What a mad couple of hours!!

bubbadog

I had an appointment this morning at 10am with my Occupational Therapist Sinitta. I had arranged hospital transport a week and a half ago for it. I got wrapped up warm with my winter jacket this morning and made sure I was ready by 9am to go as the transport picks up anytime between an hour or at the earliest. Well when 9.50am arrived I got worried and phoned hospital transport. I couldn't believed what they said to me! 'we are trying to squeeze you in!' So I said shocked 'what do you mean trying to squeeze me in?' And then after the young man on the other line explained they where short on drivers I said well I will call the hospital and explain to the O.T and tell her I will be late. So called the O.T and she said she would fit me in for 10.30am. I eventually got to the hopsital at 11.15am! And my lovely O.T has fitted me with a much better splint on my Right Hand, and she looked at my left hand little finger (dislocated and didn't know till 2yrs later) and told me everytime I bend it and it clicks it's rubbing the 2 dislocated bones together and braking bone shards off and they could slice the tendon in half! So have had to have a support fitted onto my little finger to hold it in place. So when I was all strapped up and finished my O.T took me to have cafe to wait for my transport home, and I met a lovely woman and her son who where waiting for there taxi and we got talking and she had Arthritis and she wasn't aware of Arthritis Care so I told her and her son, who was her carer about the site and the forum and they where so grateful of me for telling them about it. So the last couple of hours have been mayhem!

tillytop

Phew Bubbadog - what a day you've had! I feel exhausted just reading about it! Sounds like a bit of a nightmare with the transport, specially since you had organised it in plenty of time, but I'm really pleased the OT was so accommodating and able to see you even though you were late. Hope the new splint makes things for comfortable for you. I've got a finger which dislocates regularly and traps the tendon and I have been taping two fingers together to try to keep it stable - didn't occur to me that there might be a splint which could help. Will investigate that so thanks!

Well done for promoting AC! I have done the same on several occasions. At my hospital there are NRAS posters and Arthritis Research UK leaflets a plenty but no information about AC which is a real shame I think.

Hopefully you are having a well earned rest after the hassles of this morning!

Thinking of you.

Tilly xxx

PowerOn

Oh dear what a start but the outcome sounds good for yourself and your new friends at the cafe.
At our hospital they have notices up saying how many people missed appointments in the last month, I wonder how many were due to transport problems such as this.

knuckleduster

Glad to hear you got to your appointment in the end and your OT was helpful. It's always great to have a good outcome.

Janet x

Numptydumpty

Oh Bubbadog, what a lot of waiting you had! I'm pleased your OT managed to fit you in, and that seemed to be a good appointment.
Then you used your waiting time to drum up business for the forum
All the best,
Numpty

tanith

I used to work for Patient Transport in London and I understand how frustrating it is for you when you have booked and are waiting for Transport, but you would be amazed how few ambulances/drivers are available each day to cover dozens patients who have booked transport, (actually very few people qualify for it anymore because the hospitals have a very small budget for transport) , they have to get in all the patients to whom the treatment is a life-line (for dialysis, chemo, radio-therapy, wheelchair/amputees) so out-patients come after these patients, and inevitably some do get cancelled or have cabs arrive instead of an ambulance . So please be aware how fortunate everyone who actually gets transport is and bear with the transport staff who are usually working under great pressure from those above to cut down on journeys on a daily basis.

frogmorton

Hi Bubba

I think you have turned what could have been an awful day into an unmitigated success

Thanks to your lovely OT who went the extra mile and really knows her stuff, (don't they usually ), what a nice lady

and also you passing the kindness along to the lady and her son I hope they do decide to look in and see what a good place this is to be

Love

Toni xxx

villier

Hi BD
What an eventful day, my goodness you certainly were lucky with your OT(what a gem) a sympathetic and professional person I would say, and I am sure that your new friend that you told about AC will think of you as a gem once she hops on board and see's what a lovely place she has come to, hopefully you are now sitting with your feet up after your stressful but hopefully productive day.......tc.........Marie xx

bubbadog

tanith I appreciate what the hospital transport do, and I'm so grateful for them helping me get to hospital. Yesterday I was panicking about missing my appointment and that they didn't inform me earlier that I was going to be late. And the paramedic agreed with me that I should have been called. I've got to know many of the paramedic's and some of them I've become friends with. What they do is a tireless Job having to drive up and down the UK and working long hours. I didn't at any point moan about the hospital Transports service to me, I wouldn't, I was talking about the crazy few hours I had to deal with. So please don't give me a dressing down for something I am aware of!!

I'm pleased with my new wrist splint and my little finger feels better for having the been in the splint for the day. I'm so lucky to have such a kind and sweet O.T, she's told me I can call her and she would come and see me at home which is really sweet and she suggested I should have a home assessment now I've started having problems with my hand. But I want to hang fire and see how things go 1st. I always seem to get chatting with people when I'm waiting for my transport to pick me up! (Just the way I am ) And if I can be of any help by means of suggesting a web site including AC I do that.