Whose decision?

The fun with the good folks at UCLH continues unabated, albeit at a much slower pace than Medway (seriously, everything takes even longer!). Now that part of my brain has been trained by the NHS to have very low expectations, the long gaps between anything happening are starting to feel normal; it is just the way the NHS works, or not............

After the fun with the "walk-in" / "Drop-in" clinic last week, two letters arrived on Tuesday: one giving me an appointment for the walk-in pre-assessment clinic (done it), the other informing me that I would have a biopsy in the day surgery unit on 10th February  at 07:30 and inviting me to telephone the "Pathway Co-ordinator" to confirm that I would go. Easy........?

Telephoned the number, engaged. Telephoned again, engaged. Telephoned again, engaged. This went on for a good 10 minutes, then the the other end crackled into life; an answerphone with a promise that I would be called back within 48 hours! Left my details.

Half an hour later, I could not resist trying again. This time, the phone was answered by a pleasant woman to whom I confirmed my intention to attend. I asked her whether there was someone I could talk to about not wanting to be sedated for the procedure. Her answer was almost that she had received a call from the per-assessment nurse to let the team know that I do not wish to be sedated and that an email had been sent to them, but that I could not talk directly to the team until the day of the biopsy. She threw in a gratuitous "if you have a high pain threshold". Wow, talk about putting someone at their ease.

II would like to think that on the day, people will listen to me, provide entonox or something similarly short acting and I will be home by coffee time. Unfortunately I have a vision of how it will really play out which involves a stroppy clinical team telling me that I have to sedated with IV drugs and that  entonox is not an option..................we shall see.

As for a song, hard to think of something suitable. The title of this one should be the NHS anthem.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IGIMtfLrm0