Magic, NHS, and Jan's home

3 August 2012

Friday morning and we have a nice sunny day, if a little breezy.  Jan got back here around 6.30pm last evening having had a reasonable couple of days at her sisters.  However, she had a pigeon strike the windscreen on the M40 on the way down to Ringwood.  It had so hard that it bent the wiper arm that had to be replaced.  Then she was hit by a guy while on her scooter as he drove out of his drive but was looking just one way and hadn't seen her.  Overall though she wasn't hurt all much, just whiplash from the bird strike as she did and emergency stop.  Whatever, she still had a great time with her sister.

At sometime the Hussy Hospital will finally get its act together properly and will find a partner so that it can get the Foundation Trust status it is after.  There's another delay now, this time from the Department of Health who haven't given any idea as to how long the delay will be.  The patients will just go on as usual and get treated in just the same way as they always have done, no matter what happens to the management of the place. 

I have to be honest though and say that I am concerned that they are still looking for a private company to tie up with.  All private companies are interested in is making money and even when it comes to health care, making money will take prime place over patient care.  A recent incident where care was put out to a private company in the Birmingham area.  This involved the provision of kidney dialysis.  Major problems were casued by the company when they reduced the number of nursing staff which led to major delays to patients.   

There was an unannounced inspection that found that the staff level was far too low to provide the care needed and the company is now scatting around looking to replace the staff it had already let go.  This will be an ongoing problem throughout the NHS as more and more of it is put in the hands of the private sector.  This is something we all need to think about and keep an eye on!

Today's picture is one I think I have posted before but it fits in with what I have been saying here ... 

This is the statue at the entrance to the Hussy Hospital.  Well, close to the entrance but really it's seen much better as you leave the site!  Say's a lot that does. 

And today's funny fits in with my view of the House Windsor ...

Prince Charles was driving around his mother's estate when he accidentally ran over her favorite corgi, crushing it to a pulp. He got out of his Range Rover and sat down on the grass totally distraught.  The whole world was against him and now his mother the Queen would go ballistic.
Suddenly he noticed a lamp half-buried in the ground. He dug it up, polished it and immediately a genie appeared..."You have freed me from thousands of years of imprisonment," said the genie. "As a reward I shall grant you one wish."
"Well," said the Prince, "I have all the material things I need, but let me show you this dog."
They walk over to the splattered remains of the dog. "Do you think you could bring this corgi back to life for me?" the Prince asked.
The genie carefully looked at the remains and shook his head. "This body is too far gone for even me to bring it back to life. Is there something else you would like?"
The Prince thought for a minute, reached into his pocket and pulled out two photos. "I was married to this beautiful woman called Diana," said Prince Charles, showing the genie the first photo, "But now I love this woman called Camilla," and he showed the genie the second photo. "You see Camilla isn't beautiful at all, so do you think you can make Camilla as beautiful as Diana?"
The genie studied the two photographs and after a few minutes said, "Let's have a look at that dog again."