bristol&bathblog

#NHSREFORM

2011-01-25T13:25:00.008+00:00

I am very pro reform of the NHS, this is because of my experiences some 3 years ago, while caring for my ex-wife who had terminal cancer.
I am in no way blaming anyone for her death, or poor care, but seeking to highlight deep failings I have experienced and prevent others from having the same things happen to them.
I am therefore very pro any government that will seek to change things.

In my view Labour invested money into the system, but failed to deal with any of its problems.

The NHS is defended by the 'vested interests' of public sector unions and Health Care Professionals, who seek to resist change at any opportunity.
Anyone else who is not on the 'left' or a 'professional' isn't allowed to have an opinion that counts.

Their only answer is that we should spend more money, rather than seeking to look at the failings and put them right, even if the process will be painful, but better for the patient.

Point 1.
Why does it take 2 weeks for a patients notes to reach the GP after discharge from the hospital.
Point 2.
Because of Point 1. the GP is supposed to be the focus of care and support on discharge, how can they be if Point 1 is not sorted out.
Point3.
The GP has no notes and drug list from hospital has anomalies, but because of point 1. the only person with the knowledge is the patients carer, in this case me.
Point 4.
The patient is re-admitted, by me, at GPs advice, but has to go in via A&E as even they had never been in hospital at all,they had been for 4 weeks, wasting hospitals time, plus terribly distressing for the patient.
Point5.
As GP is point of care at home, once discharged, you might think they would visit, or ring, NO they don't.
Point 6.
Why are drugs 'written up' differently between different hospitals, resulting in delays and confusion.
I will add to this post over the coming weeks, and yes there are really positive things in the NHS I have also experienced.
The William Budd Oncology Ward in the RUH is fantastic, great carers, great care.
Frenchay Hospital,buildings may look tatty but the most focussed and brillaint hospital I have been in contact with, RUH Management Bath should follow by example.
My current GPs practice, having changed, great care, really efficient, so yes maybe they should show the RUH how to run things!

Getting Married

2010-10-29T08:57:00.002+01:00

I am getting married, again, its a great time in my life.

We are very happy together, and planning the event when you are in your 50s is fun, still stressful, and expensive.

I'm still getting rid of stuff to charity and ebay.

The Wedding businesses are often not pleasant to deal with, the wedding gown business seems to have been taken over by ' hard chavs' who treat brides to be poorly.

Work is going well, just done our 1st tapeless 'live action' series, not convinced it saved much money by being tapeless, and I'm not convinced by Sonys EX3, had buy extra kit because its data rate is too low, and I'm not happy with 1/2" sensor and average optics. I suppose I will always be 2/3" ,10 bit, 422 ,man.

Here is a photo taken in Santa Barbara when I was stuck under the ashcloud in spring.

Positive Views, and bought a Jag.

2010-06-01T13:10:00.006+01:00

I feel my previous blogs have reflected my grieving and frustrations following a loss.
I am now in a much better place, I have a new partner, been together for 2 years, new life together in a lovely house, I am a very lucky man. I only work 3 days /week and we have a web business selling software on Amazon UK and Amazon France.
Amazon was quite a learning curve initially, but is going well now.
We enjoy the web. business, it has attracted nice customers and we are about to try other products out.
Last year I purchased an S-Type Jaguar, from Dorset Sportscars, its a great car, and has brought much fun to our lives, and looks fantastic.
Work is going well, our house is coming together, considering we have only been in it 9 months.
I can only thank all our families and friends for their support.
We went on Cunard Queen Victoria last year, my first cruise, which was good fun, here is a picture.

The R.U.H badly run hospital

2009-10-28T09:26:00.004+00:00

My partner has been taking her mother to see the same consultant at the RUH for 4 years, the appointment is always 1-4hrs late, when she asked if she could ring up and find out how late the consultant was running to save waiting around she was told this was not possible.

My partner had to go in to see a consultant at the RUH herself, the consultant asked why she was there, had none of the records of blood test etc. and no communication to from the GP.

Why should we put up with such poor service, why are the consultants not managed better.

I think the management of the RUH is appalling, the only ward that seemed any good was William Budd the oncology centre which is brilliant.

The UK has such poorly run public services, why?

New Life part 3

2009-10-21T08:33:00.005+01:00

Carole was due to go into see the consultant on the Monday after her fall, so we did this, she kept telling me not to panic, as it didn't help either of us.

Her left eye had blurred vision, and she struggled to read, she told me how she had had a weak eye as a child, and she had to wear a patch over her good eye to strengthen her weak eye, while at school, she told me all this now, I learnt so much about her during this time, we never discussed enough over our 17 years together, we were both too shy.

We saw the consultant, together, I always went with her, she asked me too, to be her advocate, you need an advocate when dealing with medical professionals and the NHS.

The registrar said she was not happy, Carole had lost weight, while on steroids, not a good sign, she immediately readmitted Carole, bypassing A&E, to get investigations done.

While in the corridor with the registrar she asked me if Carole suspected what might be wrong with her, I said not.

We got Carole readmitted, I went outside and broke down in tears, I called my brother for a chat , he came down next day.

Next day we went walking in the countryside round Wellow, it was great to have support and help and think things through.

The Pub in Wellow, does a great Ploughmans Lunch, the landord used to work in the dairy business so has great local cheeses.

The picture is of Wellow brook, taken on that day.

Caring

2009-09-11T07:18:00.002+01:00

My experience of caring for Carole has taught me much.

We all start out caring for a close relative or friend out of love or duty, and willingly give our all.

I found that, combined with a full time job, even with one of the best employers, it becomes a relentless load, which can eventually affect the carers own health and well-being.

I was visiting Carole every day, the visiting hours, are geared up to people who don't have a job, at the RUH, which meant I left early form work a lot.

Carole and I eventually agreed I would go every other day, so I could rest, catch up with housework etc. I still felt guilty doing this.

I now advise friends to watch out and lok after themselves as well as they person they are caring for.

It becomes a relentless burden that there is no way out of , if you are not careful.

I was helped and saved , by my neighbours and 1 or 2 of Caroles close friends who did so much.

Carole had no close family or relatives so it was always going to be down to me, even though we had only completed our divorce some 4 months earlier.

Here is a picture I took in Joshua Tree in the US.

Old BBC audio test gear

2009-09-01T17:02:00.004+01:00

I bought these from BBC Redundant Plant many years ago
A TS 10/P oscillator and a ATM 1/P measuring set

New Life Cont:

2009-08-27T15:54:00.005+01:00

Carole came home, she was very sleepy in the afternoons, quite unsteady, on her feet, in the mornings.
When you are discharged from hospital you are told that the your GP is responsible for for ongoing care etc.
First problem is that there is no 'electronic' communication from the RUH to the GP, it takes around 2 weeks for a patients notes to go from the hospital to the GP."
2nd Problem ; In Carole's case the dischrge notes had her drug regime wrong, the GP made it no better, I had to sort it out.
3rd problem, I am in a full time job, so cannot be at home to look after Carole all the time, so I had to leave her, always worried that something would happen.The NHS assumes you will be ok, and will not provide care to people on modest 'middle class' incomes at all, except we pay all the taxes for it.
The GP did organise CTOPs to come and see she was ok in the bathroom when she got up, I watched take her morning pills before I left for work, and she paid a friend to come round and cook lunch, etc. during the day.
There was always a worry for me between the friend finishing and me getting home.
Carole's steroids were on a tapering dose, dropping by a couple of tablets each week.
As we reduced the dose her old symptoms started to reappear.
One evening, I came home to find blood on her head, she had fallen, it was nearly a year later after she had died, I figured out where.
I rang for the out of hours GP who came and checked her out, she had a cut on her forehead.
Later when the GP had gone, I discovered, that Carole had taken all her next days drugs in the confusion.
Fortunately I only let her have the pills, one day at a time.
I rang the GP and was told that she would be ok.
I was at my wits end, and took the next day off, a Friday, as I recall, to help Carole, things were not good, I was losing weight myself, with the worry.
Here is a picture I took of the weir in Bath on a 15mm lens.

New Life part 2

2009-08-23T09:25:00.005+01:00

Once Carole was admitted she was CT scanned and MRI scanned, a junior doctor, made a big effort to get the MRI scanner opened up, as Caroles condition was so serious,
She was on the Medical Evaluation Ward for about a week, until they could find a bed.
They found large lesions on the outside surface of her brain.
The diagnosis was ADEM, Acute Disseminating Encephalymyalitis, and she was put on an older non-neuro ward upstrairs, as neurology was closed due to the noro-virus.
This is an auto-immune disease caused by a viral infection. So she was treated with anti viral and eventually steroids to reduce the brain swelling.
The older ward upstairs at the RUH was not great, and all the wards suffer from noisy people , at night, and too many old folks, who shouldn't be in the hospital, but society doesn't provide other options.
They should put all the noisy patients together, so the other patients get a good nights sleep, enabling faster recovery.
Carole was in for about 4-5 weeks, my employer was very good, allowing me to leave early to visit her.
She was not right on discharge, she couldn't remember the street names on the way home.
I find doing this blog mixed, it brings up memories, but feel others can learn from the events that happened.
Here is a picture I took in Spain this year.

New Life without Carole

2009-08-20T13:33:00.006+01:00

I haven't posted for some time, since I last posted a lot has changed in my life , sadly, Carole, my ex-wife, died in May 2008.
I will tell the story to help others not make the same mistakes as we both did in our divorce and preceding events.
This make take a few blog entries.
Carole had started to get headaches and dizziness at the time of my last post, she had been diagnosed with labarythitis, an inner ear infection.
We were both stuck in our house, over valued, trying to sell it.
Still Oct 2007.
One day when we were having a viewing, she couldn't, face going out, so we sat in the car while the house viewing took place, she complained of terrible headaches, she was obviously in pain.
We went inside and she was sick and could only repeat the words' sick and dizzy'.
I called out the emergency doctor,who did tests, called an ambulance, and told me ' it doesnt look good' and expect a long haul.
We went to the RUH ,A&E,
I will continue in my next post here is a picture of Carole taken about 1 year before our divorce.

New Life

2007-10-10T22:12:00.000+01:00

I am sat in my current property stuck waiting for the housing market to improve.
The housing market is flat at the moment.
We are now finally divorced and waiting to 'move-on'.
The rates of 'stamp duty' are ludicrous in the uk.
Here is a picture from Heligan Gardens

Cycling

2007-04-15T20:22:00.000+01:00

I am getting divorced,and one of the main things I have discovered that is helping me to cope,beside my singing,is cycling with VC Walcot on Sunday mornings.
They are a great bunch, and even though I must be the oldest rider, they haven't 'dropped me' and my fitness has improved a lot since going with them more regularly.
It has helped me reduce my commute by 10 mins,from bath to Bristol on my old 'Stratton' 531 road bike from the late 80s.
Here is a picture from Arisaig taken on a recent walking holiday

Cycling

2007-01-03T20:51:00.000+00:00

I went on my first cycle club run last Sunday, the club is called VC Walcot and started by a chap who works at Johns Bikes in Bath.
We had a nice run,and I did not get 'dropped',Andy led the group well.
This is a recommended cycle club in Bath.
Here is a picture on Hampsfell Fell in the lakes

A Good Walk Round Bristol

2006-03-13T21:00:00.000+00:00

Here is a good example of the sort of walk brochure that should be offered by Bristol to its visitors.
This was published in 80s I guess,it has good photos,a good walk and lots of details.
Bristol should offer this sort of guide ,it adds value to the city.
The obvious place to sell these guides would be at the Industrial Museum or the Tourist Information centre.
I have had a very stressful week at work,but like all these things it teaches me more about myself than anything else.
The people of Bath are just waking up to Crest Nicholsons proposals for the Western Riverside.
As predicted,more high rise,high density,mediocre buildings ala Bristol Harbourside.
Who are the South West Regional Assembly?
Have we voted for them?
They seem to hold a lot of power in these development decisions,yet who are they accountable to?

Bristol Does Not Do Justice To Its History

2006-01-26T20:58:00.000+00:00

I have recently bought all the original 'Day Out' books from the BBC series in the 1970s by Derek Jones and Gwynn Richards.
From reading these books and doing some research it is obvious that Bristol Council and its Tourist Information Centre and Museums do not do Bristol a great service.
The brochures and walks leaflets available in the Tourist Information Centre ,located in @ Bristol,are woefully inadequate.They do not give enough detail and are too brief.
Bristol has a great history to tell,yet the museums have little about say,Hotwells spring,the Floating Harbour,Medieval Bristol.
It seems it is all in store at the old warehouse,now called B-Bond,at the Create centre,why not on display?
Compare and contrast the size and range of the TIC in Bath to the small effort in Bristol.
Here is a picture taken from Southstoke in late summer.

Western Riverside in Bath

2006-01-20T21:21:00.000+00:00

Well at last the Western Riverside in Bath is to be developed.
This should be good for Bath, but I have a few reservations now it has been announced Crest Nicholson is to be the main developer.
I would suggest the good people of Bath go to Bristol and look at the 'sympathetic and imaginative' development that Crest are doing here on the Harbourside development.
In my view they have built a dull and mediocre scheme right on a prime waterside site,this will not attract visitors to Bristol for its architectural merit.
The main office block is mentioned earlier in my Blog and is a really boring glass sided building with the 'ladder feature' on the front to try and hide what a mediocre building they have put up.
I have put up a picture for your view.
I love good exciting modern buildings like the Birmingham Bull Ring replacement and lots of examples in London,Sunderland etc.
Lets hope the bath planners have the guts to insist on some good original buildings.
Here is Bristols great example.

DAB Threat

2005-12-30T20:44:00.000+00:00

I have discovered IP delivery for audio via WiFi at home.
I am using a Squeezebox from SlimDevices.
This gives a wide choice of IP delivered audio from your PC or Mac via the Slimserver or direct from the internet.So you can play your iTunes library or play Radioio Jazz from Shoutcast with no computer at all.
This makes the poor bit rates of UK radio stations on the web really obvious.
It is really no good streaming windows media at 2ok or 32k,it sounds terrible.
Jazz FM or GWR Classic Golds streams are almost not worth bothering with.
The BBC streams are just acceptable,and you can play all their audio with the excellent Alien BBC plugin for the Slimserver.
What this also shows up is how far behind UK DAB is with too many channels crammed into too little bandwidth ,using an older compression codec ,MP2.
DAB needs either less channels or more bandwidth for the same number of channels,otherwise it is doomed to be 'digital medium wave'.
DRM+ in Band 2 VHF could finally provide quality delivery to home instead of DAB.
Once folks have broadband WiFi at home,it could be death to DAB at home,only car use maybe.
The broadcasters urgently need to use better codecs on the Web,such as AAC+?
Here is a picture I took at Stourhead Landscape Garden.

The Disappointment of DAB Radio

2005-10-25T20:42:00.000+01:00

We bought one of the first DAB radios,a Pure special which was £99. It was the first DAB to break the £100 barrier.
We love the ease of tuning and the station information but our first big disappointment was realising that Radio 4 on DAB was often mono,yet on FM it is in stereo.
Then came BBC7 another great channel,but in mono,also Oneword,but let down by really dreadful audio quality.
We now own a BUG,strange looking, but does great timer recordings to an SD card which you can then transfer to PC or Mac easily.
The main let down is the 'gritty' audio quality,and we have nearly 100% signal.
The bandwidth is certainly wasted in the commercial sector by lots of nearly identical 'pop' channels,we have GWR Bristol,GWR Bath,GWR Swindon/Wilts,all identical,well very nearly.There seems to be lots of duplication in the commercial sector and a lack of bandwidth planning in the BBC.
I thought the original idea of DAB was SFN,Single Frequency Network,i.e we would only be able to receive one GWR,not 3,or 2 Passions as an example.
I don't want to run down GWR too much,because without their commitment to investing in DAB chipsets we wouldn't even be using it.
DAB has become an excellent digital replacement for portables,mind you the reception problems for full UK coverage need some planning.
If you want quality radio reception then we use FM or Freeview into hifi.
The basic problem is that the MP2 coding does not hold up at low bit rates for good audio quality.
Thats my DAB moan over,here is a picture of Bath on a Saturday afternoon.

Plumbing

2005-10-19T21:43:00.000+01:00

I have to change the kitchen mixer tap this weekend,not a job I relish,though I have all the bits to do it and have researched the best approach,my neighbour has offered to help if I have problems.
I had a good rehearsal in St Johns Festival choir last night ,even though the altos were dreadful,I love the early music.Went for a couple of beers at the Green Tree pub afterwards,a great pub with excellent beer,and good company from some of my fellow singers.Only a slight hangover this morning.
Here is a picture of the Kennet & Avon Canal in Bath,taken last weekend.

Demise of the British Front Garden

2005-10-09T20:24:00.000+01:00

Am I the only one to notice how the British Front Garden is slowly disappearing in a sea of paviers and cars.
It seems to be fashionable to trash all living things in your front garden and pave it over and plant vehicles all over it.The purchase of an S.U.V. (4x4) almost guarantees the trashing of a front garden.
Maybe they should be called 'Shogun'/Range Rover or BMW gardens.
The RHS and BBC Gardeners World might consider running a campaign to promote nicely planted,pretty, front gardens.
We go on about conservation but need to practice it as individuals not rely on others.
Here is an autumn picture from Bristol Harbourside.

Jazz FM

2005-10-05T21:30:00.000+01:00

This is a whinge.
Jazz FM has become Smooth and Jazzfm.com on DAB in the West.
What has happened to any Jazz music?
It plays Soul,Fusion,Funk,anything but Jazz.I cannot locate' Dinner Jazz' with Helen Mayhew at all,we used to listen most nights.
Ofcom have let them take the output downmarket,I think they cannot really call themselves JazzFM under the Trades Description Act.The Trade Name should be bought sold to a real jazz provider,maybe BBC Radio 3 ,as they seem to play more Jazz than Jazz FM.
I think the Jazzfm.com DAB slot should be filled by any of the excellent American of French Jazz stations.Dont waste valuable bandwidth on this rubbish.
If you tune to ClassicFM you get classical music,not so with Jazz FM.
that's it rant over.
Here is a picture of Oldfield Park rail station,which I use regularly,taken at dawn the other day.
Wessex Trains have failed to provide regular ticket sales here for 6 months,but the station attracts the nicest set of passengers anyway,no bias here!!

Combe Down

2005-10-01T16:54:00.000+01:00

A lovely village on the outskirts of Bath,here is a garden in the village and its school,a good example of sensitive modern architecture.The stone mines under the village,from which most of the City of Bath are built, are currently being stabilised,i.e. filled in.
The bad news for the lab the does my MF and LF work,AvonColour in Bristol,is that they have laid of staff.
It seems there is just not enough film work to keep the pro labs going,the digital age is cutting a sythe through the photo busines s.It is just the same as happened to the 'print' business when DTP came along.

Bad Cold

2005-09-27T18:56:00.000+01:00

Have been off work with a bad cold,I get sore throats and sinus infections more as I age,not helped by my regular cycling between Bristol & Bath.
I am back singing with 2 choirs,St Johns Festival Choir and the Handful of Singers.
I am finding the commitment a difficult balance,though the Handful have improve my sight reading and confidence more than any other choir I have sung with.I bowed out of doing a solo ,straight after coming back off leave,I find it very stressful,even more so with only 2 weeks to prepare.
I have got all my photos reprinted free of charge and the man who runs the mini lab even through in a few free Kodak films,I will rescan them myself.
Here is another dusty scan from the same batch,this is Prior Park again.

Pembrokeshire

2005-09-17T20:46:00.000+01:00

We have had a good holiday in Pembrokeshire and stayed on the Stackpole estate,the area is very pretty.
Here is a picture from the Lily Ponds,sadly a terrible scan,the local lab has made the most terriible dusty scans and the prints are no better,I have sent the negs back for redoing!!.
We got caught up in the M4 fuel protests,on the way back, for which we have no sympathy.
As the oil gets more expensive they need to change their line of business if they cannot cope with change or invest in new technology.
We noticed how FAT!! the UK is getting while we were away,Mrs Thatchers trashing of Home Economics seems to mean all the familiies dont know how to prepare a good meal with vegetables any more and the food industry fills them full of fat and sugar to make a few bucks.It is partcularly noticable that men are getting shorter and fatter.
OK I've had my rant,here is my dusty scan of my picture from Stackpole.Thanks to Pembroke folks.

Bad Start

2005-09-03T20:21:00.000+01:00

Kept awake till 0415 a.m. by pissed up teenagers in the street.
At one particular house a few doors down,as soon as the parents are away,we get noise and bad behaviour.
The parents must shoulder most of the responsibility but the rest lies with brewers,Stella,Strongbow etc. and the local shops that sell it to under age youths.
The alcohol manufacturers need to sort their marketing and responsible sales side out otherwise we will vote for someone who will take them on.
Went to the amatuer gardening show at the Bath & West Showground,tried to go by train and bicycle but they provide no facilities for cyclists so ended up driving.
I had a nice time,the show was quite good,lots of interesting stalls.The giant Veg, could have been better presented ,but was great fun.I took a fair few pictures.
The National Dahlia Competition was impressive,but lit by sodium lights,so you could not really appreciate the colours properly.
We will go again,certainly worth the money,next time by train to Castle Cary,and bicycle to the show,if they sort out some facilities.
Here is a picture from the Farne islands from a recent holiday in Northumberland.