As you probably mostly know, Stabbie is partially laid up with diabetic foot problems. He has mostly been well-cared for by the NHS. They do a marvellous job with fewer staff than they should have and less material with which to do it. But, sometimes Stabbie wonders.
On Wednesday this week Stabbie was hoping to go out to do some shopping for various things that he can’t get at the local shops. This would have to be done after the District (=US “Visiting”) Nurse had come and administered his daily IV antibiotic. The time-pocket for this service is 11am to 2pm. Stabbie was ready for her at 11am. Stabbie was still ready for her at 2pm. At 2:30pm Stabbie called the nurse’s office, and he got a call back from the nursing team leader saying that somehow he’d been left off the list and someone would be by that afternoon. At 5pm the someone showed up and did Stabbie’s IV. At that point shopping was useless. Stabbie held his tongue.
On Saturday Stabbie had an all day meeting of Diocesan Synod, so he arranged for an evening visit. This went off very well, as did the Synod meeting.
On Sunday Stabbie preached at St. John’s as usual, and then came home to await the nurse, who comes after 12 noon on Sundays due to Stabbie’s stubborn refusal to have a lie-in on Sundays and instead attend church. Stabbie waited until 3 pm to have lunch, and then called the emergency nurse line at 4 pm. At 6 pm the nurse (same one as yesterday) showed up and told him that the nurse who was scheduled to shove antibiotics into Stabbie’s arm had just forgotten to come.
Now Stabbie loves the National Health Service. It’s the only institution that keeps him above ground, and is free at the point of use. Most of the NHS’s employees are great. They are polite, willing to explain to you what is happening, and thorough in their diagnosis and treatment. However, occasionally Stabbie comes across a jobsworth who is sitting behind the receptionist’s desk and who considers his job to be ensuring that no patient gets treated without permission from the Health Secretary. And, occasionally Stabbie comes across someone in the field, so to speak, who is not paying attention. Had this person been a terminal cancer patient, wanting to die at home but in terrible pain, then forgetting to see him and administer his pain killers would have been a much bigger deal than forgetting to see Stabbie, who merely needs some antibiotics.
Stabbie would not want to harm a fly—oh no, not Stabbie! But his knife could be used for other things, such as scratching the paint on the forgetful one’s car, and giving the sharp edge of his tongue to the errant nurse would also not be pleasant. But Stabbie feels it’s his duty to keep the nursing staff on their toes. After all, inattention on their part can lead to death on Stabbie’s part, and (for Stabbie at least) that would put a crimp in his day.
sympathies from someone who was very nearly killed by a visiting nurse once
Stabbie tells it like it is, and rightly so!
Hugs to Stabbie!…get better soon.