On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 21:14:14 +0100, Derek Geldard
wrote:


I thought I remembered something about this point, so just checked and the
van speed limit does not apply to car derived vans of less than two tons
maximum laden weight.

Gentlemen. ;-)

I was talking about 1968 !

Well mine was only 10 years later .. !

All the best ..

T i m

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 21:33:49 +0100, Derek Geldard
wrote:

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:35:59 GMT, T i m wrote:

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:42:22 +0100, Steve Walker
wrote:

Yeah, I saw that on the news a while back. I know they have to make a
living out of this sort of stuff but some of the prices did seem a bit
high (especially the telephone costs and I might consider that an
'essential' if you are bed ridden, aren't allowed to use your own
phone and need to stay in touch with family etc.

Any phone conversation in a closed community isolates the individual
from what is going on in their surroundings.

Would that not also to apply to many other things, like listening to
an mp3 player or talking to a visitor in person?

I once went to pick up a relative (Mother in law) who had been in for
a knee operation.

I'd been given a time of 9-00am, the car parking gestapo guy let me
in, but then started harrassing me after 5 minutes because our
relative hadn't come out and we hadn't buggered off.

This one was £2 / 2 hours and although I understood there was a drop
off / pickup 'allowance' I didn't see a special dropoff place nor
car-park attendant. So I paid when we (daughter and I) visited but not
at the ends.

When she finally came out, about 9-40am it turned out that she was
packed and all ready to leave the ward on time but "The Doctor" came
in and started "His rounds".

Ah, they do that ...

Semingly no-one was allowed to walk
through the ward whilst "The Doctor" was doing "His Rounds", meanwhile
I was being constantly abused by the car park gestapo outside.

They all seemed to be pretty relaxed at this place .. the missus spoke
to the surgeon by his first name .. ;-)

So-oo I just wonder how "The Doctor" would react to going into a ward
where half of the inmates were ratcheting on the phone. Would he
expect all of them to immediately terminate their conversations, so he
could promenade through the ward in Papal Majesty, Palm Fronds laid
before his feet?.

Probably (and I think I might do so anyway if I was going to be in
there for a while!).

Then there is the question of 'would you want to convalesce in a bed
next to someone running their business on the phone all day ...' (mind
you, they would probably do that anyway no mater what the charges
were).

Billions of arseholes in this world.

Aren't there ...

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. She had the staples out today. Still no noticeable improvement to
the partial numbness in her foot but it's still only 10 days ...

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 21:14:14 +0100, Derek Geldard wrote:

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:48:03 +0100, Steve Walker
wrote:

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:09:26 +0100, Derek Geldard wrote:

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:24:06 GMT, T i m wrote:


Just taking her to the docs to have the staples removed .. I'll stay
in the car shudder

[1] Morris Minor Van

I got pulled over for exceeding the "van" speed limit in an Austin A35
van.

Mr Plod said "If you were to have a puncture in a vehicle like this
you would not be able to control it at all"

The A35 van was derived from the A35 car!

Well, I see what he means, but the A35 car could legally be driven at
70 mph in those days. ;-)

DG

I thought I remembered something about this point, so just checked and the
van speed limit does not apply to car derived vans of less than two tons
maximum laden weight.

Gentlemen. ;-)

I was talking about 1968 !

DG

Fair enough But if you can get hold of an A35 Van in good nick, you'd be
allowed to drive it at 70 now!

SteveW

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:35:59 GMT, T i m wrote:

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:42:22 +0100, Steve Walker
wrote:


p.s. It's when you see / hear of all this broken / faulty stuff makes
me want to go round and sort it all (for the patients rather than the
system) but I guess politics / HSE would stop you .. (and a good job
in some cases).

They had had patientline installed (with phone, radio, TV etc.), but
because it was an elderly ward, they all paid reduced rates and the company
made no profit - so they ripped it all out!

Yeah, I saw that on the news a while back. I know they have to make a
living out of this sort of stuff but some of the prices did seem a bit
high (especially the telephone costs and I might consider that an
'essential' if you are bed ridden, aren't allowed to use your own
phone and need to stay in touch with family etc.

Then there is the question of 'would you want to convalesce in a bed
next to someone running their business on the phone all day ...' (mind
you, they would probably do that anyway no mater what the charges
were).

All the best ..

T i m

On the other hand, would you want to be a completely bedridden, dying
woman, with all your brothers and sisters living in Ireland and therefore
able to only really make the one visit before you die and you be unable to
take their calls in the meantime. She was in for 8 weeks before being
diagnosed as terminal - throughout this time she could not receive any of
the calls that her family wanted to make to her.

SteveW

Geo wrote:

On Sun, 24 Jun 2007 08:13:58 GMT, T i m wrote:


After the op she asked if there was an electric fan available of any
sort and they found her one ("Reception, no not remove" type of
thing).

That was fine for a couple of days but then they needed it for a
'patient with a temperature' (no probs with that etc) but knowing how
dependant she is on one, I asked if it was possible to 'bring one in
from home' (or B&Q round the corner etc).

The reply was 'yes, but it will take a week to get it tested so .. '

1. remove sticky label from reception fan and stick on yours (temporarily)
or
2. word with sister and agree to buy one for ward use (after wife
discharged) if she gets it tested in next 1/2 hour...

Where I used to work that would have been difficult. PAT was done by one
guy with a trolley. Took him a year to do the rounds of the hospital and
the labs (like painting the Forth Bridge). The sister would have to know
where in the place he was... At least in the labs we got to use new
equipment without it being tested, it got done when he came round to us
next. I used to work somewhere where we had to send all new stuff to be
tested. Most frustrating when a shiny new computer had just arrived, got
to unpack it but wasn't allowed to plug it in. Oh and they do condemn
things regularly, water baths most often.

Peter

--
Add my middle initial to email me. It has become attached to a country
www.the-brights.net

On Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:24:58 +0100, Steve Walker
wrote:


Then there is the question of 'would you want to convalesce in a bed
next to someone running their business on the phone all day ...' (mind
you, they would probably do that anyway no mater what the charges
were).

All the best ..

T i m

On the other hand, would you want to be a completely bedridden, dying
woman, with all your brothers and sisters living in Ireland and therefore
able to only really make the one visit before you die and you be unable to
take their calls in the meantime.

[1]

She was in for 8 weeks before being
diagnosed as terminal - throughout this time she could not receive any of
the calls that her family wanted to make to her.

Well, no of course not, but that seems to be when reason, good manners
and good common sense seem to have left us.

Like, being able to take calls from your family V running a company
all day long.

But it's always been the minority that spoil it for the minority. The
number of times I've see people using mobile phones whist sitting
beside the 'Do not use mobile phones' sign in hospital, parking in the
disabled / parent/child bays when clearly not eligible or parking
diagonally across two (or more) bays just because they can't be arsed
or are too stupid / inconsiderate to do any better.

Dare remind them of the rules and you suffer a torrent of abuse (well
I generally don't being a big 6'2"g) but I gave up politely pointing
out the 6' long 'No Smoking' signs to those who thought the rules
didn't apply to them because it just wasn't worth it so it will be
interesting to see what happens on July 1st.

Similarly I watched some lads in a car jump the red's on a roundabout
last night, their mates who were following stopped (at least) as I was
crossing their path on the green and I watched in my mirror as they
drove though the now very red red to catch their mates up. I could
have been on my motorbike or bicycle ... rant off ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

[1] Not directly related to the point but as an aside who moved away
from who (assuming it wasn't a hypothetical situation Steve)? We are
very aware of the fact that her Mum and my Mum and Dad are now quite
old and probably not long for this world. We have chosen for that (and
other reasons, like daughters school etc) not to 'move away' to our
place in the country so we can be available quickly and easily should
the need arise.

A few mates have started new lives abroad and I know how difficult it
is to get back when something happens within the family.

You can't have it all I suppose .. ;-(

Not sure we ever will now ....

On Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:13:07 GMT, (Peter
Ashby) wrote:

Geo wrote:

On Sun, 24 Jun 2007 08:13:58 GMT, T i m wrote:


After the op she asked if there was an electric fan available of any
sort and they found her one ("Reception, no not remove" type of
thing).

That was fine for a couple of days but then they needed it for a
'patient with a temperature' (no probs with that etc) but knowing how
dependant she is on one, I asked if it was possible to 'bring one in
from home' (or B&Q round the corner etc).

The reply was 'yes, but it will take a week to get it tested so .. '

1. remove sticky label from reception fan and stick on yours (temporarily)
or
2. word with sister and agree to buy one for ward use (after wife
discharged) if she gets it tested in next 1/2 hour...

Where I used to work that would have been difficult. PAT was done by one
guy with a trolley. Took him a year to do the rounds of the hospital and
the labs (like painting the Forth Bridge).

;-)

The sister would have to know
where in the place he was... At least in the labs we got to use new
equipment without it being tested, it got done when he came round to us
next. I used to work somewhere where we had to send all new stuff to be
tested. Most frustrating when a shiny new computer had just arrived, got
to unpack it but wasn't allowed to plug it in.

Like giving a kid a bike for Xmas when it's 2' deep in snow outside ..
;-(


Oh and they do condemn
things regularly, water baths most often.

I don't think I ever visited a hospital (or any big public place) and
not spotted something that I felt could be considered unsafe or would
leave 'unresolved' if it was in my house. The typical example being
plug tops with the outer sheath 1" from the restraining / retaining
clamp.

So I can't take in a brand new fan without it being 'tested' but have
to sit and look at all this incorrect / broken / damaged 'stuff'
because they don't have the time / funds / staff to fix it? (I'm not
complaining, just an observation).

All the best ..

T i m

On Wed, 27 Jun 2007 15:36:05 GMT, T i m wrote:

On Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:24:58 +0100, Steve Walker
wrote:


Then there is the question of 'would you want to convalesce in a bed
next to someone running their business on the phone all day ...' (mind
you, they would probably do that anyway no mater what the charges
were).

All the best ..

T i m

On the other hand, would you want to be a completely bedridden, dying
woman, with all your brothers and sisters living in Ireland and therefore
able to only really make the one visit before you die and you be unable to
take their calls in the meantime.

[1]

She was in for 8 weeks before being
diagnosed as terminal - throughout this time she could not receive any of
the calls that her family wanted to make to her.

Well, no of course not, but that seems to be when reason, good manners
and good common sense seem to have left us.

Like, being able to take calls from your family V running a company
all day long.

But it's always been the minority that spoil it for the minority. The
number of times I've see people using mobile phones whist sitting
beside the 'Do not use mobile phones' sign in hospital, parking in the
disabled / parent/child bays when clearly not eligible or parking
diagonally across two (or more) bays just because they can't be arsed
or are too stupid / inconsiderate to do any better.

Dare remind them of the rules and you suffer a torrent of abuse (well
I generally don't being a big 6'2"g) but I gave up politely pointing
out the 6' long 'No Smoking' signs to those who thought the rules
didn't apply to them because it just wasn't worth it so it will be
interesting to see what happens on July 1st.

Similarly I watched some lads in a car jump the red's on a roundabout
last night, their mates who were following stopped (at least) as I was
crossing their path on the green and I watched in my mirror as they
drove though the now very red red to catch their mates up. I could
have been on my motorbike or bicycle ... rant off ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

[1] Not directly related to the point but as an aside who moved away
from who (assuming it wasn't a hypothetical situation Steve)? We are
very aware of the fact that her Mum and my Mum and Dad are now quite
old and probably not long for this world. We have chosen for that (and
other reasons, like daughters school etc) not to 'move away' to our
place in the country so we can be available quickly and easily should
the need arise.

A few mates have started new lives abroad and I know how difficult it
is to get back when something happens within the family.

You can't have it all I suppose .. ;-(

Not sure we ever will now ....

My mother-in-law and father-in-law both moved over here over fifty-years
ago - for most of her working life she actually worked in the hospital that
treated her so badly in the end!

The problem wasn't so much the logistics of visiting, it was that her
family are all in their seventies and eighties, so multiple trips were too
hard on them.

SteveW

On Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:23:12 +0100, Steve Walker
wrote:


My mother-in-law and father-in-law both moved over here over fifty-years
ago - for most of her working life she actually worked in the hospital that
treated her so badly in the end!

Ironic or what ;-(

The problem wasn't so much the logistics of visiting, it was that her
family are all in their seventies and eighties, so multiple trips were too
hard on them.

The (nice) lady in the bed next to my missus was 80 years old and she
was regularly visited by her mother who was 103!

At one point there were 5 generations there ..

All the best ..

T i m

On Wed, 27 Jun 2007 22:00:14 GMT, T i m wrote:

On Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:23:12 +0100, Steve Walker
wrote:


My mother-in-law and father-in-law both moved over here over fifty-years
ago - for most of her working life she actually worked in the hospital that
treated her so badly in the end!

Ironic or what ;-(

The problem wasn't so much the logistics of visiting, it was that her
family are all in their seventies and eighties, so multiple trips were too
hard on them.

The (nice) lady in the bed next to my missus was 80 years old and she
was regularly visited by her mother who was 103!

At one point there were 5 generations there ..

All the best ..

T i m

They did all visit at various points, but virtually all only managed the
one trip towards the end and one trip for the funeral - they live over in
Leitrim, Sligo and Fermanagh, so it's a fair journey right across the
country first. Some are pretty fit and well, but others are frail and a
couple disabled.

The worst part was that when MIL was well, she was on the phone to one or
another pretty well every other night, then when she needed to talk she was
isolated. There was only so much that we could pass back and forth in
messages and it just wasn't the same.

SteveW

"dmc" wrote in message ...
In article ,
Steve Walker wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jun 2007 08:45:17 GMT, John wrote:

My mother-in-law was in hospital, terminally ill and immobile, with only
about a week to live. She was shoved on a three bedded ward with a broken
TV and no phone and basically left to brood. We suggested us buying a
brand
new TV, but they insisted that it would have to be tested and that would
take at least a week!

A friend was in hospital for a couple of weeks and stuck in a ward with
5 other people with only a broken TV that wouldn't tune to anything for
more than 2 mins.

I took in the kids little DVD player that they use in the car and a scart
adaptor and a Fawlty Towers box set.

Apparantly they were told to turn it off and unplug it as it hadn't been
tested. 6 very bored, ill patients quickly suggested otherwise (using
just a couple of choice words apparantly) and it was left alone and not
mentioned for the rest of his stay

Darren


And they can always fall back on the emotive statement - "It could set fire
to the hospital and you wouldn't like that would you?"