What have you been doing today?

[Diver Fred]

...

my sympathies, so sad for you.

I can only agree with the need for urgent investigation.

 

[Highway Man]

Isn't it strange how you just don't know what people are going through in their lives away from here, I think I am going to be more sympathetic towards posts on here as you just do not know. Life is for living and not filling your heart with hate.

 

[Highway Man]

Nice buy.

What have I been doing today?
Watching my wife slowly slowly die. Heart function at 20% of what it should be, liver getting damaged, held in a coma.
If a woman has a pain anywhere in her chest or back, immediately get an ecg and insist on a scan of some sort if there's the slightest thing out of 100% right.
They could be having a silent heart attack, and by the time it's really noticeable, their heart will be beyond repair.
It's often the more active women.
Tell your wife so she knows about the bloody things.

So sorry to hear this.

 

[Mottie]

I'm going to buy the belts tomorrow and fit them later in the week.

Had sod all to do today so I fitted the cam belt and tensioner kit as well as a new auxiliary belt. The aux belt was a bastard to fit - it was one of those stretch fit belts and you needed three hands to do it. Got there in the end though.

 

[Justin Passing]

I feel a need to unload, or record, or something, so I'll continue re my wife in the stock market thread. Maybe it can be renamed the Life's a Lottery thread.
No - I'll start a new one, everyone facing life-altering traumas can use. I'll put it in hobbies I think, because that's where the SM one is. Maybe I'm not thinking straight and it should go somewhere else. The mods can move it. or make a new section, but General Discussion is a nasty place much of the time. ANd other people's emotional stuff , sometimes just isn't what you want to read about
Women have Netmums etc and they pour themselves all over facebook and the rest.
"Damsels in distress" have always been under that sort of heading somewhere, "Blokes in buggeration"? no. "Fellahs in trouble?", no, this is a blokesy forum, mostly, but we're all fellow human beings. So "Fellows In Distress" ? No, not a place to lament about the starving Africans, or have your life compared with an immigrant's, "You're a fellow in personal stress" is born. Hinting at maleness and not for world problems, or about how some vague party groups are worse off.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Had sod all to do today so I fitted the cam belt and tensioner kit as well as a new auxiliary belt. The aux belt was a bastard to fit - it was one of those stretch fit belts and you needed three hands to do it. Got there in the end though.

A bit like my alternator/ water pump belt, on mine. It's a traverse diesel engine, chain driven cams, so just the alternator belt and a second belt for the a/c compressor, both driven off the same crank pulley. Alternator belt, has to come off first, just to change the a/c belt, so decided to replace both with new. Access to crank pulley, was via taking off the front wheel, and mudguard plastic liner, access to spring pulley, alternator, and pump pulleys, from under the bonnet.

I got the a/c belt on, in minutes, but I was working on my own, and every time I got the alternator belt on the crank, then moved to under the bonnet the belt fell off the crank. I couldn't get enough purchase on the belt, to stretch it over the crank, after putting it on the alternator, pump, and tensioner. The dealer used a specially made spanner to wind up the tensioner, and it took two - one holding spanner, second down below hooking the belt on the crank. No space to get a normal spanner in, between pulley, and inner wing - I ended up, cutting a section off a socket, then welding that to a long, piece of flat bar, with a rope attached at the top end. The trick was to put the belt on the three pulleys, then use the spanner, to tension the pulley, then lash it tight in place with the rope, then belt onto crank.

The old a/c belt was like new, but I didn't fancy anytime soon, having to go through that again.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Hospital appointment today, with the surgeon, to investigate and discuss the installation of my eventual dialysis catheter. I had also failed to be able to get a blood sample appointment, at my GP surgery, so my plan C, was to use the hospitals drop in service to get that done whilst there, either before, if there was time, or after. The hospitals transport was all arranged to collect me, in good time for my appointment, but failed to turn up, until the actual time of my appointment, and a 40 minute run to go. We arrived, just as the surgeon, was about to break for his lunch, which he delayed, whilst he dealt with me.

When I had a kidney stent installed, they had insisted they wanted to do it under a local anaesthetic, seemed concerned about putting me under a general - This time they really want me under a general, for the procedure, but they want to try to find out the reason why they insisted on a local for my stent.

They are setting me up with another appointment for a detailed heart scan, with ultrasound. The catheter, they say - will be fitted level with my belly button, but to one side, so the surgeon wanted to check my abdomen for hernias, potential weaknesses. He seemed happy with what he found, then asked me to raise my legs, putting strain on my stomach muscles, then claimed I had a slight hernia, just below my belly button.

He suggested the actual op would be done via keyhole surgery, and he would fix the hernia at the same time. Apparently, this dialysis business, will put extra strain on the hernia, as 2 or 3 litres of fluid are pumped in, then later pumped back out by the peritoneal dialysis machine.

Then, onto to see the vampire department, for the blood samples. Samples for my next kidney appointment, and samples supposed to have all been put on the 'system' by kidney department, and requested by my GP surgery. My GP has been wanting B12 & folates, for months, but they never show on the 'system', and so not being tested. Instead, they keep requesting via the 'system' something else, repeatedly, which they just don't need. I've tried numerous times, to get it sorted out, but get nowhere. The NHS 'system' is seriously broken.

 

[Mottie]

The NHS 'system' is seriously broken.

True. Mrs Mottie has just thrown the towel in after 12 years working for the NHS and is leaving at the end of this month. The department she works for is an absolute shambles, all down to weak and inefficient management. They keep changing the transcription process, each time for the worse, she is now typing up July's consultations! She was in an office of 4 and even then they had trouble keeping up with the transcript but they let two leave, didn’t replace them and she is working with a typist who just cannot type - this 'typist' was taken on as a proof reader to make sense of the block of typing they used to get back from India. Yep, the consultants recordings are sent to India to be typed, badly, and then sent back for checking against the actual recording, then corrected and sent for printing and posting. No punctuation or grammar and with many words missing or misspelt/misheard. It was easier (for her) to ignore the text and type directly from the recording. Now they’ve gone on to AI where the consultants words are typed up as they talk. It’s an absolute shambles and many consultants are not happy with it but nobody is taking any action. When she leaves, there will literally be no typist in her department that can rattle of any urgents. None. The letters are just piling up, they can order as many £74 printer cartridges as they like but an £18 box of envelopes has to go through a panel, some people look on their six months sick leave at full pay, six months at half pay with a phased return as a 'right' and abuse it. That goes on unchecked. If the waste she she sees on a daily basis at her department in her little hospital is replicated throughout the NHS, it’s going to come to a grinding halt.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

If the waste she she sees on a daily basis at her department in her little hospital is replicated throughout the NHS, it’s going to come to a grinding halt.

And those who are at work, seem not to be doing very much. With nothing much to do, but wait and watch, I was paying some attention to the staff and progress in phlebotomy today - easy to keep tabs, as all staff taking blood, wore red, and that's all they did. There was a queue of 9, 10 different staff appeared, 6 cubicles. We waited an hour for our turn, with just two of the available cubicles, doing any actual sampling. The job took 10 minutes, which near enough matched the hours wait. What were the other 8 staff doing? The samples then went off to the lab for testing.

The hospital I went to today, is one of the two massive hospitals in the area, and one which I don't normally have appointments at, and near impossible for me to get to on the bus. My usual one, is insistent they collect me via their transport, and take me back home. I asked them, when they made the appointment, if they would be providing transport, but they refused. I then asked my usual hospital, seeing as the appointment was on their behalf, if they could arrange it, and no problem at all.

I could drive myself over, but then parking would be a problem, and walking from where parked, wouldn't be practical for me. Hopefully, much better, once I am on the dialysis.

Once the catheter is in, and healed, we have been told, we get ferried over to stay several days in Manchester, whilst we are both taught how to operate the dialysis equipment.

I cannot help thinking, that the entire NHS, needs a really good shake up.

 

[Mottie]

What a fùck about! Sent in the account closure form, filled in the relevant details - mine and my sisters names, death certificate, proof of account in my name that the money is to be paid into and we both signed it. They also wanted certified proof of ID - certified by a doctor, accountant, solicitor etc UNLESS we had an account with them. For quickness, we both opened an account with them in minutes and gave our account numbers. Heard nothing. Phoned up last week and they wanted us to send specimen signatures - the same as what we had already signed. Sent those off, still nothing, phoned up today and they said the specimen signatures we sent didn’t match those on the form! So, got to now go and get copies of passports and get someone to 'certify' them. Every other BS and ISA company that were holding her money have paid up and some of them were larger amounts than what is in the Coventry BS account. I think they've just got the 'ump because we opened two accounts that we were never going to use.

Ended up getting a manager in our building society to certify the photocopies of our passports and sent those off. I’m expecting them to refuse them as the signature of the same manager on both copies, done one after another, are as different as chalk and cheese!

Phoned them yesterday. Said they still want another signature of mine to 'compare'. I asked to 'compare' with what? They have my signature in the account closure form, my signature on the signature specimen form, my signature on the letter I sent and my signature on the copy of my passport. I told them I thought
they were dicking me about because we opened a couple of accounts to bypass the need to send in verified proof of ID and that I’d had enough of this and I now want to put in a formal complaint. They said someone would phone me today. They did and I explained, again, how I felt they were fùcking me about. She said she'd look into it and phone me back. She phoned back at ten past six tonight. I got an apology, was told the account closure was going through and I’d be getting the money paid out and they would also be giving me a payment of £50 for the aggro I’d had. They asked if I was happy to drop my complaint and I said I was. Finally sorted!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Lunchtime, and an SMS arrived from the NHS, requesting I completed an exceptionally long, very detailed form. Which took me several hours to pull the detail together, in order to complete it. My guess, it is a result of the appointment yesterday, with the surgeon, at the large hospital I have never had any dealings with before, although it didn't say so. On completing all that, much of which ought to be already available to them anyway, in my patient record, another SMS arrived, this time from my GP's surgery, wanting me to make an appointment for a phone call with my doctor...

I rang the surgery, to try to make an appointment, and no appointments available, advised to make an appointment via Patchs. I tried to explain - I could successfully log in to Patchs, but I could not see any way to do anything with it, once logged in. The Patchs page, makes absolutely no mention of any means to make an appointment, once logged in. I've tried numerous times, and I am absolutely not stupid. I can log in to Sytmonline, use that without a problem, I sometimes see nurse appointments show up as available, but never any doctor appointments.

Oh, says surgery 'we don't put doctor appointments on Systmonline, only on Patchs.

Can hair be glued back on?

 

[fillyboy]

Davidstow Airfield, big airfield built for bombers at the start of WW2 and abandoned at the end of WW2. It's intersected by a B road and you can drive straight off the road onto the runways. A very peaceful place although quite eerie. Nice little museum next to it called 'Cornwall at War' which I tend to visit every couple of years, Oh, and a cheese factory.

 

[Mottie]

Made a start on decorating and freshening up my mums bungalow today before putting it up for sale, probably in the new year. Basically painting everything white, changing a few light fittings, getting some new curtains and re carpeting a couple of rooms. Doing it one room at a time. Started on one of the bedrooms first. Had to dismantle two absolutely huge wardrobes and move them into the other bedroom so that when it’s been decorated, it can be carpeted and then all the furniture can be refitted. Then we'll repeat that with the other bedroom. Luckily the kitchen and bathroom don’t really need touching but the front of the bungalow will need repainting with sandtex or something similar. My sister is in charge of 'styling' it and I’m just doing the donkey work.

 

[Mottie]

Phoned them yesterday. Said they still want another signature of mine to 'compare'. I asked to 'compare' with what? They have my signature in the account closure form, my signature on the signature specimen form, my signature on the letter I sent and my signature on the copy of my passport. I told them I thought
they were dicking me about because we opened a couple of accounts to bypass the need to send in verified proof of ID and that I’d had enough of this and I now want to put in a formal complaint. They said someone would phone me today. They did and I explained, again, how I felt they were fùcking me about. She said she'd look into it and phone me back. She phoned back at ten past six tonight. I got an apology, was told the account closure was going through and I’d be getting the money paid out and they would also be giving me a payment of £50 for the aggro I’d had. They asked if I was happy to drop my complaint and I said I was. Finally sorted!

Well I hope this letter from them is just a crossover letter otherwise I’m back to square one!

WTF is a certified copy if it’s not a copy of an original document certified by a named professional?

Edit: Must have been a crossover. Money has now been paid into our probate account.

 

[Mottie]

First coat of magnolia on the walls of bedroom 1 in my mums bungalow, filled some dents and holes that were visible. Had to pack up before 12 though as we were out to lunch with friends. Back on it tomorrow.
Went to a local residents meeting 'cos Mrs Mottie wanted to be nosey. F'cking boring or what! Never again.