Elaine had her biopsy under general anaesthetic today. Everything has gone fine, and she is now back home recovering. The nurses, doctor and Irish anaesthetist were all wonderful. But . . . none of them could give an explanation of why Elaine had to be there at 11.30am and the procedure was due to be done between five and six pm. Still, she had her marking to pass the time.
6 thoughts on “Biopsy”
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Thanks Mike. I suppose doing this blog it was inevitable that it could be seen as attacking the NHS. Your message gives an opportunity for me to say that I think the NHS is one of our country’s finest assets; something we should be really proud of. When you hear stories from the US, for example, about how people have to sell their homes to pay for hospital treatment, it does makes you realise what a great system of health we have here. But as we all know it is under constant threat from privatisation pressures and, as we have illustrated here, there are often authority structures which do need standing up to. For the good of the staff and the patients. By asking questions and challenging unfair practices, I do hope we might play our small part in making the NHS even better.
I know (from my own experience in shit creek) that it’s natural (though somewhat ironic) to se the NHS as the ‘enemy’, of course they are only doing their job etc, etc. But what is their job? Well they are just mechanics really, with some briliant technicians, somewhat limited resources and mostly great coal-face workers.
We are so lucky to have supporting, loving folk about us to do the REAL work of looking after and cherishing us. Our bodies are wonderful, complex mechanisms with millions of years of refined engineering behind them, but they don’t last for ever (thank God in George Bush’s case!).
Love and buns!
I think taking your marking in was a top notch idea Elaine- – as it served several purposes:
1. Meant you didn’t get to be ‘brain dead’ all day like the bovine demeanour they expect and try to enforce in hospitals
2. You reminded them that you were a professional too and ‘please stop treating me like some identikit collection of body parts’.
3.
A good way to use the time that seems to have no value in the life of the patient- you can be made to sit around for hour upon hour without even a cursory glance or apology of any kind, which is part of (1) you cease to have any status once you enter the portals of NHS.
4.
Kept your brain active and reminded you that you DO have value and standing outside of this institution
Is there some ‘gas’ in the air in a hospital or Dr’s surgery, that robs folk of their persona and willpower?
Soma, like in Brave New World?
Every patient sitting there numb and listless waiting, waiting, waiting.
When you finally get to see your medical expert you feel totally inarticulate, thanks to this treatment.
I particularly have to salute the way they make about 5 appointments for the same time, which is a neat way of ensuring you enter the weird world of NHS where time is now multi layered and no longer on the 60 minute model in their construct
Still can’t believe you took your marking …. dedication! xx
I was there from 11.30 until 7. I didn’t go in for the biopsy until 5! When I asked both nurses and doctors why I needed to spend all that time in the hospital when I could for example have gone in at around 3.30, been seen by everyone and had the op an hour and a half later, they replied they didn’t know – it had just always been done that way.
The lovely, cheerful Polish registrar told me he didn’t really understand the procedures in this country but that, “Your country is far better organised than Poland. It is excellent here. ” Well that’s all right then isn’t it chaps. We’re better organised than Poland! He also remarked, “You ask a lot of questions.”
I do hope that I carry on asking questions right up to the day I die. When did it suddenly become such a bizarre thing to do. “I think therefore I am,” after all.
Thank God everything went OK and that the staff were wonderful. Makes a nice change eh?
It’s very odd that she had to be in at 11.30 but didn’t get seen until 5-6.
Wonder what THAT was about..