Playing the NHS appointments system Recently two senior Consultants told me they don’t expect the NHS to be around in ten years’ time. So I just hope those 7 million plus of us on waiting lists get seen before this happens. Mulling this over, I reflect I usually see my doctors in a timely fashion, without long waits, because I follow my own advice on climbing up the waiting list;  a sneaky way of getting better health care using techniques I learned from family members in the forces. Recently I turn on TV, and am riveted by a documentary going behind the scenes of the Falklands War.  ..read more

The club no one wants to join Dear L This isn’t a fun place to be, in fact it is B……y confusing.  You see, there is no typical case, so no one is really able to tell you what is going to happen. You are going to have to suss it out for yourself, and – I hope – have a few wry smiles on the way.  And perhaps some laughs as you find out one thing for sure – you’ll have a good laugh with fellow patients. Llisten to your body.  It knows what is best for YOU”.  A very wise old Consultant toldf me this, and said the best way to get through treatment is to be Bxxxxy minded and stic ..read more

Don’t compromise on Skincare  Skin is our largest organ, but drugs used to treat us can produce nasty side effects on our skin Today’s medical treatments use strong drugs, which can leave patients with nasty side effects, such as itchy peeling skin, similar to the left side of this image;  We all want skin looking like the ‘nice’ right side, but anyone whose skin looks like the left side, probably knows a shortage of dermatologists in UK can leave us in despair. How I was I used to be Beauty Editor for an American trade magazine, so owned a cupboard full of freebie skincare.  At ..read more

Getting what I want!  Last January I posted this article, and a friend has just phoned to say it’s worked for her too – so here it is again!  ……… Last January my polio consultant gave me new instructions and said he would see me in May to check if they worked.  Come May, I phoned – only to be told “Dr. X’s clinic is full up to July, when it closes”.  And the person on the phone said there was no waiting list, or any chance of a cancellation and I had had been overr-looked; sorry !. Full stop! This was a wake-up call, so I went into overdrive sent email to my MP, with a cop ..read more

Feelings run high over private  medical care. In other countries,  private and state-funded care to run side-by-side, but here it can lead to bad feeling.When I lived in London, some private providers had seen opportunities and were providing sub-standard services to the NHS.  e.g. One had cleverly seen that I had had polio, so made this the excuse to provide cheaper X-rays rather than an MRI Scan.  I could quite easily lie on an MRI flatbed, provided I was given pain relief.  But that cost extra – and instead they tried to palm me off with useless X-rays.When I moved ..read more

We need a medical professional in charge of NHS – not politicians It’s all coming out now – thanks to 100,000 leaked WhatsApp exchanges, showing that the then Health Minister, Matt Hancock, rejected official guidance from Prof. Sir Chris Witty (the Government’s own Chief Medical Officer), to test all patients going into English care homes for Covid-19. With horrific consequences. Which poses the question, who the time to send all those messages?  My back-of-an-envelope calculation shows these must have taken thousands of expensive Ministerial hours to compose – what was Hancock doing with ..read more

Humour in Headlines Sometimes Newspapers can give me an unexpected laugh.  The Polio Survivors’ Network has come up with the following genuine headlines, sent from their American colleagues, which might give you a lift when enduring yet another ‘bad hair’ day :  Two convicts evade noose, jury hung. Queen Mary having bottom scraped. Panda mating fails – veterinarian takes over. Eye drops off shelf. Squad helps dog bite victim. Enraged cow injures farmer with axe. Lawmen from Mexico barbecue guests. Two sisters reunite after eighteen years at check out counter. Something went wrong in ..read more

Why waste time on referrals? “We need a referral from your GP”. That phrase is guaranteed to send me up the wall.  Why. Oh why are patients in Britain treated like children?  In Europe, I can usually phone the consultant’s Secretary directly to arrange an appointment.  Here, I have to go through a laborious process of asking my GP to make an appointment.  With the current difficulties of getting to speak to her, it can take ages. And it also wastes her valuable time. Each time I am told I need to see someone, it’s back to square one again – and more delays. Even more stupod ..read more

Beware the ‘NHS sympathy’ vote You can tell an election is in the offing – politicians have started canvassing.  and one of their favourite ‘platforms’ are ideas for reforming the NHS; a sure-fire vote winner. Every day they come up with fresh – and absurd – ideas to improve the NHS.  The fact that the NHS is short of staff to carry these ideas out seems to escape their notice.   They state the obvious and promise wonderful ideas to improve the service, knowing this is something that will resonate with voters.  They are desperate to convince us, the voters, that they h ..read more

Sometimes I feel anonymous   I am very grateful that medical staff do so much for me – but just sometimes I wish they would just stop and ask me what I want, instead of assuming they are acting for me in my best interests. Currently, Strike leaders say they are striking for us patients.  This is very laudable, but it would be nice if ‘they’ listened to me when I mention my medical needs – not just assume they know what is important to me. Often I have to do some devious juggling to get the care I need.  Gone are the days when your GP arranged for you to see exactly the right doc ..read more