Post 390: An easy day can flip in an instant.
I’m so bloody fed up I could cry.
Today started off ok with the car auction place emailing me with the photos and the advert for my Volvo’s sale. There was a problem with the advert write-up so that’s where a comical toing and froing started, but after a few goes we had the ad as tight as a nut. So I pressed the confirm button and hey-presto, the ad went live.
It was about 10:15 and my alarm went off; one hour until my blood test at the surgery.
The problem started just around here with my first of many Anima requests today…
I haven’t got the actual words but I was basically asking for an appointment on Tuesday next week (which is the last day of my sick note) to ask for a “fit note” for a couple of months, only working two hours each of three days to start with (2 hours Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday).
I received their first reply during of after I had been to the vampire, well when I got home. Oh! I hear you say “vampire?” — yes, I know, I shouldn’t say that but she’ll forgive me I’m sure I know her very well.
In fact we had the longest chat ever after she drained my left arm without any fuss at all. I guess I’ve been drinking enough water thank goodness.
The chat was right on topic actually because I was happy to be moaning about Anima and the whole takeover situation at the practice.
First: the doctors are mainly those temporary ones, not contracted, ohhhhh. (sorry I’ve got brain fog right now, I’ve forgotten their generic name you know the ones) — so I’m unlikely to meet the same doc twice now at this practice. Also the whole group is under a strict new corporation which discriminates between patients and has new contracts for all staff to abide by, soon enough. So this is a transitioning period and the ground under everyone is unstable.
I feel very sorry for the staff at both locations which are 5 miles apart. I wonder how long it is before I have appointments at the farther site, not the nearer one I’m used to?
But also I know how the big corporation owners will thump the table and get everyone to fall in line, patients and staff. We shall see how it shapes up in two months’ time when the 90 days are up for their contracts to be signed apparently.
Anyway, when I got home, here’s the answer from someone from Anima who doesn’t know me from Adam (or Eve to be honest). I wonder if it’s our new friend; Ai? Gulp!
“We are unable to provide a certificate before the previous one runs out - Please can you submit your request on or after the 20.5.26 (Wednesday).
The GP has also advised that we cant advise on employment matters and suggests you discuss this with your workplace, benefits people and citizens advice.”
I so don’t agree: I mentioned that the limit on hours worked is essential due to the DWP and my workplace who need to know there’s a plan suitable for me to return to work. Which is what we discussed with HR yesterday at work.
—————
So it’s here that I started to lose the plot…
My Darling was out with her bestie and they were both at the “new” hairdressers, new to them, out of town for the first time. So I had no one to talk to to balance my mind.
Obviously, I’m at home with my phone pinging away every few seconds which is because of the twenty or so people I’ve contacted and sent the auction link to, who have shared it: of course I’ve asked them all if they would mind sharing it.
So, it seems like everyone I’ve contacted has done me the good service of sharing — hence the phone pinging at a good rate of knots.
Most people are so happy to help, and I’m so very grateful.
But in amongst the Volvo pings I’m also getting others. Namely the surgery.
I’ve tried to watch the TV to calm down a bit, but I’m struggling to be honest.
I sent another Anima, as you know, asking for six of the best (six questions not thwacks with a belt or stick) or did I already tell you? I’m sorry if I’m repeating myself.
Well I filled out an Anima request along the lines of — my lungs are not good as I keep waking up from a doze with a huge intake of air and then breathlessness.
This Anima form carried on for ages with questions about my bowels and mental state along with all sorts of things not relevant to my way of thinking, but finished with a flourish about my sick/fit note. Yes it covered all parts of my body etc. So it was done.
The reply was sorted and the pinging kept going on with all the kindly shares.
Their reply was completely nuts but asked me “if I would like to explain what I preferred to talk about with the doctor”…
Well. As you know I’m a shrinking violet when it comes to these matters so I asked nervously in a shy reply…
Dear Anima,
1: A health review on Tuesday 19th May regarding a possible return to work fit note with provisos to limit my working hours and be classified fit by a GP to fulfil requirements at work.
2: To ascertain how long I’ll have to wait for the paperwork (handed over 3 weeks ago) for a GP to sign, regarding a Serious Ill Health Claim Form (Aviva pensions).
3: To ask about occasional breathlessness recently, will that be dealt with at a forthcoming atrial fibrillation annual check-up tba. soon.
4: Counselling for my continual tearfulness.
5: A push for frozen shoulder physiotherapy that has been asked for 4 months ago, and especially necessary now after the steroid/water/anaesthetic injection at the Conquest Hospital.
Lastly.
6: A question about whether the cancer care coordinator is still available to me?
(End)
After a good while, the last Anima linky thing (sorry, the fog has covered me again) of the day arrived in my inbox, it was the reply to my six simple tasks…
“Hi Mr U,
We’ve looked at your request and the GP has created the following plan:
-We have scheduled a double appointment face to face for you with Dr Salman on Friday 22nd May at 9.15am at Seaforth Surgery. This will include discussing the continual breathlessness, the acute symptoms you are currently experiencing and shoulder physiotherapy referral.
-The doctor has noted there is no clinical need to say someone is “Fit to work”.
-Regarding your paperwork I can confirm an SR1 form was completed by the doctor and sent to DWP on 12/5.
-Regarding the cancer care co-ordinator this can be discussed further in your GP appointment and they will refer onwards to any other care providers for you.
Kind regards,
Anima”
(End)
You can imagine my mental state after reading that! I was livid for me being so incomprehensible that they answered the questions wrongly. Damn. My fault.
Meanwhile my Darling was back with her hair beautifully coiffured and with her was her bestie.
I did the right thing and remarked on how lovely her hair was and her bestie’s hair too. Ping, one gold star for me.
I thought that was it with the girls but while I was “liking” all of the pinged shared posts my Darling plonked her bestie, whom I know well luckily, on the sofa near me, in my TV chair with my mind in overdrive, wondering who to shoot first with my potato-gun, in the surgery, or should I shoot myself for my poor comprehension? (Answers in post replies please).
So I asked the bestie, politely, how she was and my Darling uttered a few interesting words as she flew out the door with an urge to check the plumbing (if you’re with me). The words were something like “tell him all about it, he’s a good listener”.
Well, that is the case, but putting someone who I know just well enough to chat to is one thing, but to listen to whatever was on her mind, was quite another.
She was put on the spot as much as I but I quickly made her comfortable with a little chat about nothing much and as she was getting relaxed she started to look me in the eyes and open up to me when, my Darling came crashing in with cups of coffee for us all.
Damn.
To cut to the end of this incredible interlude that I will never divulge a word of it to to anyone, ever, due to its sensitive nature, we had that chat and some words came out of her mind that I really think she needed to. So she left us a little more relaxed than she came in, bless her.
So after I calmed down and caught up with another incredible amount of missed pings I got back to thinking about the hopeless last reply from the surgery.
“Hi Mr U,
We’ve looked at your request and the GP has created the following plan:
-We have scheduled a double appointment face to face for you with Dr Salman on Friday 22nd May at 9.15am at Seaforth Surgery. This will include discussing the continual breathlessness, the acute symptoms you are currently experiencing and shoulder physiotherapy referral.
-The doctor has noted there is no clinical need to say someone is “Fit to work”.
-Regarding your paperwork I can confirm an SR1 form was completed by the doctor and sent to DWP on 12/5.
-Regarding the cancer care co-ordinator this can be discussed further in your GP appointment and they will refer onwards to any other care providers for you.
Kind regards,
Anima”
So I gave up on the whole shebang and dozed and gasped frantically with associated breathlessness until I got back to thinking I really can’t leave these wrongs in the system beside my name as a patient, I need to fix them.
So here we go…
In the end, I found the dusty email address for the cancer care coordinator of old and formulated a letter of explanation as an urgent request.
(I will abbreviate the stuff you’ve already read with …/…)
“Hi Cancer Care Coordinator,
I hope this is read by someone that can pass on and understand what I am saying.
This is still urgent.
I am finding this Anima very hard to use, causing anxiety I really don’t need and instead of making this easier it is making things harder and more time consuming.
I asked for 6 things via Anima today:
“1: A health review on Tuesday 19th May regarding a possible return to work fit note with…
…6: A question about whether the cancer care coordinator is still available to me?”
This is what was sent to me in return this afternoon.
“Hi Mr U,
We’ve looked at your request and the GP has created…
…in your GP appointment and they will refer onwards to any other care providers for you.
Kind regards,
Anima”
Conclusion:
What I would love is the paperwork I gave you to sign three weeks ago to be signed and returned to me please. This form is a time-sensitive matter and I’m fed up with being fobbed off by the reception saying we will call you when it’s done and Anima not understanding what I want (today), which is my fault that I’m not better at explaining myself.
(It has nothing to do with the DWP SR1 form from last December.)
I also want a phased return to work with two hours three times a week as the start point — to be started on Tuesday. I have had phased return sick notes before and would like this to clarify what I can do at work for now.
Yours sincerely
Mr Unremarkable
Stage 4 Prostate Cancer
PS
I thought after the apology two weeks ago from the practice about timely replies for my questions I would never have to deal with this annoying paperwork about timely answers to simple questions again.
Kind regards
Mr U”
(End)
We shall see if anyone reads it or not and replies or not.
If not; what will I do?
And so ended this discussion with Anima with the distraction of pings and a bit of counselling.
I have to leave it here or you’ll throw something at this screen.
Suffice to say:
Thank you for reading.
Thank you for always being there.
Thank you, you really do help me get through the day with your kind and very observant and elequent replies.
Good night
Take care xx
PS
Locum, that was the word that brain fog hid from me, or as it should be spoken — locum tenens physician.
