November 4: A Taste of the NHS
Last week I started my blog by talking about the wintry weather and how the dogs did not want to be out in the rain and wind. I didn't want to be out in that weather either and was eagerly looking forward to jumping into a nice, warm bed - electric blanket on HOT! I'd just got in...and was thinking, OMG an early night. That NEVER happens at our place. Kelvin had gone to bed early because he was sick. Within 60 seconds I realized Kelvin was REALLY sick - and not just 'man flu.' My early night and warm bed were instantly forgotten. By 10.30pm we were at the hospital. The trip to the end of our driveway was interminably long, according to Kelvin. As I jumped out of the truck to open the gate, I heard a voice from the backseat "Are we there yet?" Oh, yeah, we we're there alright...at the gate. Poor fella. Thankfully we live only 15 minutes from the hospital, which I probably drove in 10 minutes. Still waiting for the speeding ticket to arrive in the mail.
We were met at the door by the most elegantly dressed lady you could ever imagine. All dressed up and nowhere to go!!! I mean, this woman was done up to the 9s. Wonder where she was going? The first doctor we saw was super. Kelvin only had to lie on the floor for a few minutes (trying not to be sick!) before this doctor saw him. Within 10 minutes, he was being admitted and off he was whisked by a porter up to a ward. And that was where the wait began. It was 1.30 in the morning before anyone next spoke to us!
Welcome to the NHS.
A ka-zillion nurses and doctors were coming and going, walking past us, working around us and for over 2 hours, completely ignored Kelvin. It was bizarre. Love the signs on the wall saying this ward was "a friendly, progressive and ..." ...sorry, I couldn't read any further than that as it puts me into fits of laughter. The NHS needs to go visit Canadian hospitals. It took me half an hour to see the sign saying no visitors are allowed to sit on the bed. Being on my best behaviour, I thought I should find a chair to sit on.
The doctor who finally came to assess Kelvin was very nice. He introduced himself...and believe us, that is a rarity, as we have since found out. How rude of doctors not to introduce themselves! Can't wait to walk into Kelvin's room and loudly (very loudly) say "Hello Dr. Broad." Bet the tea ladies will get a chuckle out of that...and the tea ladies are nice. Oh, do you know that you are only allowed to get soap on the first day you are in hospital? Yep, true. You have to get soap from home if you are checking in for more than a day. Please donate to the NHS. They are SO hard up they can't afford soap, for goodness sake. Thankfully the woman who makes Kelvin's bed every day is a relative of the people who used to own our farm...soap everyday for Kelvin. Shush...don't tell anyone or we'll get a bill for soap (and she might be sacked).
The nurses are variable. Some are absolutely fabulous and others are total battle axes. Be it on your head if you are one minute early at visiting time when the battle axes are on duty!!! ...and they call "Time" at the end of visiting hours and you've got 5 minutes to skadaddle out or risk their wrath. I am not on my best behaviour when it comes to visiting hours. Ever tried getting a car park at the West Wales Hospital at 2pm??? A few days I have parked a fair way away from the hospital and run there. Yesterday I parked on the grass - 'have truck, go anywhere.' I did have a tinge of worry when I went to pay my £1 parking fee at the meter and it said "make sure you are parked in a designated parking bay." Well, perhaps I was pushing the envelope parking half on the sidewalk, half on the grass, and under a tree but I took my chances anyway. Bailey would guard the truck from the parking attendants. Amazingly, the truck was still there when I returned and no ticket was on the window screen...but my guilt might prevent me from repeating the performance.
A week later, Kelvin is still in hospital but it looks like he might be coming home today. A full recovery is on the cards, but he could be off work for a couple more weeks (hopefully not!). He feels a bit like a pin cushion. For the first 4-5 days he was getting 16 IV's a day. The good news is that the mega amounts of antibiotics he's been on seems to have worked magic on the chest infection he's had for almost 18 months! Oh, and if you're wondering, he did not get sick from his trip to Indonesia. He was sick before he left. Thankfully he got home before the illness really knocked him for a 6 (that's a kiwi term for you, in case you were wondering). The worst thing for Kelvin has been boredom. He's been in an isolation room (ie. on his own), and for the first 5 days he had no TV. Well, he had a TV but if the NHS can't afford soap, they sure as heck can't afford to fix their TVs so they work! Kelvin was moved to a new room 2 days ago where the TV works. He has since been regaling me of stories about cuckoos (from a TV program he watched). Most of the time he is on his own devouring every inch of a newspaper, if the newspaper person stops by. I am bound to have trivia thrown at me for the next week or so from some obscure newspaper article.
Needless to say, it's been a busy week here. The book has been reprinted so I've been busy packaging them up and sending them abroad. I did not go trialling last weekend and won't be able to go this weekend either. We have a good friend arriving from Canada tomorrow...oh golly, must get off the computer and clean up! My poor dogs. I took ALL of them for a walk up the hill this morning. Bedlam! We went looking for a missing cheviot lamb. Sad to say, we found only a leg bone but I am not sure if it is 'fresh' enough to be from our lamb. I was going to gather in the neighbour's lambs this morning to check she had not scurried through, over or under a fence but alas, we had thick fog and I could barely make out my own ragamuffins, let alone the neighbours hundred or so lambs. Perhaps I'll knock on my neighbour's door instead.
P.S. Found my lamb! Alive. |
