Doctor, Doctor!

Who would have thought that something as simple as a common cold could cause so much hassle! I have now been dosing up on the Sudafed for over a month now and still the darn thing persists. I was hoping that it would have got bored with me by now and be gone, leaving me free to return to work germ free and with a spring in my step. How wrong was I? My nose is stuffy and you really do not want to know what I've been coughing up and blowing out, suffice to say, there is no way I can go to work in a school environment infecting the kids, I would feel so guilty if I did that, as I do love them all (no really, I do!).

So after five weeks of being poorly, I decided a GP appointment might be a good idea. I hate going to the Doctor's, so if I do go you know I really do not feel well at all. Unfortunately, no appointments were available, so they suggested I visit the Walk-in Centre (which is an NHS trailer in the supermarket car park). Fair enough, everyone is suffering at the moment, I'm not in the least bit surprised there are no appointments, plus I've never been to a Walk-in Centre, so it's a bit of an adventure...which was very short lived as it didn't open until 1pm and it was only 9am.

Being forever optimistic, I rock up again at 1pm to find about five people ahead of me. Okay, so I'll have to wait a bit, and it's cold, but at least I'll get seen. Then it all went a little pear shaped, because there weren't five people in front of me at all, there were eight because not only are they a Walk-in Centre, but they also book appointments, throwing the whole system into disarray. Add into this fiasco, the printer going on strike and the poor GP being forced back into the dark ages, having to hand write notes and prescriptions. Hence an hour and a half later and I am still standing in a cold, crowded portakabin thingamy (that's a technical term, you know).

Thankfully, there was some light entertainment from a spirited pair of twin girls. They were super adorable and given the cramped environment, their tender age and the hour and a half wait, they were surprisingly well behaved. Okay they jumped about a bit, took their shoes off, had the odd melt down, but they were only doing what the adults wished they could.

So in go the twins, then the very, very poorly old lady, who should have been behind me, but really did need urgent attention, then it was my turn. Yay! Except it wasn't, it was an appointment, then another appointment, then me and by this time it was 3pm. Needless to say, I was forced to leave as Miss. L needed collecting from school.

On the plus side there was another brief episode of entertainment provided by a chap who was told he could sit in the back of the trailer as there was a seat available there. Actually, there were two and he chose the office chair, which he enjoyed spinning around in (again wouldn't we all). Then he decided that he needed to turn the kettle on, no offer of tea, may I hasten to add. Then he decided it was a bit dark, so he turned on the light before washing his hands with copious amounts of multi-purpose cleaner. He then returned to the spinning chair and popped his feet up on the work surface, at which point the receptionist sent him back outside into the cold to wait, poor chap.

So nope I didn't get seen, but it was certainly an interesting experience and not one I really want to repeat during the winter months, that trailer was so cold. Even though it didn't work for me, I still think it's a great idea and I was so impressed with the GP bumping the poorly old lady up queue. She actually took the time to come out, have a quick chat about how she was feeling and then put her to the top of the list and maybe that's the beauty of these units, the GP is so close she can see if she has an urgent situation and deal with it sooner rather than later.