Sunday afternoon alert
3:01
The 3:00 pm alert sounded at 3:01! It didn’t last long and was reasonably loud, but could easily have been missed if we hadn’t been near our ‘phones.
Obviously, in a real emergency, the alarm would have continued to sound – well, one assumes that would be the case!
In life, we assume a lot – too much, probably.
For example, NHS blood tests are regularly conducted for all sorts of reasons. Three years ago, Barry had a routine blood test and was told, ‘We’ll contact you to let you know the results.’
To clarify matters, he asked if he should call, and was assured that he would be informed. ‘We’re very busy,’ they said. Time went on and life intruded. No-one called and thoughts of blood test results receded into the background.
Anyway, to cut a long and tedious story short, it transpired that Barry’s kidneys were showing signs of damage. That was apparent from the blood test in 2022, but no-one told him. Had he known, he would have adjusted his diet accordingly. Fortunately, we eat a largely salad-based diet, but there are some things he shouldn’t eat or should limit, like tomatoes, dried fruit, avocado, wholewheat bread, brown rice, dairy milk, olives, apricots, and potatoes, among other things.
Adjustments are now being made, too late to undo any damage done in the last three years, but enough to prevent further deterioration.
The lesson we have taken from this is to follow up every test, even if rigorously assured that we will be informed of results. In other words, we have to be ‘squeaky wheels.’
On advice, Barry takes his blood pressure every Monday and sends the results to the organisation that requested them. Recently, he discovered that the results are in a vacuum somewhere, his medical practice having no knowledge of them.
Again and again, this pattern is repeated. There seems to be no connection between one department and another, and if there’s a crossover between NHS and private medicine, life becomes even more disorganised.
Individually, administrative and medical staff are good – diligent and dedicated to their excellent work - but they agree that the system is broken and urgently needs overhauling.
Questions are answered and problems resolved eventually, but it all takes too long. I think the answer is to always carry a sharp stick and poke the sleeping beast that is reputed to be the envy of the world. Not everyone has the time or the capacity or determination to ask the right questions, or move to ‘the next level.’
