Latest Moan From You and Me 2025

It was planned to join the S. Circular which is terrible down by the river.

 

Yes, there had been two sets of plans some years ago. One through to Dartford/Crayford and one through to Northfleet/Gravesend as for both of them the river was narrower. The new proposal is to go the long way around Chadwell St Mary and Tilbury in the north and around Gravesend in the south and joining the M2 by Gravesham. That's a very long way around and needing to take industrial and farming land instead. It's more than twice the distance of the other proposals.

It will be better for getting down to Dover or the S.E. coast but cause a lot longer journey for going west - but the bridge should be used for that, if the number of times the bridge is closed because of high winds doesn't increase the way it has been doing as the weather gets more extreme.

 

We've discussed the NHS before, but here is a practical example of why our NHS is in the state it is in (and a good example why all these zealots that want rid of personal cars are simply wrong)...

Mrs C had a hospital appointment last week - an appointment that she had to wait almost a year between the letter and the appointment.

Here is a map of our area with some (not all) hospitals shown:



Ashford Hospital is 2.6 miles, easily accessible by bus in around 15 mins

St Peter's Hospital (shows as Runnymede Hospital on the map) is 10.6 miles, best by car but can be accessed by bus, takes a wee while

Kingston Hospital is 11 miles, easily accessible by bus, albeit takes an hour and a half

West Middlesex Hospital is 9.3 miles, accessible by bus, albeit takes an hour and a half

Frimley Park Hospital is 19 miles, car only and around 25 mins (35-40 in the peak)

Royal Surrey Hospital is 23.8 miles, car only and around 1hr 15 to 1hr 50 thanks to the works going on at Wisley on the M25/A3

Cranleigh Village Community Hospital is 31.6 miles and takes around 1hr 35 to 2hr 15, again thanks to the works at Wisley.


So, with all that in mind, Mrs C's appointment last Wednesday was at... Royal Surrey
Then we had to return to hand stuff back in on Sunday.

Next Tuesday, at 9am.. we need to be at Cranleigh Village Community Hospital, so staring down the barrel of a 4 hr round trip and me having to take a day of annual leave (Mrs C doesn't drive) to literally collect a treatment/prescription and be shown how to use it.

Now, I could understand it if the condition concerned was something really rare or a specialty - but it is a relatively common thing, and here we are having to go to a cottage hospital (literally) when there is two huge hospitals much nearer/easier/faster and four if you widened that net just a tiny bit.

How would it pan out if we didn't have a car? Public transport to Cranleigh doesn't exist from here as far as I am aware - or if it does, it would cost a bomb and take most of the day!

I am dreading when I get to the age when they want to check my prostate as they are likely to send me to Newcastle at this rate.

 

It is all well and good if you can get there, but for folks without cars... and then, they've got the cheek to hammer you in parking charges because they are trying to discourage car use - you couldn't make it up.

 

This is the mad thing - often times, there are many staff going between various sites, so why they don't build lists of people locally and move the staff around.. or even better when treatments/devices are prescribed, surely there must be a way of transferring those to a hospital nearer the patient and then being picked up. Fully accept that if it is a real niche thing that only a couple of hospitals in the country are capable of, but not for something that you can literally buy online and have delivered in a day or two.

 

My wife had an eye appointment at our nearest, and largest hospital (standard annual diabetic eye test) in their eye unit where I had to take her as she needed drops in the eyes for it - no bus service where we are. All very simple - until we arrived. She was told that they had moved her appointment to a small clinic the other side of town!

We asked why they didn't let us know and they said they sent me a text. I enquired what number they sent the text to as I don't have a mobile. A blank look was all the initial response we got until we continued to stand there waiting for an answer. She then said she doesn't know as her department don't send out the texts.

So I asked her to phone the clinic and tell them that because of their mix up we shall be a little late. She started to say she was too busy but stopped at a glare from my wife whilst I said that I shall be contacting PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) about the very poor service we had received. So she called them and they said, no problem and come right over.

At the small clinic they told us that the diabetic eye testing department had been moved there six months previous and were always getting this problem but expected the problem to go away when they had been there a year. Very nice and friendly and good service and easy to park nearby. The car park is at a small shopping centre with the car park being free for the first half hour and she said that they always get their tests completed in less time than that.

Fantastic difference in service and attitude.