The Big Garden birdwatch. I did it for an hour yesterday but decided today would be the real count. I settled myself on a chair looking out of the door of the conservatory. The door was closed and I turned the electric fan heater on and  put on my coat, hat and gloves. Yesterday I had used my smaller binoculars so I felt better equipped today with my best pair and my pocket bird guide ready at my side for any sightings that needed support.

I threw out a handful of dried mealworms in the hope of tempting our robin out of hiding. It was 10.05 when I started; a cold bright morning with little breeze. Earlier I had put out some hot water to defrost the frozen bowls.

The blue tits started the count. Bright, darting birds flitting between the various feeders. Chaffinches often flutter as they snatch sunflower seeds. The robin appeared on the bird table and pecked at the suet balls before returning to his hiding place in the yew tree. A goldfinch sat in the hazel bush overlooking the table. The vivid red cap and gold and black markings make a handsome bird.  Birds seem to have a view which other species they are prepared to associate with when feeding. Goldfinches and greenfinches and chaffinches seem happy enough together. Blue tits often come in bunches and blue tits and great tits don’t seem to object to each other’s company.

Starlings often appear mob handed and other birds keep away but today and yesterday they were restrained. One was particularly handsome with plumage  catching rainbow hues in the light. Starlings enjoy fat.

I spotted a bird which was mainly brown so I had to look closely. It had a red cap and rosy breast. At first I thought  it must be a linnet but looking through my guide I realised it was a redpoll . How  exciting. I have never  seen one before. I was disappointed that there were no long tailed tits. I have seen as many as ten at any time but not for a few weeks. I have seen more at the other bird feeder round the other side of the house lately . I haven’t seen any coal tits or goldcrests either  although both visit from time to time.

A flock of gull flew overhead. I know there are no such things as seagulls so I consulted the book to try and determine what sort they were. Herring gulls are notable for their pink legs. Unfortunately these birds  had their legs tucked firmly into their white feathers. I decided they were common gulls but that was probably arbitrary.

Although we have lots of collared doves and woodpigeons that visit us and maintain constant calls, they seem to have set times of day when they come. There is one wood pigeon that comes and sits on the metal stand ,perching, not eating, just making sure no other bird comes along but that is usually later in the afternoon. Sometimes he marches backwards and forwards on the ground below the feeder.

Two handsome blackbirds with glossy black jackets and vivid yellow beaks decided to have a scrimmage.  One retreated to the safety of the foxglove tree. The victor  strutted  picking mealworms from the floor. Our robin had already come closest to me grabbing  a few  of his favourite treats.

At the end of the hour I was reluctant to come away. I had noted all my viewings ready to be relayed to the RSPB. It was a relaxing way to spend an hour. It inspired me to take more time watching the birds as the year goes on but I had a friend’s new Labrador puppy to go and meet.

A few people have asked what happened with my mother. The saga continued for a few days. She seemed ok but injury flared on Monday. No nurse appointments available at surgery that day or following day but got an emergency appointment for GP that evening. He was very good and prescribed the anti-biotics a nurse could have prescribed on the saturday.

Mother’s hand is now fully healed. She is more wary of Charlie who is shows no contrition now although he did seem  cowed at the time.

Here is the letter I wrote that was published in the Eastern Daily Press. Minor injuries units  are needed too.

When I was  Chair of an NHS Trust I opposed closure of community hospitals. In rural areas, it makes sense to move people on from acute care and to provide services  such as blood tests and X rays and to treat minor injuries locally. Last Saturday I spent the day trying to obtain treatment for my 91 year old mother. I tried to be responsible  and avoid  A & E. A Nurse Practitioner  could have treated her, or  a minor injuries unit . Neither was available.

Unqualified staff with good protocols can work but cannot make up for inadequate staffing levels at surgeries and hospitals.  The Coalition claims to have protected  the NHS. They have not.  The Lansley restructuring took GP time  from patient care into administration. Funding cuts to local authorities  have  reduced  social care at home. Staff who have had their pay frozen and now face their redundancy rights being reduced have low morale. All these have combined to bring about the current crisis. David Cameron’s pronouncements about 24/7 GP services are hot air without the actions needed to return our NHS to the decent level we experienced before his war of attrition on our public services. Unwillingness to spend on the NHS to the necessary level goes hand in hand with ideological opposition to state run services.

 We need to demonstrate  that we do value our NHS . The Green Party  proposes an earmarked  tax for health and  advocates  community health centres.

Crisis what crisis?

Yesterday I experienced the bureaucratic mess that has developed in the NHS under the coalition. We have had the same GP practice for the last 20 years and have received a good service. All the doctors there provide good quality care. Yesterday I experienced the latest problem in the administration of the out of hours service. My 91 year old mother was bitten by our dog last Wednesday. We have kept the wounds clean and covered and it was healing until yesterday morning when her hand had swollen overnight. I was concerned that there may be an infection so I called my GP surgery. I was directed to call 111. There had been a Saturday morning surgery so I was surprised. We went to see the pharmacist who also suggested 111 in order to find out the nearest out of hours GP service. What my mother actually needed was to see a nurse practitioner who could determine whether my mother needed antibiotics and could prescribe them.

I dialled 111 and, as we live in Norfolk, was put through to the Norfolk service. The helpful woman took me through a series of questions clearly designed to determine whether my mother was in urgent need of medical attention and concluded, as I had, that she needed an out of hours GP service. When we told her our GP she realised she could not deal with us. We live on the border and our GP is in Suffolk. She said she would fax the details to the Suffolk service who would then contact me. By this time two hours had passed.

A nurse practitioner then rang me after half an hour. He too ascertained that there was no immediate danger but my mother needed to see an out of hours GP. The nearest available was at the West Suffolk hospital. We were given an appointment for 5.30 that evening, seven hours later. We agreed we did not need a GP to visit. If it had been me who was injured I would have kept a close eye on the wounds but would have waited until Monday. I did not feel able to take the risk of infection with someone of 91.

When we arrived at the hospital   we followed the direction provided by the nurse on 111. There were no direction signs in the hospital. A secret service. The corridor was crowded with people. A sign said that we would have to wait 90 minutes. Having driven twenty miles we decided we would wait. There was minimal movement. A young woman sat on the floor holding her abdomen in pain. She complained to her friends “At least in A and E you get to see a nurse to triage you.” She was right. The only triage we had had was at 10.30 that morning and it had been over the telephone.

After an hour and a quarter when only one person had been seen, I went to the desk where a woman holding a tiny baby was being told it would be at least two hours before she could be seen. I was told the same. I discussed with my mother. It was almost 7.00pm , her usual bedtime. Sitting in a corridor for another few hours was unlikely to improve her general wellbeing  so we decided that as the swelling had reduced a little we would keep a close eye on the situation but otherwise wait until she could see the nurse at our local surgery.

I told the receptionist what we are doing and suggested that there was a problem with the system. “Maybe we would have been better coming along this morning without an appointment” I suggested. “No, we only see people with appointments or urgent cases” she said. My mother and I both agreed that her case was not as urgent as others we could see. We drove the twenty miles back home and she went to bed with strict instructions  to wake me if there was any change.