Just a quick post.

a. Mother is getting better - kidney infection seems to have disappeared (yeah medicines!) and she has been sent for a battery of blood tests. Still awaiting a response from PrimeCare to my complaint letter.

b. Have had a response to our letter relating to the consultation on the change over of maternity services at the local trust. Basically, its dismissed everything we said - but took four pages to do so (our letter was 10 - so we won in my mind!). Will actually write about this, when I have more time. There are certain things that have annoyed me - but I haven’t got time at the moment to get worked up.

c. Manc Scum had a birthday last Tuesday. Went out Maundy Thursday for a few beers by way of celebration. It was so good to be in a pub and not talking about babies.

d. Had a good Easter break, although William decided to wake at 6am every day - a full one and a half hours earlier than he does normally. Black out blinds now installed and routine re-established.

e. Swans are quite scary. There are a lot of them at our local lake and they are now getting quite menacing - in a Day of the Triffids, we’re going to take over, kind of way.

f. Watched Dr Who. It was OK.

g. It failed to Rain in Wales over the Easter break. I can’t remember the last time that happened.

h. Glastonbury tickets on sale from Sunday 3rd April. If only….

You may be wondering what I was doing whilst the boys were doing their stuff. I know most of you will think I was in the pub. Indeed, for the first half, I was. However, just as I started on my second pint (and as the second half kicked off - I was pacing myself for a long night of celebration!) I was called to my parents home. My mother had been taken ill and I spent the rest of Saturday and until 9.30am on Sunday trying to get medical attention for her.

The out of hours service, locally, is provided by a firm called PrimeCare (I could link, but I don’t think they deserve the traffic!). I will, however, share with you all my letter of complaint to the local health board - due to be posted in the morning.

As background, you should know that my mother is 72 next month and my father really does suffer with extremely ill health. Anyway..

“..Following a conversation with your office earlier today, please find below a complaint regarding the service my mother received from PrimeCare last weekend. I understand that your policy is to forward this matter to PrimeCare. I would be more than happy for you to share this with them – and to negate your normal four-day delay period. I would also be grateful if you could note that the timings given below are approximate. I am sure you will understand, after reading this letter, that both Saturday and Sunday were extremely stressful for us all and that as a result, I may give some times which are not wholly accurate.

I would also wish to make it clear that I have shared the contents of this letter with my parents and am acting with their full support and knowledge.

On Saturday afternoon (19th March 2005), my mother was taken poorly. Her symptoms included feeling faint, shaking and general disorientation. She was so ill I felt it necessary to call a doctor on her behalf. I made my first call to PrimeCare at 4.45pm, with the call being received by a gentleman (I believe the name was **** – although I apologise if this spelling is incorrect). After some struggle to be understood – I had to spell both the administrative details and symptoms pertaining to my call several times before I was happy they seem to have been taken correctly – the gentleman informed me that the call would be passed to a doctor, who would then call me back.

I proceeded to wait for an hour. As this coincided with the second half of the Wales versus Ireland rugby union match, I was not entirely surprised that my call was taking some time to be dealt with. However, by 5.45pm I was becoming concerned and called PrimeCare again. I was, this time, dealt with by a lady, whose name, I’m afraid I failed to take. She informed me that the call had been closed, as the doctor had contacted the telephone number given and there had been no response. When we went back to check the details, it became apparent the number had been incorrectly transcribed and I heard her as she amended the entry. I was assured that the call would be dealt with urgently and that a doctor would call me back.

At 6.00pm I received a call from the triage doctor at PrimeCare. I went through my mothers symptoms again and also advised the doctor that my father had a serious heart condition. I raised concerns that my mother’s ill health was also causing my father to become agitated and I was worried that he would also become ill. The triage doctor advised me that she would be sending the details to the on-call physician and that my mother would receive a home visit. This call concluded at approximately 6.10pm.

At approximately 7.10pm, I again called PrimeCare to try and ascertain when my mother would be seen. During this hour, she had deteriorated quite suddenly, becoming more confused and drifting in and out of sleep. She said that she was extremely cold – although the room temperature was actually very high, with a gas fire turned up full and my mother warmly dressed. I this time spoke to another gentleman called *******, who said that he would find out the status of my mother’s call and ring me back. He did call back at approximately 7.40pm. He advised me that the call had been passed on to the on-call doctor, but that this doctor was overwhelmed with calls and covering a “large area”.

By 9.00pm, my father and I made the decision to put my mother to bed. She was, by this time very sleepy and quite confused and on occasion incoherent. I had to assist her to walk to her bedroom and to settle into bed. At approximately 9.45pm, following a discussion with my father, I called PrimeCare once again. I stated that I wished to postpone the call until the following morning, but was not happy to do this without, once again, speaking to the triage doctor. I am aware that I am not a clinician and wanted some assurances that the decision my father and I were making would in no way endanger my mother.

At just after 10.00pm, a different triage doctor rang me back. He was concerned about the wait my mother had experienced and could, naturally without seeing her, offer no assurances. However, he did concur that, as he could give no estimation of when my mother may be seen, as she was sleeping and on the basis my father would be in the room with her during the night, it would probably be sensible to postpone the call. He gave me a categorical assurance that my mother would be first on the list to be seen by the new doctor on call at 8.00am the following morning (Sunday 20th March 2005).

At this point I returned home. Unfortunately, during this weekend, my own son, who is now a little over nine months old (but born two months prematurely) was also unwell, with symptoms including vomiting and diarrhoea. I had left my husband to look after him whilst I was with my mother and father – and was fortunate that he was able to do this.

The following morning, I called my father a little before 8.00am. He advised me that my mother had had a fitful night and that he had had to assist her to the bathroom, as she was unable to walk unaided. I reassured him that the doctor was due to call anytime and asked him to telephone me once the call had been made.

By approximately 8.45am, I was growing increasingly concerned and rang my father. He advised me that the doctor had still not arrived. He was again growing agitated and my concerns rose, not only for my mother’s health but also for his. I rang PrimeCare soon after concluding the call with my father.

I again spoke to a telephone operative at PrimeCare, who confirmed that my mother would be seen during the morning. When I pressed her – asking about the status of the doctor and the fact that I had been assured that my mother was first on the list – I was told she was not sure whether a doctor was indeed available and on-call at that time. At this point I asked to speak to a manager (or team leader, as I was informed).

As an aside, I also asked to speak to a manager during the previous evening – although at what point I am afraid I am now unable to remember. There were no team leaders available to speak to me when I called. I was informed that the gentleman who should have dealt with me was already undertaking a call that was likely to take some time. Instead, one of the “dispatchers” (again, I am afraid I cannot remember the name of the lady I spoke to) attempted to address my concerns. I was told the doctor was extremely busy and that my mother was “somewhere” on his list. I pointed out that, due to the events in Central Cardiff that evening, it was not unsurprising that PrimeCare were having to field more than usual amount of calls. I was then told it wasn’t PrimeCare’s fault that Wales had won the Grand Slam! As I will return to later, this was not the meaning behind my comment.

The team leader I spoke to on Sunday morning was extremely apologetic. I asked when my mother would be seen – and indeed whether there was a doctor on-call in the Vale of Glamorgan. I was told that a doctor had been on-call from 9.00am that morning – and that she was currently collecting her medical bag, medication and driver from ***** Hospital. I re-iterated the assurances I was given the evening before, only to be told that the doctor I had spoken to was from out of the area and as such would not be aware of the local arrangements. I asked that the doctor be contacted and a time when my mother was to be seen ascertained. The team leader offered to call me back, but on this occasion – and given my experiences the evening before – I asked to be put on hold. A few minutes later I was told that the doctor was on her way to my mother.

Dr ******** arrived with my parents approximately ten minutes later. My mother received, what she has described as “excellent” care. Although the doctor told my father that I had been rather “short” with her (I am not aware that I spoke to Dr ******** at any point during my call that morning – and if I did and she felt I was in any way rude, I would offer my apologies), she did understand that the service we had received was poor and suggested to my father that we should complain. She also mentioned, during conversation, that she had been on-call from approximately 8.30 – and had already made at least one visit. This was clearly not the understanding of the PrimeCare call-centre staff, something I am most confused by.

My mother was diagnosed with a kidney infection and antibiotics were prescribed. My father filled the prescription within an hour of the doctor’s call and I am pleased to say that within twenty-four hours my mother was beginning to feel much better in herself.

There are a number of general points I would like to make, in conclusion.

i. I do not feel that my mother received either good, or indeed, adequate service from PrimeCare. I base this on twelve years experience working within the NHS, six years in secondary care at a local hospital, dealing in chronic disease and communicating with patients and their carers on a daily basis and two years as a NHS-secondee into health service management at, what was then the Welsh Office. In addition to my managerial experience, I have an academic qualification in social policy from the Open University, where I specialised in health management.

ii. As a result of my experience, both in management and academically, I know that in anticipating usage of any service, planning is essential. As such, and I refer back to my comment about the event in the centre of Cardiff on Saturday afternoon, special provision should have been made for coverage of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan on Saturday the 19th March 2005. Even without a history within the NHS, it should be clear that people in the area would not have wished to attend any Accident and Emergency facility, where care could also have taken place in the primary care setting. At one point during the evening, when my mother was at her lowest, my husband wanted to call an ambulance. However, neither my father nor I were willing to do this, knowing that that my mother would have encountered a “scrum” (if you will excuse the analogy) of people, some of whom were likely to be drunk, at the hospital.

iii. It was unclear to me, at the time why PrimeCare were employing telephone operatives whose understanding of the English language was, quiet obviously, poor. I have excellent diction and no strong accent. Yet, the first operative I spoke to struggled repeatedly with words, including both my mothers fore- and surnames as well as my own, the symptoms she was experiencing and also, as we were to discover, the telephone number. As all calls by PrimeCare are recorded, I am sure the call could be found and it be used as a training example of bad practice. I say it was unclear to me “at the time”. Some research today has shown the low-level of pay (up to £7.50, but starting at £5.75) that the telephone operatives (or call handlers) are receiving. I am not sure that such an important role is best served by people who seem ill-equipped to provide, in PrimeCare’s own words “..a quality telephone service.”

iv. I am also somewhat bemused by the fact that the PrimeCare call centre does not seem to be clear when – and indeed whether – they have doctors on-call. Might I suggest that the team leaders are more accurately briefed concerning the times their doctors are arriving on-call – and the number of visits they are due to make. The vague way in which my questions were answered did nothing to bolster my confidence in the service my mother was receiving.

iv. I would welcome a response to two specific questions that have occurred to me following my mother’s experience. As PrimeCare must have in place a service level agreement – or something similar – with the **** ** ********* Local Health Board, could I be informed of the call response times that are expected of this service? I would also welcome, within the response to this complaint, a brief statement relating to the special arrangements that are in place to deal with the area when events are held at the Millennium Stadium. You will be aware that Cardiff, at present, not only hosts rugby matches and concerts at the stadiums, but also football matches. I would be interested, for future reference, to discover what service level I can expect both on a “normal” day and on these occasions.

vi. My mother, thankfully, is in exceptional health for her age. In discussing the events of the weekend with her earlier today, I discovered that to the best of her knowledge, this is the first time in her life she has attempted to access a doctor, outside surgery hours. To this point we have always experienced a good standard of care from **** ****** Surgery, particularly in relation to my father, who has a serious heart condition and are disappointed that this has not been the case for my mother. I spoke to a member of staff at **** ****** Surgery this morning. I understand that I am not alone in complaining about care received from PrimeCare and can only hope that the present level of service is rectified in the near future.

I have shared the contents of this letter with a number of people (please see cc.’s below). I feel that it is important that they are aware of the way in which the PrimeCare service broke down for my mother last weekend.

I will await with interest the response from PrimeCare and thank you. and the member of your team with whom I spoke this morning, for your time.”

You know when someone says “don’t fuck with me”? If it’s me, listen.

If you are thinking of having some ahem fun this weekend, you might want to check you haven’t picked up any of these dodgy condoms. My understanding is that some have surfaced in pharmacies around South Wales.

How much the birth rates in Wales go up this weekend, on the back of this news and the rugby, I dread to think.

Just a quick note. Two new photos of William over on “The Gallery”. I know how bad we are at keeping these up to date. I only took these because I was seeing a colleague the following day and she demanded to see some updated photos!

Other than the stomach bug he has at the moment (babies vomit just like the girl in The Exorcist - I’m not lying!), William continues to do really well. His favourite food is “anything sweet”, favourite toy is “his drum” (from my parents - a toy that will, forever, remain at their home!), favourite music is “Mozart” (who knew, a cultured kid in the Gene Puddle) and his favourite word is “Dada”. Apparently, the latter is more difficult to say than “mama”, which is the only shred of comfort I still have!

All being well, we have one final hospital appointment (in May) when he should receive a clean bill of health. On the 30th of this month he is 10 months old. I have no idea where the time has gone.

So, sitting in work today, eating my lunch, I got to thinking about the way in which life has changed. This was brought about by an email from a mate, talking about going out over Easter. I don’t know what you do, but any bank holiday, for us, was always an opportunity to spend way too much time - and money - in the pub. If nothing else, the night before a Bank Holiday Monday would always be spent sat in the pub having a few beers/vodkas/whatevers. When I went into hospital on Sunday the 30th May last year, my over-riding concern was not that William may come early, it was that I was going to have to miss my night out (even if I was only drinking Diet Coke and inhaling smoke passively). That afternoon, before the full enormity of the onset of labour, I was arguing that I should be allowed home - on the basis of resources. In reality, I just wanted to be able to go out that night!

So, the next religious excuse for a couple of days off is nearly upon us. Naturally, there will not be much church-going for the Other Half and I (nor for William, although if he wants to when he’s older, his decision and all that). And, unlike previous years, it doesn’t look like there will be much pub-going either. So, what are we meant to do? I’ve already made plans for Maundy Thursday night, the Other Half has made plans for Good Friday night (do you think he’ll get “struck down” for playing poker?), but other than that, nothing. No plans, no jobs, no nothing. Of course, we could spend the time tidying up the garden, but I’m betting the weather will be rubbish and we’ll be stuck indoors.

So, what are you doing over Easter? Never one to re-invent the wheel, I’ll just nick your ideas!

I was glad that Edith Bowman won the Comic Relief does Fame Academy thing. One reason, really. She had the guts to follow what she wanted to do - whether that relates to music or the fact she took off her high heels on Friday night and put on a pair of daps that had seen better days. As someone who is constantly moaning when I’m in heels (and who has been known to run for a London bus with heels in hand and stockings ripping) I can only applaud a woman on the shorter side of average who can say “no”.

And, by the way, “Champagne Supernova” with Jools Hollands Big Band. Inspired.

So, this weekend is the big one. The Slam. Naturally, we have more injuries than you can shake the proverbial stick at, but thats the way it goes if your Welsh.

Sorry, what did you say? What am I talking about? Oh, the rugby. I keep forgetting, if your not in Wales, for instance you live across the bridge in England, nobody is talking about the rugby, are they? Especially with the run your team has been on (*snigger*). Of course, if you are in Wales, there is NO other news. Whether on TV, Radio, Newspaper or web, the headlines are all about the Boys in Red and Gavin’s Golden Boots. Charlotte Church is also, suddenly, back in vogue, thanks to her *ahem* relationship with Mr Henson. Me, I still think she’s a Cardiff slapper, whose been ruined not only be her genes, but also by money. But, that’s just my opinion.

So, where to watch the match. There is some insane talk of hitting Cardiff on Saturday. No, seriously. As if a couple of hundred thousand rugby fans aren’t enough. I think its more hassle than its worth, but thats probably down to both my age and the need to get to a bar to be served in less than 30 minutes! Personally, I think Cardiff Bay may be one idea, but I’ll have to give in to the masses, no doubt.

This is also rather dependant on my mother’s idea of baby-sitting for the night. If, like me, you think that includes the afternoon, we should be fine. If, like the Other Half, you think that Aged Parent will be expecting small boy dropped off after 6pm, we could be in trouble. Either way, there will be alcohol drunk, there will be nail-biting moments and, at the end, I’m sure Wales will still be looking for their first Slam since 5 became 6.

Many thanks to the blogerati in London for their assistance with the new masthead. She was all coy about it - but it looks bloody marvellous, as far as I’m concerned.

What do you lot think?

I’ve been telling people for years that Welsh isn’t really a language. How reassuring that complete strangers agree!

With thanks to the Evolters for the link.

So, Mike over at Troubled Diva is throwing a party. A Red Nosed Party, which unlike in the Gene Puddle is no reference to a persons alcohol consumption. No, indeed, it’s all in aid of “Charity”.

Having been asked to select a track for the disco, my mind jumped from a Welsh “old skool” classic, to this weeks number one act (which must be a source of some concern to My Dear Friend, although “he broke them” onto the UK music scene), via something a little more, ahem, avant garde (”you knows it”). My mind then wandered over to the local tarts disco in the Gene Puddle, and the reaction to the one hit of Master Hawkes (as he was at the time).

What did I finally pick? You’ll have to wander over to the Troubled Diva to work that one out!