N H STRESS

What is the last thing you need when you are dealing with unexpected side effects,


More stress.


It actually started on Wednesday when, following the PICC being put in I struggled with moving my neck & shoulder. When I mentioned it to the nurse at the hospital her words 'Well it can't be the PICC' my immediate reaction, which I wish I had had the balls to say was 'Why?' 


My neck & shoulder were fine on Tuesday but since you inserted the PICC line they haven't felt normal and today (a week on) I am struggling with lifting my arm above my head, turning my head and lifting the kids :( This could be a long 6 months.


The stress levels were ramped up a gear on Friday afternoon when the district nurse turned up to 'disconnect my pump'. I don't have a pump, am not having a pump and was told the district nurse would be coming on Wednesday to flush the line and change the dressing. She then asked me whether I had collected my prescription. 


What?! I knew nothing about a prescription, although she had a photocopy of it which had been sent to the surgery and hence to the pharmacist (more on this later). The surgery had actually phoned me earlier to tell me I had filled in the wrong form for prescription exemption and to ask me where I had got it from. Umm, well actually you gave it to me and helped me fill it in almost a month ago. 


And so to Monday, where I got my next appointment through the post - for ....


26/11 ( yes this is what is written on my appointment card)


Now I knew it was supposed to be 26/10 but I rang them anyway to check and request a blood form as I thought I was supposed to have my blood tests done the day before anyway. Again the receptionist despite having my details in front of her didn't seem to understand the situation. Her initial response 'thats right, 26/11!!!'


And so to today & the prescription drama continues. 


I go to the GP's surgery to fill out the correct prescription exemption form and manage to get out of them that their is a prescription at the pharmacist for me to collect. So I trot over to the pharmacist to get it and explain that due to the surgery giving me the incorrect form I haven't got an exemption yet but am supposed to have one but can prove that I am having chemo etc and they can deal with that. However the prescription only arrived at the pharmacist that morning, they need 48 hours to fill it. 


Ok thats fine, its not my fault & almost not even my problem because if the district nurse hadn't shown up on Friday I wouldn't have even known I was supposed to have one. They said that they should be able to get it in for the morning and would give me a call when it was there so I could go and get it. 


10 minutes later my phone rings. Its the pharmacy. We won't be able to get your prescription filled by tomorrow as it takes 3 working days to order. 


Right now I have had enough.


I don't care, I say to the pharmacist. I didn't even know I was supposed to have a prescription, I don't even know what it is for, No one told me about it at the hospital. etc etc.


'What do you want me to do?' She asks


Well I suppose I will still need it eventually so you may as well order it but don't expect me to be happy about it. 


So in conclusion


The district nurse came to disconnect the pump I don't have and told me about a prescription I didn't know I needed
The GP gave me & helped me fill in the wrong form for prescription exemption charges
The pharmacist cannot get the prescription I supposedly need for tomorrow when the nurse is supposed to be coming to flush my line. 


Does this sound like a customer friendly service?