(no subject)
Feb. 17th, 2014 02:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tigerfortIt seems to be a month since I last posted. Sigh. I kept meaning to, and then I kept letting the good be the enemy of getting started.
I did get my in-person triage for the knee, which basically consisted of a consultant physio observing that it looked pretty bad and was obviously affecting me quite a bit and it would probably be a good thing to get on and do something about it. Then it turned out that they don't have a bit of paper from my GP confirming that I've been told I can go to any hospital I like and nonetheless inexplicably chosen the nearest and most convenient one[1]. The hospital has therefore sent a letter to my GP, because they need such a bit of paper before they're allowed to treat me - the primacy of patient choice and all that. They're not allowed to take any kind of statement from me to that effect, because reasons; I don't need to sign it or see it or anything, and indeed wouldn't know that it existed if only it did exist.
[1]because after all, I might want to make a much longer and more difficult journey in order to get treatment for my serious mobility problem. The fact that the Nuffield is a world-famous research centre specialising in this kind of thing just adds some icing to the cake.
As a side-effect of feeling bad about not posting, I've not been reading anything here for the last week or so, either; I'll try to catch up, and might even try to post useful comments.
I did get my in-person triage for the knee, which basically consisted of a consultant physio observing that it looked pretty bad and was obviously affecting me quite a bit and it would probably be a good thing to get on and do something about it. Then it turned out that they don't have a bit of paper from my GP confirming that I've been told I can go to any hospital I like and nonetheless inexplicably chosen the nearest and most convenient one[1]. The hospital has therefore sent a letter to my GP, because they need such a bit of paper before they're allowed to treat me - the primacy of patient choice and all that. They're not allowed to take any kind of statement from me to that effect, because reasons; I don't need to sign it or see it or anything, and indeed wouldn't know that it existed if only it did exist.
[1]because after all, I might want to make a much longer and more difficult journey in order to get treatment for my serious mobility problem. The fact that the Nuffield is a world-famous research centre specialising in this kind of thing just adds some icing to the cake.
As a side-effect of feeling bad about not posting, I've not been reading anything here for the last week or so, either; I'll try to catch up, and might even try to post useful comments.
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(no subject)
Date: 2014-02-18 10:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-02-17 08:55 am (UTC)The whole patient choice thing is a bit bizarre - I'm sure there are times when it's a real choice and people are happier for being able to make it, but it mostly seems to act as another loop to jump through before you can get treatment.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-02-17 08:00 pm (UTC)This. I thought so when I was being referred to hospital by my GP for some treatment years ago. Odder, though, was the time when an ambulance came to take me to hospital, and asked us which hospital I wanted to go to. My response (at least thought - I'm not sure I was capable of coherent speech at the time) was, "Anywhere you ****ing want to - just MAKE THE PAIN STOP!!!"
(no subject)
Date: 2014-02-17 07:57 pm (UTC)