by Rab Bruce’s Spider

Mastodon: @RabBrucesSpider1@Mastodon.Scot

X / Twitter: @RabBrucesSpider

I haven’t posted anything here for a while because I’ve been out of action. A few weeks ago, I had a bad fall and broke my upper arm. Fortunately, it was my left arm, and it seems to be recovering, albeit slowly.

I was fortunate in that there were plenty of people around when it happened, and one of them was a paramedic, so I was quickly diagnosed and made comfortable. My Apple Watch triggered alerts to the Police, Ambulance and my family, so score one for tech aids right there. My wife soon arrived in her car, and off we went to A&E. We were in Dundee at the time, on a visit to some relatives, so it wasn’t our usual hospital. Even so, the staff at Ninewells were magnificent, and we were in and out in under two hours, with most of that time seeming to be taken up with trying to remove my wedding ring from my rapidly swelling finger. The doctor who saw me said that they normally follow up such injuries with an orthopaedics check, and he promised to contact my local Health Board.

This all happened on a Saturday, and on the Monday morning, I received a phone call from my local Health Board advising me that an appointment had been made for me a week later. How efficient was that? To say I was impressed was an understatement.

With a sighted guide, I attended that appointment and the staff were again amazingly efficient. We were out little more than an hour and fifteen minutes later, including an X-Ray and a meeting with a Consultant. The prognosis is good, although I’m told I’ll need some physio appointments later. As things stand, I’m slowly improving although still sore, and even typing this post has taken some effort.

But the main thing is that the NHS is wonderful. I have no complaints at all about the A&E service, and every single member of staff, from porters, receptionists, radiologists, nurses and doctors were all very kind and efficient. This is in stark contrast to the news reports we read in our media, and it is important to remember that they are seeking out stories which show the Scottish NHS and Government in a bad light. Yes, the NHS has problems, and the Tory policy of slashing funding has most certainly had an impact, but NHS Scotland is still pretty wonderful. When I posted about my experience on social media, I had several people reply, all of them telling me that their personal experiences of the NHS were a far cry from the way the Health Service is portrayed in the media.

The NHS is precious, and we must ensure that it is preserved. As ever, the best way to achieve this is for Scotland to become a normal, self-governing country. That is the only way we can ensure that Tory privatisation policies don’t kill off our most vital of public services.