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Work/life balance pm=
Page 9
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The public wants a 24/7 economy — but what does that mean for those who have to deliver it? LGV driver L Radley knows...
"I need an early finish on Friday for a doctor's appointment. I don't know when, exactly— it could be any time from 10am onwards... oh, and I also need to park up for anywhere up to an hour and a half from 8am so I can phone and find out. Is that OK?"
I didn't bother making this request to my transport manager, because I knew what her response would be. Mine would have been the same, but with added expletives and a louder snort of disbelief. Anyone with even a tenuous grip on sanity can see that as requests go, it ranks on a par with asking to have your unit resprayed because you don't like the colour.
I am left with no choice but to wonder whether the staff at my local GP's surgery are coming to the top of the psychiatric waiting list, this being the best they could do for a patient ringing up two weeks in advance to arrange a routine blood pressure check in order to get a repeat prescription.
I solved the problem by turning up one quiet afternoon between Christmas and New Year's Eve and made a nuisance of myself. They miraculously managed to fit me in. But what I would have done at any other time of year, I have no idea. Actually that's not true, because this is a regular occurrence. I would have waited until the weekend, pitched up at the hospital-based out-of-hours service and used the same tactic. The point is, I shouldn't have to.
It's the usual story. Joe Public wants a 24/7 economy with fit and healthy drivers to deliver it to them, and bangs on about preventive health care. But he doesn't stop to think about those of us who actually have to provide all these conveniences. He is too busy concentrating on his 'work/life balance' and spending quality time with major retailers and a credit card.
I feel a toothache coming on. It's the weekend and I'm home. Time to sit back, spark up a mental health-improving cigarette and ring NHS Direct with a dental emergency. Can't risk empty shelves when the good doctor wants to go shopping, after all.
"Joe Public wants a 24/7 economy with healthy drivers to deliver it to them and bangs on about preventive medicine."