The bureaucracy suffered by the mobility impaired would tempt Kafka out of his grave...
First - transport to my physio appointment. Now that I am living alone I no longer get a lift from my carer. This leaves me three options. First - patient transport. This involves (currently) booking in three weeks ahead. Once you have made the booking, on the appointed day you have to be ready for the bus at least 2 hours before it may arrive because a number of patients are picked up on the way. And of course, we then all have our appointments are are returned home again. On the upside, it is fit for purpose re the vehicle, and its free. The downside is the inordinate amount of time it takes which is tiring, and having to be up early - which is only problematic for me because of my medication. I'm a bit groggy in the mornings.
Second option is Handicabs - a registered charity which provides low cost taxi services for the mobility impaired. However, because resources are limited, the rules of the service limit me to one advance booking at a time to any one location. In essence this means I can only use it once a week to get to the hospital. Again, its fit for purpose and there is no waiting around. In addition it is cheap.
The third option is using a mini cab at the usual rates. I cant' get into a black cab, and cant use a bus yet as the bus stops are too far away. Today I couldn't use Handicabs as I already have a booking for Wednesday, and I couldn't use patient transport because I hadn't booked it in time, not understanding how long I would have to wait. The taxi fare for my 30 minute physio appointment was £20. If I used this option all the time it would cost me £60 a week in fares. On the upside I met Albert on the way out, and Davey on the way back. I didn't have to wait. And we even had a wee adventure in the snow on what was billed as the worst weather for decades.
Then, in the afternoon, three calls from the Occupational Health Team - first there was no record of my pick up stick (last week I was assured the paperwork had been done on the 27th), the second call found it and the third assured me that it will arrive on I Wednesday - along with a shoe horn that I didn't order...
Then organising a cleaner: found a firm on the Internet, visited by the woman (ex Londoner) who runs the franchise in Edinburgh. All sounds wonderful, reasonable prices, cleaners paid £6.50 an hour (well above the minimum wage) - but the cleaners are not insured to clean the oven - too many claims apparently so despite a monthly outlay of £70 I will still have a dirty oven.
Next - how to get drugs when you can't get outside This was surprisingly easy - top marks to my GP and the local pharmacist if it works (will know by tomorrow). First I have a phone appointment with my GP. She rang 3 hours early but I can hardly complain about that. She then faxed my prescription to Mary the pharmacist. Mary then arranged delivery to my door for tomorrow. The potential problem with payment (I have a 4 month pre-paid prescription certificate) solved immediately - just have to show it to the delivery person.
And after all that - I still had time to download a Spanish lesson podcast and procrastinate with Sergio about studying Spanish again...
First - transport to my physio appointment. Now that I am living alone I no longer get a lift from my carer. This leaves me three options. First - patient transport. This involves (currently) booking in three weeks ahead. Once you have made the booking, on the appointed day you have to be ready for the bus at least 2 hours before it may arrive because a number of patients are picked up on the way. And of course, we then all have our appointments are are returned home again. On the upside, it is fit for purpose re the vehicle, and its free. The downside is the inordinate amount of time it takes which is tiring, and having to be up early - which is only problematic for me because of my medication. I'm a bit groggy in the mornings.
Second option is Handicabs - a registered charity which provides low cost taxi services for the mobility impaired. However, because resources are limited, the rules of the service limit me to one advance booking at a time to any one location. In essence this means I can only use it once a week to get to the hospital. Again, its fit for purpose and there is no waiting around. In addition it is cheap.
The third option is using a mini cab at the usual rates. I cant' get into a black cab, and cant use a bus yet as the bus stops are too far away. Today I couldn't use Handicabs as I already have a booking for Wednesday, and I couldn't use patient transport because I hadn't booked it in time, not understanding how long I would have to wait. The taxi fare for my 30 minute physio appointment was £20. If I used this option all the time it would cost me £60 a week in fares. On the upside I met Albert on the way out, and Davey on the way back. I didn't have to wait. And we even had a wee adventure in the snow on what was billed as the worst weather for decades.
Then, in the afternoon, three calls from the Occupational Health Team - first there was no record of my pick up stick (last week I was assured the paperwork had been done on the 27th), the second call found it and the third assured me that it will arrive on I Wednesday - along with a shoe horn that I didn't order...
Then organising a cleaner: found a firm on the Internet, visited by the woman (ex Londoner) who runs the franchise in Edinburgh. All sounds wonderful, reasonable prices, cleaners paid £6.50 an hour (well above the minimum wage) - but the cleaners are not insured to clean the oven - too many claims apparently so despite a monthly outlay of £70 I will still have a dirty oven.
Next - how to get drugs when you can't get outside This was surprisingly easy - top marks to my GP and the local pharmacist if it works (will know by tomorrow). First I have a phone appointment with my GP. She rang 3 hours early but I can hardly complain about that. She then faxed my prescription to Mary the pharmacist. Mary then arranged delivery to my door for tomorrow. The potential problem with payment (I have a 4 month pre-paid prescription certificate) solved immediately - just have to show it to the delivery person.
And after all that - I still had time to download a Spanish lesson podcast and procrastinate with Sergio about studying Spanish again...
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