Once dealt with a claim from someone whose employer during a quiet time had him paint a large roughcast wall. Cortisone? injections in his elbow each made it worse for about 3 days and then gave relief for quite a while. Recovery was very slow.
I thought their standard advice at the moment was to take Tamiflu.
Ambulances & FRU's aren't necessarily based at ambulance stations, they are positioned at strategic RVP's around their area; you will often see them in supermarket car parks, on bridges etc.
FRU = Fast Response Unit. Vauxhall Zafira crewed by a single EMT (emergency medical technician) or Paramedic. Not as well equipped as an ambulance & mainly unable to transport patients. Purely used to meet Guvmint targets.
From the London Ambulance website;
We urge the public to 'use us wisely' in order to ensure that seriously ill and injured patients continue to get as fast a response as possible. We also ask people whose call is not an emergency to consider other healthcare options rather than dialling 999. These include: a.. self-care at home b.. talking to your local pharmacist c.. calling NHS Direct on 0845 4647 d.. attending a local NHS walk-in centre e.. visiting your GP f.. making your own way to your local A&E department-arriving in an ambulance does not mean you will be seen more quickly
I recall seeing one in the past. It was in high tourist season, when the roads get busy, and the Ambulance was near an accident blackspot, but the road was improved and I've not seen it for several years now.
There is one, marked Paramedic, in our area, but I've never seen it doing anything other than pottering around. However, I would have thought it a good idea to be able to get trained help to people more quickly than if they had to wait for what is effectively a converted van to arrive.
Colin Bignell
That's what arrived when I dialled 999 (or 112 actually) for a kid who'd been kicked in the head and was unconscious outside my house. Ambulance arrived ~15 minutes later, by which time the kid was starting to come round, and they carted him off.
Can you get tennis shoulder? I've had a pain in my right shoulder for months. Only a dull ache at first so I thought it would sort itself. When it didn't went to the GP - who decided after a very perfunctory examination to arrange for physio. And of course I'm still waiting for an appointment. On Wednesday I was underneath the car removing the exhaust. It's now near agony than a dull ache and I can barely use the arm. The tender spot is on the shoulder just underneath the joint. Contacted my GP but can't get an appointment till next week. I'm having to use the mouse left handed. ;-) My guess is something to do with a tendon rather than muscle or joint.
On 13 Aug, 22:22, Colin Wilson
If it's cortisone maybe try the hot bath someone else recommended.
If you mean the website I suspect the online diagnostic thingy is rather primitive and has probably diagnosed you as having anything from a stroke to neurotoxic poisoning.
Does your doctor offer telephone consultations?
Owain
"Colin Wilson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal-september.org...
Yep, get yourself down to A&E. Much better than later thinking 'if only'.
Field Replaceable Unit. They send you the spare organ in the post for DIY surgery ;-)
MBQ
I would take the advice of the GP, who has actually seen the patient, rather than NHS direct.
MBQ
Muscles can and do go into painful spasms and press on nerves in the process. That's the typical 'pain at site, and all down yer arm' syndrome.
A qualified masseur or phsyio is great at getting the knots out, but the muscles stay tender a while.
Very much hope Colin is still with us...
..but I'm a little concerned that an angle grinder for pain relief hasn't been suggested, yet.
I think it's very irresponsible of my doctor to keep telling me to take more exercise.
Owain
You can get tendonitis wherever a tendon runs through a tendon-sheath round a bone - which is just about every joint. The usual cause is repetitive strain. Tendons don't have a blood supply, which is why they take a long time to get better. I find topical-ibuprofen is the best non-prescription medicine (Ibuleve or own-brand ibuprofen gel) - the key is to slather it on over a large area - and then apply heat with a water bottle or, better still, a microwaved bean-bag. Rest is also important, but you do have to keep it moving - which is why it's worst in the morning after being immobile all night.
The only concern that makes a Doctor's visit a good idea is that the same pain can come from a torn ligament or a fracture. You'll almost always get sent for an X-Ray, unless your Doc is a 'try this' merchant... :-(
R.
True enough - to a point. The Guvmint issued targets of 8 mins response time for a Cat A call, timed from when the details had been obtained from the caller. Callers are sometimes panicky and stressed so it could take a few minutes to get the full details. It's now changed to the time the call is answered so there is even more pressure.
Nobody is quite sure where the Guvmint got this 8 minutes idea from, but strangely there is no clinical outcome target. So if the ambulance arrives in 7 minutes & the patient dies, thats a success.
The crews of course are more concerned with clinical outcome.
LAS now has over 100 FRU's purely to try & meet targets. Getting a trained techie or medic there ASAP is important, but they can't transport patients. So now instead of two crew + one vehicle attending its three crew & two vehicles.
They would rather have more ambulances to give greater coverage & therefore less waiting time.
WD40 prolly works...
And then binding it with duct tape.
After a 3 month wait I am now getting physio to put right the problems caused by the exercise prescription from my GP.
Now got an exercise bike and counting calories. Much safer way to go from obese to correct weight in 6 months. Love swimming but currently precluded by sacroiliac joint and shoulder problems.
No, the makers would claim that it works. Then, after clearing up from the resulting disaster, something more suitable could be used. :-)
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