The health and fitness thread about random things

[woollypigs]

Our local hospital at early Sunday am, is right out of the 28 hour later intro, bar the garbage flying around. A bit weird to enter via ER when you got an appointment and like a Chinese finger trap to leave.

[Regulator]

Our local hospital at early Sunday am, is right out of the 28 hour later intro, bar the garbage flying around. A bit weird to enter via ER when you got an appointment and like a Chinese finger trap to leave.

Addenbrookes A&E seems to be the favoured hang out for the majority of the police officers in Cambridge, so it seems...

[hellymedic]

Had an echocardiogram yesterday morning (yep - Addenbrookes was doing NHS OP diagnostic clinics on a Sunday morning and my appt was 8.00 a.m.).  Heart seems structurally fine.
The sonographer was a young chap for Porto.  We talked Caminos.

[OTish]

There is Fierce Debate on Twitter about asking folk 'Where are you from?'

I'd love to know how I can show a genuine interest in a person and their journey without appearing racist...

[Regulator]

Had an echocardiogram yesterday morning (yep - Addenbrookes was doing NHS OP diagnostic clinics on a Sunday morning and my appt was 8.00 a.m.).  Heart seems structurally fine.
The sonographer was a young chap for Porto.  We talked Caminos.

[OTish]

There is Fierce Debate on Twitter about asking folk 'Where are you from?'

I'd love to know how I can show a genuine interest in a person and their journey without appearing racist...

It came up as he was asking about the background to the AF and I mentioned it had twice scuppered plans for a Portuguese Camino. 

[mrcharly-YHT]

Had an echocardiogram yesterday morning (yep - Addenbrookes was doing NHS OP diagnostic clinics on a Sunday morning and my appt was 8.00 a.m.).  Heart seems structurally fine.
The sonographer was a young chap for Porto.  We talked Caminos.

[OTish]

There is Fierce Debate on Twitter about asking folk 'Where are you from?'

I'd love to know how I can show a genuine interest in a person and their journey without appearing racist...

It helps if you come from overseas yourself.  "Are you local? I'm really an Australian, only just moved into the area."

[Cudzoziemiec]

I had the opposite recently. "Have you always lived in St Paul's?" "About 20 years. I'm originally from Germany." I'd noticed some sort of accent but could not have placed it as definitely foreign let alone German.

[ian]

Ah, Twitter excelling as usual. I think it's probably OK in the real world to ask people where they're from, it's like conversation. Though I'm minded we should converse in pre-approved statements, sensibly redacted. The world would be easier. It would certainly have helped Liz Truss.

Reminds me, I had a long chat with the audiology consultant a while back as he was poking me, I must have shared my entire career history, since the letter he sent back basically included my entire career, and also his, since he interspersed where he was and what he was doing at the time. I think the last sentence was the one that contained any relevant medical information.

[Kim]

Career history in medical letters is doctor-code for "this person is valid"

[De Sisti]

There is Fierce Debate on Twitter about asking folk 'Where are you from?'

This happens quite a lot when I'm out cycling alone. I now reply with:
"Introduce yourself to me".

Or if I'm feeling naughty:
"Tell me all about yourself" ....sometimes including ...."since you left school"

They (almost exclusively other male cyclists) don't like it, and take umbrage to the fact that
I had the temerity not to answer their questions, and to pose my own.

[MikeFromLFE]

My stock phrase - learned while volunteering on the canals - is "Where's home for you?"
This seems to be a life-history starter in 50% of cases

[Peter]

Career history in medical letters is doctor-code for "this person is valid"

Yes, Kim, I've wondered about these medical flags.  A few times I have had "Thank you for referring this pleasant gentleman....".  Is this code for "Look, this guy may be old but he doesn't bite" or something more specific?  I'm happy about the "pleasant" because I try hard to make that true most of the time, even when afraid or in pain, but "gentleman" - that's a bit hard to take!  Does that mean "ponce" or just another version of "won't bite"?

[cycleman]

I've been called eccentric on doctors letters before. No idea why 😮🙂

[Flite]

I've wondered about these medical flags

The notes of one of my recent encounters with medical staff includes this:
Walked into room independently, gait normal
Alert and orientated
Talking in full sentences
Not exactly a coded message, but I do wonder what she expected?
2 nurses, 3 GPS, 1 X-ray later and the lump on my collar bone is still a mystery. but it is nice to know I made a good impression!
(except they are pretty sure it isn't cancer)

[ian]

I offered a stimulating and genial discussion on the subject of Pakistan. I'm not sure what that's code for. I'm not sure I really contributed that much, considering he'd lived there for 25 years, and I was there for four days once.

[Cudzoziemiec]

What are you people doing that, firstly, gets a doctor to write such non-medical stuff about you, and secondly, you see it?

[Regulator]

What are you people doing that, firstly, gets a doctor to write such non-medical stuff about you, and secondly, you see it?

Hospital consultants should, as a matter of course, provide patients with a copy of any clinic letter or discharge summary sent to their GP.

And shortly patients will be able to access this information electronically via their GP record (which they are entitled to have access to electronically).

[T42]

I knew this walking lark was dangerous. 5k stroll w. MrsT yest set off my dodgy ankle and I'm hobbling today. 

[Flite]

As above, I had an appointment to check a mystery lump on my collar bone.
The nurse must have had a mental list of things to observe and record when a patient walks in.
I am of an age when I can rock up for a flu vaccination and be asked if I would like to do a dementia test.

The local GP practice has a website and patients can register to get repeat prescriptions etc via the website. We can also sign up to see some of our records. So I can see what was done at face-to-face or phone appointments. It's very useful to check that what I think happened is recorded, and a reminder for next time if I need a follow up. I can also see results of blood tests, X-rays etc before the practice contacts me, so I can get an idea of what they mean and what I need to ask. Saves a lot of time on both sides.

e.g. Several years ago, I had a routine old age check up
GP: your cholesterol is a bit high, perhaps you should be on statins?
Me: but the balance of "good" to "bad" cholesterol is in my favour, isn't it?
GP: Umm, yes. If they were my results, I wouldn't be taking statins.

I think patients are legally entitled to see their records now.

[ian]

What are you people doing that, firstly, gets a doctor to write such non-medical stuff about you, and secondly, you see it?

The few times I've been to hospital, they've sent both me and the referring GP a copy of their report and their sundry thoughts.

Which is a good thing, since the GP never bothered to get back to me.

My MRI was a more terse 'brain appears OK for the patient's age' along with some medical gloop I had to Google but effectively resolved to the same thing.

[barakta]

I think it depends on the medic how verbose they are as well... I've had some where they don't have any extra and some where they're writing about my occupation (often mangling it a bit) which is relevant in as much as what I need my arms and legs to DO to stay employed/employable and some with other info basically proving I'm not mad (pain management) or faking it. 

I think sometimes consultants get bored and just spew their entire memory buffer of the patient consultation to the letter without thinking of relevance.

I've been lucky that even if my stuff can't be treated, most clinicians will document it for me so I can drown the DWP with it when they ask me if I've grown missing bones back yet or become less physically impaired despite becoming slowly more physically impaired as I age with added extra arthritis excitement.

[Regulator]

Addenbrooke's EPR is EPIC, to which patients can have access.  Test results (including blood tests ordered by the GP) get posted to EPIC before they're sent to GPs (the messaging to GPs tends to be done overnight), which means I can often see my test results before the GP - and certainly before they're clinically coded into the GP system (as our practice uses a system that doesn't properly interface with hospital system). 

It was quite handy when I had my LTC check up recently and was getting nagged by the nurse... I was able to point her to test results she hadn't seen which indicated that what she was suggesting might be the case (high cholesterol) wasn't the case.

[cycleman]

My compressed disc is still playing up  :'( this is getting depressing. Back on naxproxin today

[MikeFromLFE]

Mrs M being presently a resident of the local hospital in Inca, Majorca has discovered that Spanish clinical care is excellent, but that standards of Spanish personal care & dignity are not what an English lady of mature years expects.

She nearly drowned in the sea, and was looked after by some excellent lifeguards and the ambulance service.
She's now remembered that she 'just' missed her footing, keeled over on her front, and panicked being unable to get onto her back. That's when she inhaled some water.

She's making an excellent recovery, and we're hopeful of an early return to rain and cooler weather. I'll be happy to get away from the mosquitoes.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Mrs M being presently a resident of the local hospital in Inca, Majorca has discovered that Spanish clinical care is excellent, but that standards of Spanish personal care & dignity are not what an English lady of mature years expects.

She nearly drowned in the sea, and was looked after by some excellent lifeguards and the ambulance service.
She's now remembered that she 'just' missed her footing, keeled over on her front, and panicked being unable to get onto her back. That's when she inhaled some water.

She's making an excellent recovery, and we're hopeful of an early return to rain and cooler weather. I'll be happy to get away from the mosquitoes.

That sounds very frightening. Drowning, or near drowning, is really horrible.

[MikeFromLFE]

Mrs M being presently a resident of the local hospital in Inca, Majorca has discovered that Spanish clinical care is excellent, but that standards of Spanish personal care & dignity are not what an English lady of mature years expects.

She nearly drowned in the sea, and was looked after by some excellent lifeguards and the ambulance service.
She's now remembered that she 'just' missed her footing, keeled over on her front, and panicked being unable to get onto her back. That's when she inhaled some water.

That sounds very frightening. Drowning, or near drowning, is really horrible.

That's a possible reason for the heart attack that followed.

She's made excellent progress and the hospital are happy for her to be discharged back to my hotel pending repatriation. All investigations (including an angiogram) are OK. But the Travel Insurance medical team want her to occupy a scarce hospital bed until they can arrange a flight. I've challenged that and am currently waiting for the outcome of the review.

There's another English couple we've met at the hospital and it seems we've struck lucky with Nationwide (who use UK Insurance, which is part of Direct Line) compared to the other couple's experience of AXA three weeks down the line.

Don't knock the NHS until you've experienced the rest, and saints preserve us from insurance based health decisions.