Early Risers.

[PupCam]

Morning All!

 

1 hour ago, polybear said:

Perhaps if the NHS were to start applying a system such as many Airlines do to Pilots trained by them - if you leave within X years then you have to pay a rather large sum to them to cover costs of training etc.

Of course that probably won't help training recruitment.

 

And perhaps if the Government of the day (whatever flavour and whenever - I'm not going down the political route for fear of banishment!) and the NHS started addressing the root cause of the fundamental underlying problem rather than trying yet another, too small, sticking plaster the problem would disappear and as a by-product the patients (they are not customers in my book!) might actually get a fully functional health service worthy of the name!

 

In Other News

 

Puppers needs a new DMM.      Anyone got any recommendations for a currently* available good ones (I'd like a Fluke but the budget doesn't stretch that far!)?

 

* No pun intended

 

TTFNQ

[tigerburnie]

Apart from one of our first Gp's when we moved to Scotland some 20 years ago, I have not met a single Scottish surgeon or doctor, my current GP's are of Chinese and Irish origin, the surgeon who removed my tumour was from Pakistan and the two currently digging holes in me(or more painfully using a convenient hole that's already there) are of Indian origin, There a few local nurses and auxiliaries, but it seems most have come to the area, even the anaesthetist was a Brummie.

It seems less and less Brits find the health service attractive these days, hence the strikes I guess.

[Joseph_Pestell]

3 hours ago, grandadbob said:

There was an item on the news last night about the number of nurses being recruited to work in this country (and others) from the Philippines which is causing a shortage over there.  I believe they are able to leave after 2 years working there and the language requirements for working here have now been made easier.

 

Just found this:   https://www.itv.com/news/2023-04-13/the-philippines-brain-drain-as-nurses-flock-to-the-nhs

 

Easier for whom? When  was in A&E at Salisbury a couple of years back, there was a nurse that I could not understand at all.

[Compound2632]

22 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

Easier for whom? When  was in A&E at Salisbury a couple of years back, there was a nurse that I could not understand at all.

 

Was that better or worse than no nurse at all?

[grandadbob]

38 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

Easier for whom? When  was in A&E at Salisbury a couple of years back, there was a nurse that I could not understand at all.

 

15 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Was that better or worse than no nurse at all?

 

Probably to make it easier for the NHS to recruit bearing in mind the thousands of vacancies they are desperate to fill and I suppose that is a bit better than no nurse at all although you could argue that there is a danger of things being misinterpreted.  

[PupCam]

15 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

 

 

Probably to make it easier for the NHS to recruit bearing in mind the thousands of vacancies they are desperate to fill and I suppose that is a bit better than no nurse at all although you could argue that there is a danger of things being misinterpreted.  

 

And a cynical person might add that the most beneficial result of such recruitment was that someone somewhere could claim that "another member of staff has been recruited" and tick a box accordingly.     Let's not cloud the issue with whether the recruited person is actually suitable for the post!     As we all know, I'm not at all cynical 😉 but I know a lot who are ....

 

I really don't care what ethnicity, religion, orientation, disability or indeed country of origin someone is or has.  What  I care intensely about is recruiting the correct people, with the correct qualifications, the correct skills and experience to do their job and the interpersonal and communication skills to fit in and enable everybody else to do their jobs.      If somebody happens to be the best eye surgeon on the planet (irrespective of E, R, O, D or country of origin) but they cannot communicate at an adequate level with the rest of the team providing the service then as far as I'm concerned they are not fit for that particular role.     In reality of course, such situations are not that clear cut but the underlying principle applies.

 

TTFN

 

 

[Barry O]

I read that as a "the grass is always greener"

 

It very much depends on where a GP moves to.. at some Hospitals/Surgeries require a "probation period "  (I have been quoted between 12 to 18 months by two different GPs. They do have to work , in effect "shifts" and again depending on where you are the shortage of GPs can make your work life balance worse than that described. .

 

Kiwiland is even worse. GPs are very underfunded - I know one who is over here on holiday and is working 7 days a week some weeks back at home.. and that is a fully funded surgery.

 

So come over here.. but just check it all out with an independent source.

 

Baz

[skipepsi]

5 hours ago, polybear said:

 

 

 

 

Perhaps if the NHS were to start applying a system such as many Airlines do to Pilots trained by them - if you leave within X years then you have to pay a rather large sum to them to cover costs of training etc.

Of course that probably won't help training recruitment.

 

Bear here.....

A day of danglin' on a paint roller awaits.  Turdycurses,

BG

 

Nurses have to pay for their training and as I understand it provide free labour during training.  It is not set up as an apprentice scheme.

Doctors as I understand it also pay for their education and training.  The politics behind this I will leave well alone..

[DaveF]

This morning was much brighter than I had expected.  I'm late posting as I needed to go out unexpectedly.

 

Overall yesterday was a very good day.  On the spur of the moment I decided to drive to Old Hartley for my morning walk despite it being dull and cold.  The paths along the cliff have been regravelled and are now much more enjoyable to walk on.  The tide was in and the sea was fairly calm so there were no dramatic waves to watch but there were plenty of birds flying about.  The fulmars were flying (patrolling?) a few yards out from the cliff, they nest nearby, it is always enjoyable to watch them flying from above.  The distinctive marks on their wings show up very well but they are very difficult to photograph as they fly quickly so this time I didn't even try as it was very dull.  

 

A little further along a group of house martins were also flying up and down near the cliff edge, presumably insect hunting.  They are the first I've seen this year so that must only just have arrived after their winter holiday.  I wonder when the swallows will arrive?  Then a skylark decided to perch on a fence post about 4 feet from where I was standing.  It watched me for a while and then flew off and landed in the grass where its nest must be.  Earlier it had been singing loudly high up in  the sky.

 

I continued walking and next saw a reed bunting, again only a few feet away from me perched on a hawthorn bush, a few moments later I saw and heard a curlew in the field by the path.  That was in addition to the usual gulls, magpies, crows, pigeons and other birds I see every day.

 

I got back just at the right time for coffee and then worked out how much balsa wood and mounting board I need for my next project.

 

After a light lunch I repotted and trimmed the passion flower and checked the other plants in the greenhouse, then I fed the plants in the front garden which nicely used up a tub of blood fish and bone.  Just after that it rained very hard so I came back inside.

 

While I was searching for something on the web I came across some of my photos on  Smugmug, I had not given permission for their use.  I couldn't find a way of contacting the user so went through Smugmug's help system and got a reply in about an hour, they then contacted the person.  I had an e mail from him this morning, I am satisfied it was not a deliberate act as the photos had been given to him - I'll accept that as the captions were somewhat inacurate, had they been taken them from my flickr site he could have copied them and got them right.  He has agreed to credit them correctly and I have given him the correct captions.

 

Byn then it was time to sit and read and listen to music again.

 

David

 

[Andy Hayter]

26 minutes ago, skipepsi said:

Nurses have to pay for their training and as I understand it provide free labour during training.  It is not set up as an apprentice scheme.

Doctors as I understand it also pay for their education and training.  The politics behind this I will leave well alone..

 

Indeed and many will use the student loan system to finance their studies.  When their salary is over a set level - used to be around £21k - they start paying back at 9% of their salary above that level to pay off the debt.  For doctors that means from day 1.  Of course if a doctor or nurse emigrates, there is no mechanism for collecting the loan repayment.

 

So the recipient country gets a fully trained medical professional paid for by the UK taxpayer.  Much as the UK does when it imports medical professionals from third world countries - who are even less well able to stand such losses from their economies.

 

The system stinks at both ends.

[jjb1970]

My only experience of hospital in recent-ish years was my appendix saga which turned into a two week nightmare and two operations. Most of the nurses were Ghanaian, from the Caribbean or Filipino. They all spoke good English, communicated perfectly well and gave me no cause for concern. The doctors were a mix, there were quite a few British doctors, both anaesthetists were British, others were South Asian, East European and SE Asian. Oddly, the surgeon who did the first procedure which was where it all went horribly wrong was British, the second surgeon was East European and the doctor who looked after the medical side of fighting the infection was Malay-Chinese.

 

I felt dreadful for the nurses as there was an old man in the ward who was properly horrible. He kept baiting the overseas nurses (which was almost all of them) with remarks like 'you shouldn't ****** be in this ****** country', I'll cut your ****** face off' etc. Some of it was way beyond the pail. I'm an ex-seafarer and not the most easily offended and have to say he was the most unpleasant, thoroughly nasty and generally despicable individual I recall ever having come across. And I've met quite a few cases. At the risk of sounding brutal I'd empower hospitals to remove such people and leave them to find another hospital. I suspect he'd only have been given one chance to behave if he tried it in a hospital here. There was an old school ward sister, proper old school middle aged lady of stern countenance who wouldn't take nonsense from anyone who would put him back in his box. 

[polybear]

6 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

There are a huge number of Philippino nurses and care workers here, the locals of course are rude about them in their usual racist way, and have a name for them I won't repeat here.  We'd be sunk without then, they don't think of that bit.

 

Bear hasn't come across that many Nurses (fortunately....or sadly - I'm not sure which....) but those that are Filipino have always struck me as being very caring - unlike some others I've encountered.

 

6 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I'd may not approve but two poached eggs on toast with baked beans, went down a treat.  The alternative was a McD's. 

 

Jamie

 

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT??

Come to the UK and not have a Full English?  That's like going to Italy and not having a Pizza.  Criminal.

 

5 hours ago, PupCam said:

Puppers needs a new DMM.      Anyone got any recommendations for a currently* available good ones (I'd like a Fluke but the budget doesn't stretch that far!)?

 

 

Does Puppers have a particular spec. in mind?  In my experience even the cheapo ones (as was sold by Maplin etc.) do a rather good job.

 

2 hours ago, PupCam said:

I really don't care what ethnicity, religion, orientation, disability or indeed country of origin someone is or has.  What  I care intensely about is recruiting the correct people, with the correct qualifications, the correct skills and experience to do their job and the interpersonal and communication skills to fit in and enable everybody else to do their jobs.      If somebody happens to be the best eye surgeon on the planet (irrespective of E, R, O, D or country of origin) but they cannot communicate at an adequate level with the rest of the team providing the service then as far as I'm concerned they are not fit for that particular role.     In reality of course, such situations are not that clear cut but the underlying principle applies.

 

The very first Big C Consultant that Momma Bear saw was English - though she was "about to drop" and then went on Maternity Leave; her replacement was from Italy (and just off the flight I suspect) and whilst he was a nice Guy he was struggling with the English Language to the point where much help was required from the Nurse also in attendance.  Whilst it didn't give any huge issues (mainly because "options were very limited") I think that in other cases I would've been more than a bit concerned if I was the Patient or Relative.

 

Bear here....

Wielding of the Paint Roller never actually took place as intended after all - mainly because by the time I'd set up, mixed paint, cut-in the paintwork immediately beneath the Ceiling Coving, painted the Leccy C.U. Box plus a a couple of small walls more suited to a brush rather than a roller I'd been going for five hours by the time I'd cleaned up afterwards.  Wielding of the Roller has therefore been postponed until tomorrow instead...

BG

 

 

[iL Dottore]

SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT

 

I work in drug development and many of my fellow consultants are ex-NHS medics.

 

Recently at a group get together, we were talking about the state of the NHS, and why they bailed out when they did (many, after quite a few years in the system), The primary reason, believe it or not, was not money; it was because they hated being taken for granted (both as professionals and for the work they did) by patients, by their management and by hospital administrations. The next most frequently cited reason for bailing out (and which usually went hand-in-hand with the reason above) was the appalling work life balance they suffered (a good friend of mine, ex-NHS, told me it wasn’t until he went into industry that he was able to see his family for more than a few hours a week). And not far behind was the mindless, petty, bureaucracy, and micromanagement. Being paid well for their hard work was an added bonus.

 

But it’s not only medics who feel this way: many of the engineers, technicians and people in other skilled professions have said they feel a lot more valued and their knowledge and expertise far better appreciated than they ever got when they were living and working in the UK.

 

Of course, the above is definitely anecdotal; but still, it’s food for thought.

[jjb1970]

I once sailed with a chief engineer who hated Filipino's with a passion when I was second engineer (or as Maersk preferred, first engineer). He'd been stabbed by a Filipino motorman wielding a sharpened screw driver. As is true for many seafarers I spent a lot of my sea time sailing with Filipino's, and I always found them to be very polite and nice people. The chief engineer concerned was another ghastly individual, thoroughly racist. I don't mean an older fellow with attitudes that were no longer acceptable (which would be bad enough) but a full on properly nasty piece of work. He was a New Zealander, he hated Maoris, hated East Asians, hated South Asians, hated people from the Middle East, hated the English......I'm not sure I ever found a group he didn't hate. We had a rather robust conversation mid way through the first trip we did together (Maersk paired up senior officers and they stayed with the same ship) after which he moderated his language and political posturing onboard the ship. 

[Ian Abel]

POETS, may happen unclear yet.

 

Yesterday, not a lot.

Dropped some boxes at our storage unti, mostly a dry-run to see how easy access/cart availability etc. was. Went like a dream, will be very suitable for requirements.

Mrs went to Dentist, they're not sure the issue as it's a toot that had a root cannal and crown. Referred to specialist and given a pai killer regime. This AM inexplicably much better so having called the specialist scheduled for later next week, unless things worsen.

 

Choir rehearsal short and sweet, then a decent post-rehearsal happy hour. 

 

Other news yesterday;

1) ANOTHER RECORD temperature high, 30c beating the prior record by several degrees.

2) The Minnesota Twins THRASHED (reason to mention is it seldom, if ever, happens!!) the Yankees in New York 11-2, slamming 9 runs in the first inning!

 

Today the weather will clock another unseasonable high though no record probably, seasonal normal 13c -19c this time of year.

13c first thing, and sunny, high of 26c expected, some rain later in the evening.

 

Tally ho.

 

[jjb1970]

I am in one of those should I - shouldn't I dilemmas.  I have always had a soft spot for the Pentax LX SLR, it was the much lesser recognized alternative to the Nikon F3 and Canon F1 flagship 35mm system SLR bodies. Many years ago I lusted after one as it was a beautifully made item with a feel of quality which is rare yet was smaller and lighter than Nikon and Canon alternatives. It was closer to the Olympus OM series, which were famous for their compactness. I've just seen an immaculate LX at a very acceptable price with a very clean 50mm F1.4 lens. I'm very tempted. Not to use as a camera, I have a mirrorless camera and a phone with a perfectly good camera, just because I like the precision and feel of those old 35mm SLRs from before the time they went plasticky. Decisions, decisions.

[PupCam]

30 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

I am in one of those should I - shouldn't I dilemmas.  I have always had a soft spot for the Pentax LX SLR, it was the much lesser recognized alternative to the Nikon F3 and Canon F1 flagship 35mm system SLR bodies. Many years ago I lusted after one as it was a beautifully made item with a feel of quality which is rare yet was smaller and lighter than Nikon and Canon alternatives. It was closer to the Olympus OM series, which were famous for their compactness. I've just seen an immaculate LX at a very acceptable price with a very clean 50mm F1.4 lens. I'm very tempted. Not to use as a camera, I have a mirrorless camera and a phone with a perfectly good camera, just because I like the precision and feel of those old 35mm SLRs from before the time they went plasticky. Decisions, decisions.

 

Do it!

 

I always liked Pentax cameras and lusted after an ME Super shortly after they came out in the early 80's.   I took the plunge when we could ill afford it as newly-weds (I seem to remember the Unimat 3 came along at about the same time!)  and it was a great camera.  Some years later I managed to pick up a Winder 2 for it at a reasonable price, not that I really needed a winder, but you just "had to have one".       Unfortunately its greatness isn't so great now;   it is dead electronically and the foam frame the mirror sits on when up has crumbled to dust.    I suppose it's academic now as I can't remember the last time I did traditional photography and I presume one's choice of film stock and processing is almost non-existent these days.    Still a lovely little thing though 😀

 

TTFN

 

 

Edited April 14, 2023 by PupCam

[Gwiwer]

7 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Travelodge.  No food just the offer of a breakfast basket.

All too common it seems with that particular brand.  Sometimes not even the breakfast basket.  Travelodge in Hayle, just off the A30 a smidge shy of Penzance, doesn't do anything more than offer a vending machine in the lobby.  You can get the same (or much the same) crisps, sweets and drinks from the Shell garage next door at cheaper prices.  They do, however, have a deal with Premier Inn across the road; £1 off that establishment's public price menu for all meals.  Whoopie-flippin-doo.  An all-you-can-eat breakfast (which, I have to say from experience, is not all that bad) for £8.99 instead of £9.99.  Not highly-rated on the review sites but it's adequate and better than the "nothing except crisps or Coke" at Travelodge.  

 

Exeter Services is the same; the only place to eat is within the service area itself and the options there are the usual suspects - Costa, Pret a Manger, Starchucks, Itso or Burger King.  No proper cooked breakfast anywhere.  

[Gwiwer]

4 minutes ago, PupCam said:

I presume one's choice of film stock and processing is almost non-existent these days

You can still get several of the better brands of film.  Rather like recorded music on vinyl photographic film has never quite been supplanted by the electronic era and has it s place alongside it.  Enthusiasts, professionals and others still routinely use film.  

 

I have (still) my now-old Minolta SLR with which I took many images over the years, mostly slides.  Prior to that I used a non-SLR Halina Paulette or (when I couldn't afford film / processing in my impecunious student days) a Kodak "Instamatic".  

 

It's the processing which is harder to find these days but there remain a few labs who have either survived by being "last of the few" or trading on an excellent reputation in the profession.  Some people are lucky enough to have home processing labs.  

 

Even Boots the Chemist still stocks a small selection of films but the better choice is available from your local camera / photographic retailer. Many of those are perfectly happy to discuss film and sell you the right one rather than attempt to win you into digital.  If you want film in 2023 then you are clearly a film user and not about to buy the latest "bargain" digital bridge camera or trade in for a top-of-the-range DSLR.  

 

For the record the current camera is a Canon EOS7 Mk1 which, while itself now of age and long since superseded in the range, remains a very solid and workmanlike piece of kit which I know I can trust to deliver quality (as in publishable) results.  

[Coombe Barton]

... Spring has sprung, although the weather is in denial....

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/04/14/gradually-downwards-worldwide-trends/

[southern42]

' afternoon all from red dragon land.

 

Easter hols = three days this week at the r**lway museum and no time for popping in here.

 

Notalotoftime, today, either as it was C&C groceries this afternoon. My little orange boxes are still on the table awaiting their share of grubbiness and other things are waiting for their grubbiness to be removed aka some of the H word remains to be carried out. 

 

Come next week, I shall probably be in need of a break, myself. 🤣

 

Some toot-on-the-flute fitted in, here and there, has ensured I have made a reasonable start on song 3. Being able to sing the notes by name, first, has really speeded up the flute playing, although the "singing" time is never ending... at least I have the first two lines in my head now, though I still miss-name some of the notes at times. I have set a target for this "refrain" of playing it with all the twiddly bits to make sure that this achievable, before going ahead with the rest of it. If I can, it will give me encouragement when things in the rest of the song get tough...but that may be awhile off, yet.

 

Time to check the roast.

 

Back soon...? Take care....

Polly

 

 

[polybear]

1 hour ago, jjb1970 said:

I am in one of those should I - shouldn't I dilemmas. ..........Decisions, decisions.

 

Do you want it?  Can you afford it?  Is it a good deal?  Then go for it.  You only live once (unless someone knows different - and can prove it...)

[Danemouth]

1 hour ago, jjb1970 said:

I am in one of those should I - shouldn't I dilemmas.  I have always had a soft spot for the Pentax LX SLR, it was the much lesser recognized alternative to the Nikon F3 and Canon F1 flagship 35mm system SLR bodies. Many years ago I lusted after one as it was a beautifully made item with a feel of quality which is rare yet was smaller and lighter than Nikon and Canon alternatives. It was closer to the Olympus OM series, which were famous for their compactness.

 

Pentax - my first serious camera in 1972 was a Pentax SP500 followed by a Spotmatic F. When their lens mount changed from screw to bayonet I changed to Nikon (1977) and stayed there. There followed a pair of FEs, F3s F100, D70, D600 and now a Z6. This has worked well for me, auutofocus came just as my sight was aging, digital replacing film made it much easier when lecturing in camera clubs and the Z6 a comparatively lightweight mirrorless camera in my early  70s when a smaller lighter body was appreciated.

 

I now carry the Z6 with just two lenses - 14-30 mm and 24-200mm

 

I haven't kept any old gear but my advice is to buy the camera and enjoy admiring it.

 

Dave

[DaveF]

1 hour ago, jjb1970 said:

I am in one of those should I - shouldn't I dilemmas.  I have always had a soft spot for the Pentax LX SLR, it was the much lesser recognized alternative to the Nikon F3 and Canon F1 flagship 35mm system SLR bodies. Many years ago I lusted after one as it was a beautifully made item with a feel of quality which is rare yet was smaller and lighter than Nikon and Canon alternatives. It was closer to the Olympus OM series, which were famous for their compactness. I've just seen an immaculate LX at a very acceptable price with a very clean 50mm F1.4 lens. I'm very tempted. Not to use as a camera, I have a mirrorless camera and a phone with a perfectly good camera, just because I like the precision and feel of those old 35mm SLRs from before the time they went plasticky. Decisions, decisions.

 

I'd be very tempted.  I saw a Minolta film slr in a local second hand shop today and thought about it, just to have and look at as I used Minoltas pre digital.

 

Now I use a Nikon D7200 much of the time but I also have a second hand D3100 which cost less than £100 when I want something lighter.  The D7200 usually has either a 180-200mm or 18-135mm lens on it, the D3100 has either a 18-135mm or, as of today a 18-55 mm lens - so with the latter lens it is very light when I just go out for a walk.  I bought the 18-55mm lens today in the shop where I looked at the Minolta.

 

My really light camera is a Canon Ixus175 but it is beginning to show signs of age.

 

David

[polybear]

Bear's Challenge of the Day........

 

What's This?