Categories: uncategorized
Date: 09 August 2004 19:48:59
I was a bit grumpy this morning - partly a Monday morning thing, partly a weather thing (look, if you're going to rain you might at least clear the air, not make it even more humid) and partly because of the Department of Health's massive cock-up (in my opinion) in how they've announced the new 5 in 1 infant vaccines which will mean health visitors and practice nurses across the country having to fend off a million questions from anxious parents with no preparation or information. Fortunately I checked my wiblog before I started work proper and I must say that my run-in with the official Wiblog Law Enforcement Agency (see comments to my previous entry) made me laugh a lot and cheered me up no end. Then I went over the road to the other surgery I work with to do my development checks, walked into the nurse's room I use ... and found a half naked man! That certainly woke me up! (The doctor in the room next door had forgotten I was down to use the room and told the man to go next door and undress so he could examine him there). Working for the National Health Service means that there is quite often considerable comic potential just from turning up to work.
Less amusing was my attempts to find anything AT ALL on the official DoH and NHS websites about the new vaccines. I can't believe they've released the information at the weekend meaning that the papers have had two days to go mad with speculation and reasons why vaccination is a bad thing, scaring the life out of parents with poorly researched and frankly in a lot of cases downright wrong information, and then when us poor hapless health professionals turn up to work having to bear the brunt of the queries about it, the most up-to-date information about the relevant issues is 3 months old. It makes me so mad - absolutely spectacular incompetence. Grrrr. There doesn't seem to be an iota of common sense in the whole Department. Isn't it just obvious that before releasing information to the media (who are not health professionals) you would release it to the people who are responsible for implementing the change and administering the vaccines?
I'm sure once I'm back in academia things will be much more efficient and well run. [Yeah right]