Tuesday 12 May 2015

New glasses and no Jolly Up

Hospital on Monday, by the time I got there they were already running about an hour late. I wasn't that bothered after all my treatment is free & I'm grateful for that. Although waiting is tedious it beats going blind. Only 2 people were getting noisily annoyed at the wait & abusing the staff & one of them was there on the wrong day!
Anyway I didn't feel too good on  Monday when I got up & I didn't feel any better by lunchtime so I didn't bother with my planned treat. Instead I bought a length of oilcloth for my kitchen table that has seen better days.
Today I went to collect my new glasses, I can't see straight with them yet, but I'm sure I'll soon gt used to them. I bought the DGC a pack of socks each & a few food staples for DD. When she & her hubby bought their house it needed rewiring, they had half of it done but they couldn't afford to have it all done. At the weekend the electrics went pop, they are now having it done but it's leaving them a bit short. 
I gave her a cabbage & some rhubarb from the garden, made a big pot of yogurt for them & bought them some bread, cereal, baked beans, milk & cheese. It will help tide them over a tight month.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

The NHS is not free we pay for it in our taxes. It is free at point of delivery. If we had medical insurance we would be treated as paying customers and receive more curtesy.

50 and counting said...

Oh, Jim, so much you don't understand. I'm a nurse in Canada and our system is very similar to the UK's. I have friends who work in the US and you don't even want to go there.

Can you afford over $1000 a month for basic health insurance if you are not lucky enough to have your employer subsidize it?

Rural Americans have even less choice in healthcare than you do living in the UK.

Do you want your health insurance provider to tell you which doctor you can use? Which hospital you can go to? Decide when you've used up your benefit allowance of drugs for the year?

But wait, it'll be in pretty, shiny buildings, with smiling staff!

American nurses, radiology and lab techs are amongst some of the lowest paid in the western world.

American health care is all about profit for the insurance companies, the hospital corporations and the private doctors.

Caroline said...

Blimey, guys, Hester only said she was grateful for her treatment!

Unknown said...

There are pluses and minuses the main thing is it is not free. We pay for it maybe not directly but we still pay

Linda Metcalf said...

Health care here in the US is more a business than care. If you have no insurance they won't see you. A money making business. And health insurance is high so the dr's order as many tests as possible to bleed the companies dry and so the premiums go higher. And yes you may have "free" health care but the property costs are almost 2=3 times higher in the UK and the houses and land they sit on smaller. Don't worry they are getting us all coming and going one way or the other. :)

Hard up Hester said...

As I am now past retirement age I would not be able to pay for private care and although I have paid in throughout my working life I no longer pay NIC. I have 2 hearing aids and have no had eye surgery and so I say again I am truly grateful for the treatment I have received.

saraband said...

Like you, I'm very grateful for the unexpected NHS treatment DH and I have needed over the past year. As for courtesy - well, that cuts both ways.

Barton Levesque said...

So, how are your eyeglasses going now? I hope that you're comfortable wearing them now. You sure were very busy that day. I hope that everything is going well for you right now. Have a nice day!

Barton Levesque @ Glenmore Vision Center

Beulah Jackson said...

Whew, I know what you're saying. The costs of healthcare aside, the importance of finding the right frames and lenses for your own prescription is so essential so that you don't need to buy new pairs every year. I'm sorry to hear about how much of a struggle it was for you to find the perfect glasses!

Beulah Jackson @ 96th Street Eye Care

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