What annoys people????

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solidarity
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Re: What annoys people????

Post by solidarity »

I'll be interested to see further discussion on this. I'd be surprised if there's a straightforward picture. There must be enough medics and other relevant professionals in rugby circles and the issue of mental health related to injury, loss of form, retirement etc is well enough known, so to have nothing in place would be scandalous. UR certainly used to have a pastoral support system in place but I don't know what happened to it more recently.

Like West, the cynic in me has little good to say about how players are too often treated. In a 'business' (as rugby now is) results, both on the field and in the bank accounts are what are important; too often players are a means to an end. Caring for them can look perilously like the care and attenton paid to gladiators in the distant past.
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Re: What annoys people????

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rumncoke wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 5:09 pm What i am saying is that if half the frivolous claims were binned Insurance might be cheaper and the payments to staff would be more equitable and need or desire for pay rises might be less ( the operative word is might since everybody is of the opinion they are worth more than they are being paid
Define frivolous. I would suggest that most frivolous cases are binned long before they even consider bringing them to court. The lawyers on both sides, with advice from independent medical opinion will know whether something is negligent or defendable. Only a very small percentage of cases make it to court - the rest are binned or settled very early in the process - a fact that indicates they either have merit or they don't. I.E. the frivolous ones do get binned. those with merit are recognised as such. The reason medical insurance premiums are relatively high is because on the rare occasion they are required to pay out, it is usually a relatively high amount of dosh that is awarded, and usually rightfully so. I say relatively high because they are probably not so high as you might think because (1) there are so many medical professionals paying them, ergo a lot of money collected by the insurance company, and (2) the number of claims is comparatively small, so payouts aren't that often. Most will only hear about the controversial ones that make it to the papers.
As for payments to staff, that is an entirely different matter as most don't even consider the relative cost of their insurance (a small percentage of their professional fees) against their salaries. Professional fees are simply accepted as something one must pay in order to practice their profession.
rumncoke wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 5:09 pm and in the case of the medical profession the fact is it is not a 9 - 5 job GPs have to read up on drugs etc -- consultants update and analysis data for any research being undertaken and research papers written relevant to their discipline as well as being on call etc or do private or semi private practice eg NHS ops in Kingsbridge or the Ulster clinic to reduce the backlog.
Firstly there is no single medical profession - there are many different medical professions with different ways and regulations relating to how they operate. The 9-5 argument is a non-starter as every health professional knows from the off that they have to keep up to date with current medicine, research knowledge, drugs etc. All engage in CME, CPD or whatever is relevent to their profession. If they bleat about that, they shouldn't be in their profession. Indeed it is one of my biggest concerns that there are some - frequently GPs - who towards the end of their working lives fail to keep up with the latest developments and run down the clock towards retirement and it is those practitioners who are most risk of getting things wrong. It is not only consultants who analyse data and carry out research, but they are the ones who do have a very large amount of time and flexibility built into their working weeks in which to carry out all those "extras". Its the PBI lower down in the medical ranks that end up doing that "outside of hours." Indeed many consultants have sufficient "free time" in the normal working week to allow them to practice privately through the likes of the Ulster independent and several other private practices.
It is only a relatively small number of NHS staff who engage in private or semi-private (whatever that is) practice with a disproportionate percentage of those being consultants. NHS ops are carried out in private clinics but are paid for at private rates by the NHS. Indeed some ops, medical procedures and consultations are also carried out in NHS settings and using NHS equipment etc by NHS staff out of hours (eg at weekends), for which the the NHS staff are paid at private rates (either directly or through the private clinics), on top of what they are paid for their "day job," so they are very well rewarded for doing so.
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Re: What annoys people????

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solidarity wrote: Sat Jan 01, 2022 9:45 pm Only a little quibble with what you've written Cap'n: 'What I would suggest though is that some* nurses spend too much time simply standing around chatting while doing no worthwhile work.' This should read, 'What I would suggest though is that a very few nurses spend too much time simply standing around chatting while doing no worthwhile work.' I know it's nit-picking but the number of slackers is and always has been very small.
I would accept that criticism - with one proviso.

The numbers are as you say small, but they are in my experience rising, and are certainly higher than in years gone by.

Of course that is true in many professions where the worker "knows his/her rights" and it is much more difficult for the person supervising someone's work to actually make them do that work if the individual is intent on slacking. Before you know it, the union is involved, or they're claiming that they are being bullied or victimised, and in many cases it's not worth the hassle to the supervisor to try to enforce a work ethic, so the slacker not only gets away with it, but others see that and wonder why they're slogging away when "clearly" they don't have to.
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solidarity
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Re: What annoys people????

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Cap'n Grumpy wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 10:40 am
solidarity wrote: Sat Jan 01, 2022 9:45 pm Only a little quibble with what you've written Cap'n: 'What I would suggest though is that some* nurses spend too much time simply standing around chatting while doing no worthwhile work.' This should read, 'What I would suggest though is that a very few nurses spend too much time simply standing around chatting while doing no worthwhile work.' I know it's nit-picking but the number of slackers is and always has been very small.
I would accept that criticism - with one proviso.

The numbers are as you say small, but they are in my experience rising, and are certainly higher than in years gone by.

Of course that is true in many professions where the worker "knows his/her rights" and it is much more difficult for the person supervising someone's work to actually make them do that work if the individual is intent on slacking. Before you know it, the union is involved, or they're claiming that they are being bullied or victimised, and in many cases it's not worth the hassle to the supervisor to try to enforce a work ethic, so the slacker not only gets away with it, but others see that and wonder why they're slogging away when "clearly" they don't have to.
Agreed, Cap'n.

'Calling' as a motivation for going into the medical disciplines seems to be being replaced by 'seeking personal fulfillment'. At the same time, practice has been increasingly driven by meeting targets and external assessment. This leads to a real clash, with consequent discontent. A discontented worker works to the rules and no more, rather than doing what is expected and even more. I'm all for pushing up standards but trying to do it while also pushing for increased efficiency is a recipe for trouble. Goodwill is lost and the exercise eventually becomes futile.
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Re: What annoys people????

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To a certain extent such slackers are normally allocated to less demanding areas of a Hospital where it is hoped that their fellow nurses shame them into pulling their weight

I must say That in all my visitations to Hospital i have seen very few total slackers -- yes there are those who spend some time talking but when the sh-t hits the fan they all run .
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Re: What annoys people????

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Anyway back to the Prostate saga and what annoys -- having your Radiation therapy appointments changed day by day --- its annoying but unavoidable due the backlog and varying demands of different patients

Will report thereon and bore life out of the lot of you at a later stage
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Re: What annoys people????

Post by big mervyn »

The sc@mbegs (for that's what most of them appear to be) in the Premium seats increasingly annoy me. Last night they saw fit to interrupt the last few seconds of the minute's silence for Tom Kiernan. Absolute lowlife.
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Re: What annoys people????

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rumncoke wrote: Sat Feb 05, 2022 10:59 am Anyway back to the Prostate saga and what annoys -- having your Radiation therapy appointments changed day by day --- its annoying but unavoidable due the backlog and varying demands of different patients

Will report thereon and bore life out of the lot of you at a later stage
Rum , all the best with your radiotherapy treatment, and feel free to 'bore away' on the topic as you feel necessary.

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Re: What annoys people????

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big mervyn wrote: Sat Feb 05, 2022 1:45 pm The sc@mbegs (for that's what most of them appear to be) in the Premium seats increasingly annoy me. Last night they saw fit to interrupt the last few seconds of the minute's silence for Tom Kiernan. Absolute lowlife.
Did you ask eventsec to throw them out? Isnt that what we're supposed these days? ;)
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Re: What annoys people????

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Rumnraisins ( radiation therapy )

After the oncologist has warned you of all the adverse side effects of radiation he /she will ask you to sign at the bottom of the page your willingness to face the consequences .

Basically for none metastatic prostate cancer there is a choice of treatments Surgery Radiation ( external and /or internal ) hormone and watchful waiting . Given my age and size - surgery was not on the menu . Given the size of my Prostate Internal Radiation ( Brachytherapy) was not advisable and given the GG ( gleason grade 4 ( 4-4 )) watchful waiting was a definite no-no thus the road to take was Hormone Therapy to shrink the prostate and tumour and then EBRT -- external beam radiation therapy .

Within Days of signing the consent I got a telephone call giving me a date for my first appointment to be confirm by letter and instructions and advice about preparation . Drink water practice trying to empty the bladder and then drink about 500 cc to see how long you can hold it ( try for in excess of 30 minutes )

Why because the prostate is a floating organ its place in the pelvis varies due either the fullness of rectum and bladder . for successful radiation it must be in the same place every day for the treatment (20 days )

Thus on your first visit a a nurse takes you aside hands you an micro enema and instructs you how to use it and the time period before it is effective ( within 15 minutes ) at that time you must then empty both rectum and bladder and thirty minutes before going into the radiation bay you must drink 500 cc two beakers full of water .

You do not receive radiation on your first visit it is call a " stimulation " you are marked in three place ( hips and stomach ) scanned and then tattooed ( three pin head marks ) and these are then used to ensure you are in the same position for each treatment .

You are then sent home to wait as the radiologists plan your treatment and write the computer program to deliver the radiation to the prostate trying to avoid excess radiation to rectum ,bladder and small bowel -- excess radiation to those organs may result in adverse
side effects so delightfully identified by your onocologist .

Thus each treatment of radiation requires about an hours preparation before being set on the table with head and legs immobilised .

Your on the table for about 15 minutes about 5 + minutes are spent placing you on the table and another 5 minutes are spent doing a scan to align the prostate by adjusting the table and then about 3-4 minutes of actual radiation ( which you don't feel ) but after a week or two you do have some minor side effects but they are basically of things you will have experienced before ( urge no surge ) (frequency and urgency) and( super soft airy stools .) I have as yet avoid the real nasty ones ( visible Blood in stool or urine )

The truth is the advances in imagery , computerisation of treatment and improvements in the radiation machines radiation therapy is nothing like that experience by patients 10 -15 years ago.

And all radiologists seem to young twenty year old females ( males are definitely in a minority .

Radiation therapy is provided in the Cancer Centre in through the doors and turn left the first waiting area is for those waiting for stimulation or to provide bloods ( soon after you start you have a blood test ) the treatment area is further up the corridor with a turn right and a walk down a corridor to a receptionist and large waiting area due to covid and social distancing at least 1/2 the seats are out of use and you may only be accompanied if it is essential.

The waiting area is normal full with people playing musically chairs ie go to the loo and its gone The treatment areas area to the left and right of the reception desk entering the waiting area Linacs 1-4 are on the left and 5 -10 on the right with a loo in the corridor down to the waiting room and one close to each set of Linacs .

Being Prostate you're usually called a minute or two either side of your appointment time ( because of the hours prep ) and you tell the men in for prostate treatment they are the ones carrying an enema, running to the loo, or drinking water .
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Re: What annoys people????

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Keep her lit.
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Re: What annoys people????

Post by big mervyn »

Interesting insight there Rum. Glad to hear you're getting timely treatment at least. Radiology is a very competitive speciality in medicine. They work regular hours which would appeal to girls who want to start a family. The majority of younger doctors are female these days (prob about 60% of graduates) because they're smarter and work harder in school, at least, thats what my daughter tells me!
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Re: What annoys people????

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Thanks for the information and for your reflections on it, Rum. I think we're all learning and, hopefully, in our own wee way, walking along with and encouraging you.
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Re: What annoys people????

Post by Bobbievee »

In the circumstances Rumn your recall and attention of detail is remarkable........And informarive.
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Re: What annoys people????

Post by rumncoke »

it is of course a personal experience each patient is different and provided the cancer is diagnosed early and has not spread to Lymph nodes or other organs the disease is treatable with a remarkable degree of success .

My relating of my experience is basically a bit of therapy for me and I hope an encouragement to others to avoid delaying a diagnosis .

I recently had a friend phoned me up saying his PSA was up from 4 to 6 and he was being referred to an urologist and was highly stressed

I informed him the first thing his urologist would do would be to obtain a MRI scan if the scan showed any abnormality he would do a biopsy but to remember that the odds a only 1 in 4 for a PSA under 10 and 50/50 for a PSA between 10- 20 and that at the moment the odds were with him he was at the start of a possible long journey .

The time to be stressed is after the Biopsy waiting for the letter and then if your biopsy shows high grade ( grade 4 =4+4 ) cancer and you face more scans to fined out if it ha s spread . That latter waiting time for results is the most stressful because stage 4 cancer is only treatable it can not be cured or the patient be described as in remission , because whist cancer may be removed there is always the possibility it may return.

Local prostate cancer has a 5 year cancer free time span of 98 %
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