Waiting, Waiting and More Waiting!

Hands up those who thought this was another moan about not having a transplant call.

Well you'd be wrong! This is an update on the service (so called) from Healthcare at Home. It seems my latest e-mail has hit home and I received no less than three calls from them during the course of yesterday. The first call was from Tracey who had been dragging into work on her day off (pissed off person number 1) to deal with my missing stock. She had been forwarded my email and was profusely apologetic. She told me that warehouse manager (pissed off person number 2) was on his way in to investigated what happened and arrange an urgent delivery. She would discuss a delivery slot when he arrived and get back to me. She didn't think they could deliver today, Saturday, and would Monday do? I decided to be reasonable and replied that as long as it did actually arrive on Monday that would be fine.

Two hours later I got a call from Mike, no not the CEO, the pharmacist (pissed off person number 3) who had been called in to check the items had been ordered in the first place. He could not explain why I'd only got the drug as the rest of the stock had was also on the order. He apologised and then said that they were out of the sodium chloride I use to mix the drug so he will be sending and alternative. I'm not sure what I'm getting but I will certainly be checking with the Brompton before I use it.

Another couple of hours passed and another call from Tracey. They were arranging a special courier (pissed off person number 4) to come in tomorrow, Sunday, and make the delivery. It seems that mentioning you are speaking to a journalist really got them fired up. However I think they think this special treatment will make me stop talking to journalists and that I will just go away. Well boy are they wrong there. We all know that there is going to be more mistakes and more hassle next month and the month after that and the month after that. I'm not stopping until we all get the correct drugs, on the correct day, at the correct time.

Well as I've been typing my order arrived. Most of it is there though in very small quantities. For instance the sodium chloride I use for mixing the drug usually gets delivered in a box of 25 bottles, I was due two boxes,  I have twelve large syringes out of the thirty I need and the one way bung I need hasn't been delivered at all.

So I have sent this.

Mr Gordon

Thank you arranging an emergency delivery of stock for today. It was very much appreciated.

I had been expecting 25 bottles of sodium chloride instead I received 3 50ml bags of sodium chloride which will see me through to Wednesday. Now I knew I was getting bags after speaking to your pharmacist yesterday and I knew I was getting three of them. However what was not made clear to me that they would be 50ml bags. When your pharmacist said he was sending 3 bags of saline over I though he meant the big bags, as you get in hospitals. They would have been awkward but a million times better than the 3 tiny bags I received this morning.

I am also missing a vital piece of equipment the ADAP-Q-SYTE-LUER-ACCESS, fortunately I do have two of those left, one of which will be used today leaving one until the next delivery. As I use 6 per month that means I am five short. Of course this now means more time on the phone to your call handles and even more time off work waiting for yet another delivery.

I’m beginning to feel as though I’m in some bizarre Carry On film. How can one company fail one customer in so many ways in the same weekend? It beggars belief!

A copy of this email, as with all others, is being sent to the Brompton and forwarded to Paul Pennington. I’m sure they are going to be very interested.

I actually feel like turning up at this bloke's office and thumping his table. Of course that would only, at best, get me escorted from the building or, at worst, arrested and neither of those will help my cause. I am trying my hardest to keep it polite and reasonable as I firmly believe being rude doesn't get you anywhere but, by God, it is getting so difficult not to just launch into a foul mouthed rant.

As for the rest of my life this weekend, yes I know, it is difficult to believe I've done anything other than deal with Healthcare at Home, well I've had a bit of excitement there as well.

I've finally worked out how to use skype and spent yesterday afternoon nattering away to my sister. Although we chat a lot on facebook we don't often get to actually speak to each other. Seeing her and chatting away as though we are in the same room was fantastic. I'm sure it is going to open up a whole new world of communication and I can see us having regular chats. My brother is also on skype so I'm going to try and hook up with him as well and then we could have three way chats. It will be brilliant!

Today I'm planning a quiet one. I am cooking a fry up for lunch as I really need some comfort food and then I'm settling down with Harry Potter and a pile of ironing. The sun is out and if it warms up enough I will spend an hour or so on the decking reading before going in to make up this weeks meds, let's not go there.

Tonight will be one of my very rare 'must have a drink' night's. I know it is a school night as I'm in work tomorrow but I really feel I deserve a treat. As always it will be about a thimble full but it is the taste I am after rather than the effect.

Tomorrow it will be back into work and I will be leaving poor Peter to deal with the delivery problems. Fortunately he has most Monday's off so it won't eat into his leave but, of course, it means he can't get on with what he'd planned.

So that's it until Friday, when, no doubt, I will be reporting yet more of H@H mistakes. Hopefully it will be sorted and I can actually relax next week instead of feeling I've been put through the emotional mangle, again!