Thursday, September 13, 2007

Is it really that hard?

I tried to make a doctor's appointment. Simple, you might say. I thought so too. I phoned the surgery, and after a few redials got the receptionist on the phone, only to be told that since I'm not actually registered there at the moment (what with having been up in Durham for the past four years) I can't have an appointment. That's ok, I understand that. Can I register? No, she says, we're not taking on patients. Not a problem, should have checked, whatever whatever.

I phone another doctor and ask whether they're taking on patients. Yes, she says after finding out my address, not a problem. I just need to go in to fill the forms in, and then again for a 'new patient medical', and finally I can have an appointment. Um, ok, but I work in Manchester and you don't open till after I've left, and  you're closed before I get home again. You want me to effectively take three mornings off work for one appointment. "Oh, well," she says, "I can post the forms out to you, but you still have to come in for a new patient medical before you can have an appointment." So now it's down to two mornings off work. Can I do the two things together, and take just the one morning off? No.

Can't they just, I don't know, read my fucking medical records which will tell them whatever they need to know in more precise terms than I can? I've just started this job, I earn two days off per month, and I really don't want to spend what is in effect one of them sitting in a doctor's waiting room. Lots of GPs earn over £100k - surely having staggered starting times to cover from, say, 7am to 7pm isn't too outlandish a suggestion? Angry angry angry.

Anyway, Zen-like calm. Zen-like calm. Zen-like calm...

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Hahahaha!

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse than those damn Heely things...

http://www.bbyhds.com/index.html

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More people are sold per year nowadays than during the entire 400 years of legalised slavery. It's illegal, but it hasn't stopped. www.stopthetraffik.org