Tag Archives: NHS

At the year’s turning …NHS magic⤴

from @ blethers

A brief appreciation, on the Feast of the Epiphany, of an experience at the year's end. The year's end, when nothing is quite as normal, when people and institutions are not working at all, or on a shoestring before the next holiday, when the nights are long and dark and when often - as was the case last Thursday - the sun never really puts in an appearance and life seems suspended. It was on the evening of such a day, two days before Hogmanay, that I had occasion to make use of the Ambulance service and the A&E department in Dunoon's hospital. And before I get carried away, let me say one thing: they were wonderful.

A persistent cold virus has had every second person I know struggling over December, and it had caught me up over Christmas, so the day has been quiet, boring even, in a pleasant sort of way. This all changes when I am assailed by a searing pain that feels as if I'd been stabbed under the ribs (I haven't.) As it is actually the worst pain I've felt - even more so than childbirth - Mr B ends up dialling 999. It quickly becomes apparent, even to me, that people think I might be having a heart attack. (I'm not. I'm pretty sure of this, for some reason. Can one tell?) I think that when they hear my date of birth these days alarm bells ring. Besides, I am dripping in sweat, freezing to the touch, unable to stop trembling - you know the kind of thing. Quite dramatic.

I find myself being assisted downstairs by a large man in green. He is making soothing remarks. There is another big man in the hall. Soon our sitting-room is full of green - uniforms, bags - tubes, paper things, a white oxygen cylinder, needles. They take an ECG, despite the contacts' sliding off periodically. Morphine. Anti-emetic. "Don't go to sleep on me!" Fascinated - even in this state - to realise that though the pain is still there I don't care so much. And I don't really care about anything but the pain in the first place.

Seventeen steps between our front door and the gate. Swaying down on a small chair to which I am strapped, worrying that the man behind me will have a hernia by the time he reaches the gate, realising that the gate is not held back by the big chuckie I've used since I was pulling a pram up and down, noting dispassionately that the lead paramedic is having to hold it open with one foot in order to get me through it. The blue light on the ambulance is flashing, as it has presumably flashed for the past 45 minutes. Oh, Lord - the neighbours. It is strangely difficult to transfer from seat to bed, but I get there somehow. The ambulance has rock-hard suspension and I hear myself groaning. And all the time the lead paramedic is telling me I'll be all right and not to worry, and somehow I am comforted and simply give up.

It's the same in A&E. One nurse, one doctor. The paramedics are there doing the handover and then they're gone. More stabs. A cannula. Somewhere along the line the pain recedes and I fall asleep. The whatever-it-is you lie on in A&E seems sublimely comfortable. I don't know what I dream and what is real.

I'm allowed to go home at 4am. Mr B is roused by a phone call, having been sent home before midnight, and I march out across the car park unaided. I am incredibly grateful for these people who rescued me, looked after me, restored me to myself. My own bed beckons. There is only one thing that perturbs me in this euphoric state ...

I have been wearing my EastEnders dressing gown. Vulgar and totally risible. Warm, comforting - yes, but not what one's mother would have tolerated. Perhaps I should buy a more decent one ... just in case?

How the NHS lost my man …⤴

from @ blethers

Here's a wee NHS story with a personal twist. I've been married to a non-person for the past 12 years - or is it 11? We did wonder, a month or so ago, when the man on the other end of the NHS24 line turned savage (or at least peremptory) and refused, "in the interests of security", to speak further with Mr B because, according to Mr NHS24, there was no-one with his details registered at our address. A tad Orwellian, huh? And strange, as we've lived here for over 40 years and Mr B has seen quite a few decades under the NHS. But we had other things on our mind, no-one was dying - he was only trying to make a physiotherapy appointment - and we let it go.

Until yesterday. Yesterday, in the hospital On The Other Side - in Gourock, not in Heaven - the discovery was made that Mr B had the Wrong Number. This is the CHI Number, defined thus:

Definition
The Community Health Index (CHI) is a population register, which is used in Scotland for health care purposes. The CHI number uniquely identifies a person on the index.

CHI is mandatory on all clinical communications.

- according to the NHS site. It is a 10 digit number, the first part of which is one's date of birth. And some sharp-eyed person in Inverclyde noticed that Mr B's number didn't tally with the DoB he'd just given. There was, apparently, a great flurry of concern. And this is why ...

Had Mr B been wheeled into A&E on a trolley after something horrid like a car crash, someone would presumably have retrieved his driving licence, found his name and DoB, and called up his medical records electronically. Only they might well not have been his records - or they would perhaps be unable to find them, because they'd be under another birth date. Luckily, he's not been in such a trauma, so the problem hasn't arisen, and yesterday he was perfectly compos mentis and able to speak up for himself. But don't forget the NHS24 man - he refused to speak to someone whose records didn't match what the person on the phone was telling him.

A bit of digging at the local GP surgery - where he's been a patient since the 70s - revealed that the error happened some 11 years ago, when handwritten records were digitised. Someone changed a 0 to a 1, and the real Mr B disappeared, replaced by an imposter 10 days younger. And we've only just found out.

I don't know what would have been the final outcome had this not been discovered. I hate to think. As it is, it's almost amusing - sufficiently so for me to blog with a relatively light heart. It might have been very different.  I've just checked my CHI number, and it seems to be correct.

Is yours?

How the NHS lost my man …⤴

from @ blethers

Here's a wee NHS story with a personal twist. I've been married to a non-person for the past 12 years - or is it 11? We did wonder, a month or so ago, when the man on the other end of the NHS24 line turned savage (or at least peremptory) and refused, "in the interests of security", to speak further with Mr B because, according to Mr NHS24, there was no-one with his details registered at our address. A tad Orwellian, huh? And strange, as we've lived here for over 40 years and Mr B has seen quite a few decades under the NHS. But we had other things on our mind, no-one was dying - he was only trying to make a physiotherapy appointment - and we let it go.

Until yesterday. Yesterday, in the hospital On The Other Side - in Gourock, not in Heaven - the discovery was made that Mr B had the Wrong Number. This is the CHI Number, defined thus:

Definition
The Community Health Index (CHI) is a population register, which is used in Scotland for health care purposes. The CHI number uniquely identifies a person on the index.

 CHI is mandatory on all clinical communications.

- according to the NHS site. It is a 10 digit number, the first part of which is one's date of birth. And some sharp-eyed person in Inverclyde noticed that Mr B's number didn't tally with the DoB he'd just given. There was, apparently, a great flurry of concern. And this is why ...

Had Mr B been wheeled into A&E on a trolley after something horrid like a car crash, someone would presumably have retrieved his driving licence, found his name and DoB, and called up his medical records electronically. Only they might well not have been his records - or they would perhaps be unable to find them, because they'd be under another birth date. Luckily, he's not been in such a trauma, so the problem hasn't arisen, and yesterday he was perfectly compos mentis and able to speak up for himself. But don't forget the NHS24 man - he refused to speak to someone whose records didn't match what the person on the phone was telling him.

A bit of digging at the local GP surgery - where he's been a patient since the 70s - revealed that the error happened some 11 years ago, when handwritten records were digitised. Someone changed a 0 to a 1, and the real Mr B disappeared, replaced by an imposter 10 days younger. And we've only just found out.

I don't know what would have been the final outcome had this not been discovered. I hate to think. As it is, it's almost amusing - sufficiently so for me to blog with a relatively light heart. It might have been very different.  I've just checked my CHI number, and it seems to be correct.

Is yours?

Flu Education Pack – 2016⤴

from @ Education Scotland's Learning Blog

 This is posted on behalf of Ioannis Tamvakas, Senior Health Improvement Officer at NHS Health Scotland

The resources listed below make up the Flu Education Pack and are aimed at school staff supporting the National Flu Immunisation Programme. More specifically, below you can find electronic copies of: 

·         A teachers’ briefing note introducing the Education Pack, which includes a useful guide that can be used for planning the immunisation sessions at your school, as well as background detail on the flu programme.

·         A number of suggested classroom-based activities about flu and immunisation, with clear links to Curriculum for Excellence.

·         For information purposes only, samples of the invitation letter and leaflet which are sent to parents (please note these reference copies are for information purposes only).

·         For information purposes only, a sample of the post-immunisation advice leaflet, which is provided to parents following their child’s immunisation (please note these reference copies are for information purposes only).

·         The consent form guidance, a resource to help support parents to accurately complete the consent form (NEW for 2016).

·         A staffroom poster, a resource to raise awareness of the Education Pack with teachers and staff in your school (NEW for 2016).

·         Copies of posters for display in schools to increase awareness among parents and children about the flu immunisation programme.

 25603-FLU Classroom Activity Sheets-06-16

25603-FLU Help protect your child against flu primary school-06-16

5603-FLU immunisation in primary schools-06-16

25603-Sample form-06-16

25603-Sample letter-06-16

25603-What to expect after the flu vaccine-06-16

25603-A3 Childhood Flu primary school empty belly poster-06-16

25603-A3 Childhood Flu primary school poster-06-16

25603-A3 Childhood Flu staffroom poster-06-16

25603-FLU Classroom

Gender equality in Early Learning and Childcare settings⤴

from @ Education Scotland's Learning Blog

Water experiment

Our colleagues at Health Scotland have approached us to ask for our assistance with a piece of research that is currently underway to look at gender stereotypes in ELCC settings. Health Improvement Senior, Barbara Adzajlic, said,

“Gender stereotypes are all around us and impact heavily on our children from the moment they are born. From the colours they wear to the toys they play with, the books they read, and the behaviours that are expected of them, girls and boys are influenced by family members, the media and society at large. The impacts of this include performance at school, career choices, expectations within relationships, emotional literacy and mental health.”

Making rockets!

Making rockets!

A group of organisations is exploring approaches to tackling gender stereotyping and gender equality in early learning and childcare settings. The group includes NHS Health Improvement, respect Me, LGBT Youth Scotland, Men in Childcare, Fathers Network Scotland, Zero Tolerance and Baltic Street Adventure Play.

The first step is to run a short survey of projects and organisations in Scotland and the UK which may be doing work to tackle gender stereotyping and gender equality in ELCC. This will allow reseachers to gather information on those resources or programmes already in existence, to learn lessons from existing approaches.

The researchers are looking for input from ELCC practitioners, so get involved if you can. They are also keen to hear from parents and carers about their experiences and views on the issue, so please do encourage parents to get invovled too.

Please follow the link below and complete the survey moneky questionnaire:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/gender_and_early_years

Please note that the survey closes on Friday, 30th October 2015.

Should you have any questions about the research, please call Barbara Adzajlic or Susie Heywood on 0141 232 0174/0171.

GfL Photo 2