designated medical or learning roles then I would agree that this seems ludicrous.
>They looked like some form of folder.
My father's secretaries deal with vast quantities of patients' notes. These have to be delivered to the correct doctor in time for the appointment. I really do not know how efficient the system is, but it seems to be the commonly practiced one. You may be talking about something else -- I did not see what you saw.
David
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They did. She was amazed that it was then running 90 minutes late and raised hell.
