Hospitals - A&E

Public knows very little about hospitals and medicine in general.

I know alot about these two things.

Let me tell you some things.

Hospitals are scary places for patients. I empathise with them. They are sick, vulnerable and on top of that are thrust into an alien, somewhat-sinister, cold and clinical building. The decor is not exactly hotel-esque. In fact, the NHS does not even pretend to provide pleasant surroundings. The National Health Service is FREE at the point of delivery - and this means that money is not prioritised to providing fancy fountains or pretty paintings.

You have a problem, you call the ambulance or your husband/wife/son to take you to the Accident and Emergency Department.
You enter the swing doors and are given a triage (priority).
Triage clours go from RED (life or death emergency) to BLUE (can wait indefinitely), with other colours in between.
You then are either seen immediately, within five minutes, within one hour, within four hours or within your lifetime.

Now do not be tempted to complain if you have to wait long periods. Nobody is deliberately ignoring you. In fact, they would like nothing better than to clear the waiting room. It would afford some lovely relaxation time. If you do complain, or are rude, and are triaged green or blue, a doctor might put your file back a few times (by mistake of course) and your wait could become significantly longer.

Next, depending on your problem, your treatment will differ from this point. But, you will definitely be stripped and given a hospital gown (all the better to examine you in). You will have some sticky pads placed in an arc around your chest so that an electrical trace of your heart can be made (an ECG).

And you haven't even seen a doctor yet my lovelies.
I'll tell you about that next time.

Freaky Eaters: Cheese

I watched a programme on BBC Three a while ago. It was about this chap who hadn't aten anything except cheese for the past twenty years.

Cheese.

Twenty years.

Can you imagine such a person? How could he only eat one substance for such an extended period of time? Well, the fellow was not really a model human being. In fact, he was a well-below-par specimen. However, I just don't know how he got all the vitamis and minerals that he needed all those years.

The best bit was when his teary mother came on with wet eyes, wishing that they could all have a normal family meal in McDonald's. Yeah right.