How Did Today Go Emmie??

[Smowball]

Many of us have been wondering how your hospital appointment went this morning - did you manage to even get down your stairs to your transport?? If so then how did the hospital go - did the consultant offer any positive help??
Let us know when you can. Much love x

[pat2604]

O agree in some ways with Bedbobs. I have arthritis everywhere and a spine that in a terrible state. I still do stairs sometimes on all fours. I have learned to live with pain.

Pain clinics can be very helpul

However four flights of stairs would finish me off!!

Hopefully you can get some new knees. My Aunt had both replaced at the same time! Xx

[barry1010]

Good grief, emmie, how long have you been housebound?

[jennyjoan]

I;m sorry to hear that it went wrong Emmie but you know I didn't want to put you off re the stairs. I sort of thought you needed to explain more thoroughly via "the authorities" how you needed more help. I just had that basic instinct for you that you needed that extra help (sorry for repeating).

I'm sure there are other patients that have had that extra help and so next time if you get a face to face to appointment you will have to emphasise how hard it is for you to go down the stairs.

As somebody has said Emmie you will maybe have to think about ground floor apartment. I know wheremy friends are in - if they are higher up the building when if another person "dies" below you can be transferred to the ground floor.

Also as somebody has explained you now have an extreme phobia (I understand) of these stairs that you have now become frightened.

Next time STRESS the need for more paramedical help - also apart from the appointment - you need to get out of the building as well.

Good luck Emmie.

[anneasquith]

Emmie, if you had gone for the appointment, even late you may well have been seen. 4 paramedics and a stretcher ? Doubt you will get that. They sent two ambulance transport , and a chair. With effort they obviously believe that was sufficient .

[pat2604]

JJ is right you need fo get out or you will end up like I did, depressed with no confidence. At the very least you need visitors.

I have a bit more confidence now but the answer is to move because with two new knees you won't get up and down stairs for a while - not all those flights for a long while and it will put you at risk.

I would have to move if I lived alone because I wouldn't be able to get out.

[Smowball]

Sorry Emmie hun, I didn’t realise that you’d seen this and had replied. Have you complained strongly to Patient Transport!??

[Smowball]

Am think thinking that with 2 paramedics you can get down the stairs part on your bottom, at your own pace, and then the paramedics get you across the landing part to the top part the next flight of stairs down, for you to make your own way down on your bottom again. Does that make sense??

[anneasquith]

S, are you saying E should go down the stairs on her bottom and the transport team ( not paramedics) will assist on the landings ?
The transport team have a chair to assist them ?

[emmie]

Bednobs

i am not confident at all, yes i get around the flat, but i sit a lot of the time, because of the pain in the whole left leg not just the knee, it's referred pain i believe.

JJ & AA, i was phoned by patient transport on the 28th the day before my appointment, that my appointment was set and to be ready two hours before hand, and that they were sending 4 paramedics, it was until yesterday morning that planned was changed. I don't know why.



Barry since 4th Feb...

[emmie]

i did complain to the patient transport lass who took my call, and she said she would e mail the supervisor about the fact that the ambulance came too late.

[emmie]

have just spent 2 and a half frustrating hours trying to get some one at the clinic to rearrange my appointment, one number after another goes to a full voicemail box, have finally got a dept secretary, who says they will get somebody to call me back. grrrrr.

[Barmaid]

Emmie/Smowball, please feel free to tell me to butt out and keep on the topic of this thread and you have probably already done this but...

Have you contacted Adult Social Care about your living arrangements? They cannot do anything you do not want them to do, but your current housing arrangement is "not fit for purpose" (that's not a legal opinion) and is limiting your mobility - although I guess that this is subject to the medical opinion as to whether your mobility can be medically improved.

There may be charities who could also help.

But what a horrid situation for you.

[Smowball]

Hi anneasquith - yes I was suggesting that, purely so that Emmie would feel a bit more in control on the stairs and nothing less…..x
Barmaid - I completely agree with you 100% x.

[theshedman]

Sorry to hear that you didn't get to your appointment yesterday emmie. The ambulance crew have a special chair here for getting patients down stairs so no doubt they have similar in London. Only takes 2 of them to use it. The main problem seems to be that they didn't turn up which is wrong after it being arranged.

[naomi24]

I can't help thinking that if you had gone with the ambulance, whoever you were going to see would have fitted you in. Shame you didn't give it a go.

[calmck]

Have to agree that paramedics are not needed to get anyone downstairs unless there is a medical emergency. A competent patient transport team should be able to get most people downstairs. As nurses we were trained in emergency transport and practised evacuating down stairs using sheets and blankets .

[pixie374]

Emmie, can I suggest you ring the hospital to find out what to do if Patient transport is late again?
We have always found that clients "have" been seen anyway, not their fault. But, I appreciate it's a big risk to get down the stairs, arrive, wait half the day to do it all again in reverse, on a "maybe". A lot of stress and hassle. I would ask them, if that happens next time, should you still go.

[sandra4444]

This situation seems very strange. Never known 4 paramedics needed for one person to be transported. Plus appointments are normally made in blocks of x amount of people, and appointment times never run on time. You can have an appointment at 10am and not be seen until 11.30. You should have gone, I would have done with so much pain.

[naomi24]

Sandra makes a good point. No doubt some, if not all, of the other passengers in the ambulance were late for their appointments too.

[pastafreak]

I agree with Naomi. They did arrive, and I'm sure allowances are made for paramedics running late.
I also believe that limiting your movement cannot be a good thing, and will only result in less mobility...in spite of pain.

Possibly unhelpful, but when my annoying, sometimes painful knee pain got worse and I couldn't get a Drs appointment, in desperation I looked into other ways to reduce the discomfort. Diet cane up as a cause of inflammation/pain in arthritis for some people. After not having any for ages, I'd recently been eating a lot of bread (wheat), which I immediately discontinued. Pain reduced considerably so I'm can just take paracetamol now. Some may knock it...but it worked for me.
I too have stairs...2 flights down to street level, and one in my flat. I HAD to keep moving.
Whatever you do, I hope you do not have to wait for long to get some action. I'd be either shouting or crying down the phone if I'd been waiting as long as you have.