. . . . slips in quietly . . . . and goes again!

Its good to TRY and be positive. There is plenty of great help and advice on this wonderful site for those who need a hand to hold through the rough times.

Time for bed soon. Its been a long night!! But I can hang around for a bit more mischief!!

Yep . . . last New Year! heres hoping for a better one for all.

So it .. . . . . was! X

Hi CD!! XX

Tis me! Tis Mine!

Oh I did Caro!!!!Sneaky?? Me?? Never!!!Big Happy New Year Wishes X

Yep it may do!

Not for a few more hours!! so I can continue with some mischief!!

Morning all X

Not so fast you lot . . . . . Im watching X

It's completely mad, but traditional to the area.But now it is not covered by any insurance so the Organisers had to pull out of organising it all.They all worked volentarily anyway and the main Organiser has now sadly died. Last year was an Un-official Cheese Rolling and now they can't have the Cheese!!!

This is Health and Safety gone mad!!! A cheese-maker has been told by police she may be liable for legal action if she supplies Gloucester's famous annual cheese-rolling event.

Hello t2000. I hope that your Dad is now on the road to recovery. Key Hole surgery comes with risks as does conventinal full surgery. It is performed by highly skilled surgeons and is suitable for all patients where you can reduce the time they have to undergo a full anaesthetic and the reduce the length of time in surgery as well as the post operative recovery time. This should have all been explained when your father signed his consent form. If there was a bleed during surgery, whether keyhole or full open surgery, the surgical view is temporarily limited until the bleeding point is identified and tied off, and the flow of blood is stopped. This would be followed with suctioning of the pooled blood and washout with further suction to clear the space. It is unfortunate that damage was done to your fathers bowel. Surgeons are VERY carefull not to cause damage during surgery. The appendix is attatched to the junction of the small bowel into the large bowel, so these are the organs that would have been visable in the surgery. Your fathers colostomy will be a temporary measure to allow the bowel to recover and heal fully. It's like a leaky water pipe, at some point you will have to turn off the water to mend the hole. When your father has recovered, and this time is not set in stone, it will depend on his fitness and any underlying conditions, his colostomy will be reversed and his bowel will continue to work as normal. I'm glad that you have had a full apology from your fathers Surgeon. Speak to PALS about claiming for travelling expenses and see if the hospital has concessions for parking for long term hospitalised patients. The ultimate aim here is that your father makes a full recovery and does not suffer any long term effects. Best of luck to your Dad x

Welcome back Ducky x

Hi Followme. An interesting debate. I think that if you have a genuine concern then take it up with the staff AT THE TIME OF DISCOVERY. Allow them to redress what has happened and try to put things right, to allow for an explanation for what has happened and to apologise. People who have concerns have every right to speak out AT THAT TIME. Don't leave it 3 months after getting home and talking to friends who advise suing for money. Speak to the Hospital LIASE or PALS staff. Incident forms ARE completed for incidents and Root Cause Analysis procedures break down the flow of the incident to identify where the errors happened and what can be changed to prevent it happening again. We all deserve and expect the NHS to work when we or friends and family are sick. Short staffing will always be the biggest battle to acheive but we are all desperately trying to acheive this. The lifting of the Wistleblowing Clause may make a start but staff are still intimidated that they may loose their job. Unions are fighting but progress is slow.

That will keep UK out of mischief 'termi!!

Gudday Croc! makes me sound Aussie!! Great place to be able to offer help to others too if you can. It's a very helpful place to be.

Hi moll61.Your medication needs a full review by your doctor on Monday to include what you have been taking, what you are on now and the effects they are having on you.Write down a list of questions and make sure that you get them all answered, and are clear of the answers, before you leave the surgery.Explain that this is all very frustrating for you and you may come away from the surgery with a clearer mind.Best of luck x

NHS Scotland Plus the 14 Regional NHS Boards NHS Wales NHS Ireland

Just thought I would put some info together for peeps. NHS Complaints procedure Most medical care and treatment goes well, but things occasionally go wrong, and you may want to complain. So where do you start? Every NHS organisation has a complaints procedure. To find out about it, ask a member of staff, look on the hospital or trust's website, or contact the complaints department for more information. You may want to make positive comments on the care and services that you've received. These comments are just as important because they tell NHS organisations which factors are contributing to a good experience for patients. If you wish to make a complaint about an NHS organisation, contact them directly first. If you're not sure where to start or how to get in touch with an NHS body or independent regulator, try one of the following options. Complaint against an NHS Practitioner If you think an NHS practitioner or social services employee has been guilty of professional misconduct, you can complain to their professional or regulatory body. Examples of professional misconduct include: practitioners who have a sexual relationship with a patient, practitioners who claim that they're competent to practise but are not, practitioners who falsely claim that they're qualified to practise, breaching confidentiality, and manipulating patient's medical records. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman If you have tried the NHS complaints procedure but are dissatisfied with the response to your complaint, contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. The Ombudsman carries out independent investigations into complaints about government departments, their agencies and the NHS. Include the following details in your complaint: your name, address and telephone number, name and contact details of anyone helping you with the complaint, name and contact details of the healthcare provider you wish to complain about, the factual details of your complaint (listing the main events and when they happened), why you think your previous complaint wasn’t resolved to your satisfaction, and how this has caused you injustice, details of the complaints you've already made to the healthcare provider and the outcome of their investigations, and copies of any relevant documents (it's usually helpful to number these and provide a list). Keep copies of everything you post, and make a note of when you send it. The healthcare professional regulators in England are: Doctors: the General Medical Council, Nurses and midwives: the Nursing and Midwifery Council Dentists, dental hygienists and dental therapists: the General Dental Council. Dispensing opticians and optometrists: the General Optical Council. Pharmacists: the General Pharmaceutical Council. Arts therapists, biomedical scientists, chiropodists and podiatrists, clinical scientists, dietitians, occupational therapists, operating department practitioners, orthoptists, paramedics, physiotherapists, practitioner psychologists, prosthetists and orthotists, radiographers, speech and language therapists and social workers in England: the Health and Care Professionals Council. Osteopaths: the General Osteopathic Council. Chiropractors: the General Chiropractic Council. Please feel free to add or shout for more info.

The structure of the NHS is undergoing some change from April 2013 - here

Help from NHS Choices on making a complaint here

Interesting read in the Guardian here about A&E waiting time targets being missed. Statistics for A&E can be found on the Department of Health website here I'm sure you are complaining for a better understanding into the delays in your wifes A&E care, and her unacceptable waiting time on a trolley whilst in the early stages of pregnancy. Also possible lack of dignity. If you can get this explanation it may help you to move on and look forward to the happy arrival of your new baby. It will also go to hopefully making a difference to anybody else attending A&E and waiting for treatment.