Saul

Its alright Stewart is on the case,

He doesn't like water for some reason, bit of a wuss most of the time.

First day back walking after a 10 day gout break. Managed 7.5 k with the Dear Boy. Bloody lovely out there. 7 degrees C but didn't feel cold at all, probably be different when the Sun goes down.

I can see that re reading it, wasn't my intent though. My Job and that of the Clinicians I work with starts at the triage list so that is what we focus on. There are several steps before anyone gets on that list to get a chance to talk to a medic and while I know that, it's not part of our working focus. I have the suspicion that the call center systems in place are often set up just to put people off so that they do just wait until the morning and try and get through to their own GP. I think that 111 is toted as the answer to everything, GP shortages, District Nurse shortages, MIU staff shortages, emergency dental care, OOH mental health care and the list goes on. It's not realistic to think our relatively small service can take up all that slack and to sell that idea to the public is misleading. Especially given that we are short staffed and have the same challenges of recruiting as the rest of the NHS. That is why our service is overwhelmed and people don't get the care from us they expect. The clinicians in our service prioritise the End of Life care, acute but not necessarily emergency pain (blocked catheters and such), the elderly although they do deal with many other cases as well. Now I have probably worded that clumsily as well but I just drive the cars, chaperone, stock the drugs and do the paperwork. I would say it is no wonder that NHS staff struggle and moral is rock bottom. A lot of the non clinical people I work with are looking for a different job, personally I love my job but I genuinely don't know how long I can afford to do it. I could earn more stacking shelves, don't want to but may not have the choice ultimately.

I certainly was not trying to be misleading. I think we may be talking at cross purposes, I was not talking about the call center staff who work as you say. The service is not fit for purpose as people perceive it, as it is not properly staffed or funded. But our service is run by Nurse Practitioners and Advanced Paramedics once the calls get through to the triage list. They also have to see TCs and work on the cars. I made the point that they are very committed and hard working people and I would never sully their name or what they do. I am in awe of their commitment and professionalism. They are exceptional people.

I wish I could say your experience was rare but its not. I am also sure people come away from using our service (Kernow Health CIC) with the same experience as you had. 111 is a patch work of OOH services around England with levels of contact often farmed out to different areas depending on call volume. Which is why you were bounced around. The service is run mostly by Nurse Practitioners and Advanced Paramedics, all very clever and hard working people but not GP's. On Sunday there were only 2 GP's working in our overnight service to cover a county of 450,000 which more than doubles in holiday periods. Hence why we use the term Clinician. Now with the experience you had, you can probably guess at the level of abuse our call centre staff get as people who are ill get frustrated, it is very hard to retain them given that they work out of hours for just above minimum wage. There is a lot of responsibility and a high turnover, and not surprisingly very low moral. We are recruiting all the time but can never catch up. I have seen many good people leave because the job is unbearable long term. I would not do it. None of that excuses the poor treatment you had and nobody in our service wants it to be that way but it is unfortunately all to common. The real reason things are the way they are is money or lack of it and a public with the attitude like the old biddy I described. Who thought that with a cold it was ok to use the 999 service and then later to tell the 111 service to fuck off rather than open the front door and have the care she asked for. Tis a bleak outlook on a NHS service that is failing and that makes me sad.

I would say that Out Of Hours part where I work is a service that is utterly swamped by the volume of work it is expected to deal with. Lots of good people working very hard but the triage lists are huge and we often fail people who are ill. I have to be careful what I say but I do know what happens in Cornwall and the resources are way too small to deal with the volume of work. Many people don't get the treatment they expect and that is a shame but the amount of dross our clinicians have to work through to get to those in need is staggering. I know our triage list (people waiting for a call back from a clinician) was way above 200 last night. Only 11 clinicians on duty in the whole county to deal with the triage list, visits and treatment centre appointments with seven of those being on the cars. Weekdays it is worse. The same is true across the whole of the NHS. I could tell story after story about it but nobody wants to hear it or really cares until it affects them. Now I am tired and am saying to much so time for bed. I am genuinely sorry things didn't work for you Bob.

True that. Jap Crap, Rich Burner, heard many variations of that. I remember one fecking great chap I knew who was in my age group but fanatically committed to brit stuff, from C15 upwards, he often didn't ride with us as he often didn't have functioning transport. He always made the pub to bore us shitless though with the same old tropes. Anyway he was very vociferous about slanty eyed shit, including the local Chinese takeaway which I always thought was odd, but in his eyes they were all the same. One night after the pub he goes in the chinese with us all and demands a pasty pulling his eyes to slits and making a fake chinese accent asking for a flucking plasty, when he didn't get what he wanted he leant over the counter and pulled the owners four or five hair beard out by the roots. Oh fuck was that the biggest mistake he ever made. The diminutive owner who we all knew as Stanley and was probably in his 50's at the time grabbed a broom cleared the counter and chased fuck nuts down the road. We all followed to see what was going to happen. Stanley caught him after about 300 yards and proceed to work him over with the broom. Using it like a long staff or even Kendo stick. We were very impressed. Mind you for all the clouts fuck nuts took there was hardly a mark on him the next day. We all grew up and knew Stanley, he had been in the village for years, none of us knew he was some sort of martial artist though. I knew his son at school who was called Way Wong, of course hilarious to us. He was a good guy though and very good at kicking light bulbs out of their ceiling holders. Imagine a little 5 foot chinese teenage ninja with a cornish accent, we all knew not to ever mess with him though. Obviously whatever he knew came from his Dad. Sorry I ramble on, time for bed I think .

Well she does have the right vocabulary

That reminded me of my maternal grandad who was imprisoned by the Japanese in WW2. He hated them with a passion, but always bought new Datsuns/Nissans because they were reliable. I never understood that and he wasn't the sort of chap you would ask why.

I had some unreliable Jap stuff, I remember a Suzuki GSX 250 that ate its on alternator as they all did, a CB250N with a rattly cam chain and dissolving exhaust centre box, as Suzuki GS425 with the same cam chain issue, a Yam XS750 with a stretched cam chain. Kawasaki's with plastic oil pumps. There were plenty of examples. I agree much butter than previous Brit stuff that set a pretty low bar but the Japs had there faults as well. They were piled high and sold cheap.

But do they really need to bring anything new to the table, reasonably well made bike for a good affordable price sounds like good marketing to me. Not many bikers who buy the latest GSXRR1FirebladeNinja or whatever really use the machines full potential. They might boast they do but in reality? I respect what most modern japanese machinery is, but think most of it looks hideous, now if I could buy a Suzuki GS1000E or Honda CB900 clone from the early 1980's I would love that. I wouldn't bag some of the new chinese stuff either it is light years away from the cheap rubbish you could buy just 5 or 10 years ago. Remember I bought a chinky bike in a box 12 years ago. It was okay transport and worth what I paid for it. Never going to impress anyone but it did what I wanted pretty reliably.

Well you beat me I have only had 43, and I am not sure I could name them all now.

Just had a ball ache of a weekend at work, mental busy what with the Strep A and Scarlet Fever plus other stuff, against the huge lack of resources that is affecting all of the British Health care. But not wanting to get political we had one call that had both the Clinician and me pissing ourselves laughing. We had a call to a fag munching old biddy who is well know to our service (NHS 111) as a frequent PIA, anyway she had made a 999 call earlier in the evening saying she couldn't breathe for what was in effect a chest infection. The Ambulance crew referred her on to our service for a visit after seeing her. We eventually rocked up to her place, at 2:30 am on a very rough council estate. House all in darkness and no answer at the door. My clinician decides to ring her, she could have been collapsed or be in distress or any number of things, it was a safeguarding issue. I dialled on the car phone. She picked up, shouting "Who the Fuck is that calling me at this time in the morning." My clinician responded, "Hello Mrs **** this is the Out Of Hours Doctors service and we have come to visit you, and we are outside of your front door." Her response, "Well you can fuck off, I have a cold and I am not answering the door now its freezing you stupid bastard". But this time I was biting my sleeve trying not to laugh. My clinician whilst hitting me and hissing shut up, responded, "We had a call to visit you and are concerned that you may need our help, are you sure you don't want to me to see you now we are here" Old Lady: "No fuck off and let me sleep". My Clinician: "Ok perhaps you could follow up with your own GP in the morning if you don't want to see me now" Old Lady: "No point ringing those useless cunts, now fuck off". My Clinician, still clouting me: "Ok are you going to be ok, as we have to leave to do other calls now" Old lady: "I will be fine it's only a cold now fuck off" My Clinician "Goodnight Mrs **** hope you get some sleep and feel better in the morning" Click! So after both of us recovered from our giggling fit off we fucked to the next call. My clinician emailed his notes to her surgery and requested they call her in the morning to check she was ok. I hate to think of the reception they got today. I was secretly delighted we didn't have to go in as I would have had to accompany my Clinician as a chaperone and I wasn't keen. Of course it's part of my job and I would have done it but I didn't fancy it really. I know it sounds daft but we had just come from a horrific end of life visit and having Mrs Angry, who sounded fine, swearing at us was a happy relief .

That's a new level of geekery mate I can't remember old reg numbers, I laugh now when I look at old bikes for sale, almost anything old and British or Japanese fetches a premium except Bantams nobody wants those bloody things. . I remember a mate had what was in effect a Yam DT175 with an ugly BSA tank and badges on it. Horrible looking thing, although it was a puckker factory product thing not something he made up. I wish I could remember more about it.

I agree with you there nobody really wanted anything British when I was a youngster, with perhaps the exception of a Bonnie or a Commando. Japs were faster and more reliable, but still made out of chocolate metal and in effect deteriorating dynamite especially in the hands of ham fisted youngsters. Bikes in general are far better more reliable products now. I think because my mindset is still back there, is why I like my Himalayan so much, it is vastly superior to many of the bikes I had back then, slower than some of them but a much better made machine, with the exception of my aircooled BMWs. But fuck me were they expensive back then, as now. I had a Bonnie in the early 1980s and it was a dog, probably worth a mint now as it was a Jubilee edition but mine had had several careless ham fisted owners before me and to be honest at 19 I had no clue either. I loved the sound it made when it was running but was very envious of my mates CX500 Custom when was so much better in everyway that mattered back then. But having said all of that I am still a sucker for these new retro rides and I would have an Interceptor or Gold Star in a heartbeat if I had a place in my wallet and headspace for a garage queen that I could polish and love and maybe ride on a sunny day.

‘You mention diet again and I will piss in your boots’

Ordered, thank for the link

Sounds like a plan. I will have a look and see what I can find.

Not going in there

I am with you there Bob big heavy expensive GS in that sand miles from home. Much respect Pedro, I think I would be crawling along.

Not riding to work tonight, local radio gave below freezing temperatures and the road gritters are out. With confirmation from the other half I am taking the van. I don't blame her I would make a fuss if it were the other way around, saving on MPG isn't worth risking your hide.

Well been out and done some adjustments that hopefully will make it much easier to use the switch gear so see how I get on tonight going to work. I haven't used heated grips much, although I did have them on my R100RS, but the fairing was so good I didn't need to use them that often. I have resisted them as I thought they would be unnecessary fuss and wires but I may be forming a different opinion. Anyway any recommendation on which brands to look at?

It's what I have coached my two daughters to believe.