The weather is continuing very unseasonal. Quite amazing considering how cold it was a little over a week ago when we were snowed in for the weekend. I know I make quite a lot out of the weather in my blog posts. To some people, particularly those who read this overseas, must think we British have an obsession with the subject. Perhaps we do, but the weather definitely makes us what we are. If anything, it's what makes our landscape, keeping the countryside green and pleasant. It may me mild, but it's over-cast. Not a particularly bright and sunny day.
Carol needed to have some of her meds repeated. She had written a letter to take to the surgery to get one or the other of the doctors to sign off a prescription for several of her meds. I took this on Wednesday morning and handed it in at reception. I was told that it was going to be ready for collection late on Thursday morning. Some hope. I never believe anything they tell me as we've been let down so many times. On Thursday morning I telephoned, having been to do some remaining Christmas shopping in Sainsbury's. I was under the impression that the surgery would send the prescription electronically to Lloyd's pharmacy within Sainsbury's and so asked at the counter to be told that if the prescription had been sent it would be ready for collection after 4 o'clock that afternoon. (Is this getting confusing? If you aren't, I most definitely am.) One of the drugs was oramorph, to help Carol control her pain. I rang again this morning (Friday) and was told (by Ashfield Medical Centre) that the prescription had been sent to Lloyd's electronically. I again rang Lloyd's to be told it hadn't got there. Once again I rang Ashfield (getting through miraculously without a long wait.) to then be told they had a PRINT copy. I decided to DRIVE to Ashfield and as I got there I saw one one the ladies from Lloyd's in front of me, at the reception desk. She was collection Carol's prescription and said she had to collect several more prescriptions from several other surgeries and would be back in Sainsbury's within and hour and a half. So- I returned home and , after 12 noon, went to Sainsbury's to collect the made-up prescription. Mercifully, ready to collect.
Sainsbury's was extremely busy. I don't think I've seen it so chock-full of shoppers. None of the manned checkouts (in this politically correct world we live in, are we allowed to say 'manned'?) But you know what I mean. I had to use a self-service checkout. I put my 'bag for life' on the bagging area and got the 'unknown item in the bagging area' voice from the machine. I think it's the fact that it's unknown which bothers me. It was just a bag and certainly not unknown. As a result, a member of staff moved into view and sorted the thing out and I managed to pay with my debit card and got out of the store a good deal quicker than I had anticipated. I had purchased a bottle of Bailey's which was one item we couldn't do without over Christmas. By which time I wasn't sure exactly where I was, I had made so many calls and driven so far, back and forth across Milton Keynes, but by the time I arrived home I was ready for a well-earned rest.
Carol had an appointment at the pain clinic within the Macmillan unit at the hospital at 4.30 this afternoon. We were there well before the appointed time and luckily we were in and out before the allotted time. The doctor is hopefully going to contact Ashfield and manage to get Carol's meds set up so she gets a larger quantity each time as, at the moment, some only last no more than 10 days, which means we have to go through the rigmarole of ringing Ashfield to get a repeat and then dealing with the reception and getting so many conflicting responses, such as, them saying it's been sent electronically when it hasn't so I have to go and collect a print version and so on and so forth. It's no wonder the N.H.S. is in such a mess if this is how the administration is organised. Muddled and very confused and very stress-inducing for both of us, which isn't helping matters.
On the way back home we drove round the Grid Roads and met a traffic jam along Chaffron Way, just before the entrance into Eaglestone. Police cars and ambulances all over the place and the centre of the road taken up by a car which looked as if it had been run into. We assumed that someone hadn't been careful coming out of the road leading into Fishermead. No doubt Christmas revellers after an office party. Too many people with no patience, to eager to get home and not paying attention, and no doubt unfit to drive, with too much alcohol in their blood streams and likely to get breathalizrd by the police.
Carol needed to have some of her meds repeated. She had written a letter to take to the surgery to get one or the other of the doctors to sign off a prescription for several of her meds. I took this on Wednesday morning and handed it in at reception. I was told that it was going to be ready for collection late on Thursday morning. Some hope. I never believe anything they tell me as we've been let down so many times. On Thursday morning I telephoned, having been to do some remaining Christmas shopping in Sainsbury's. I was under the impression that the surgery would send the prescription electronically to Lloyd's pharmacy within Sainsbury's and so asked at the counter to be told that if the prescription had been sent it would be ready for collection after 4 o'clock that afternoon. (Is this getting confusing? If you aren't, I most definitely am.) One of the drugs was oramorph, to help Carol control her pain. I rang again this morning (Friday) and was told (by Ashfield Medical Centre) that the prescription had been sent to Lloyd's electronically. I again rang Lloyd's to be told it hadn't got there. Once again I rang Ashfield (getting through miraculously without a long wait.) to then be told they had a PRINT copy. I decided to DRIVE to Ashfield and as I got there I saw one one the ladies from Lloyd's in front of me, at the reception desk. She was collection Carol's prescription and said she had to collect several more prescriptions from several other surgeries and would be back in Sainsbury's within and hour and a half. So- I returned home and , after 12 noon, went to Sainsbury's to collect the made-up prescription. Mercifully, ready to collect.
Sainsbury's was extremely busy. I don't think I've seen it so chock-full of shoppers. None of the manned checkouts (in this politically correct world we live in, are we allowed to say 'manned'?) But you know what I mean. I had to use a self-service checkout. I put my 'bag for life' on the bagging area and got the 'unknown item in the bagging area' voice from the machine. I think it's the fact that it's unknown which bothers me. It was just a bag and certainly not unknown. As a result, a member of staff moved into view and sorted the thing out and I managed to pay with my debit card and got out of the store a good deal quicker than I had anticipated. I had purchased a bottle of Bailey's which was one item we couldn't do without over Christmas. By which time I wasn't sure exactly where I was, I had made so many calls and driven so far, back and forth across Milton Keynes, but by the time I arrived home I was ready for a well-earned rest.
Carol had an appointment at the pain clinic within the Macmillan unit at the hospital at 4.30 this afternoon. We were there well before the appointed time and luckily we were in and out before the allotted time. The doctor is hopefully going to contact Ashfield and manage to get Carol's meds set up so she gets a larger quantity each time as, at the moment, some only last no more than 10 days, which means we have to go through the rigmarole of ringing Ashfield to get a repeat and then dealing with the reception and getting so many conflicting responses, such as, them saying it's been sent electronically when it hasn't so I have to go and collect a print version and so on and so forth. It's no wonder the N.H.S. is in such a mess if this is how the administration is organised. Muddled and very confused and very stress-inducing for both of us, which isn't helping matters.
On the way back home we drove round the Grid Roads and met a traffic jam along Chaffron Way, just before the entrance into Eaglestone. Police cars and ambulances all over the place and the centre of the road taken up by a car which looked as if it had been run into. We assumed that someone hadn't been careful coming out of the road leading into Fishermead. No doubt Christmas revellers after an office party. Too many people with no patience, to eager to get home and not paying attention, and no doubt unfit to drive, with too much alcohol in their blood streams and likely to get breathalizrd by the police.
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