MY HUSBAND HAS ACCUSED ME OF BEING A GRUMPY OLD WOMAN!

Are we the generation that refuses to retire? An example is Michael Caine who has made 30 films since retiring, Cliff Richard who, love him or loathe him, looks better every year and Joni Mitchell who has just announced a comeback tour. Even the Spice Girls have jumped on our bandwagon. Sorry girls, you have to be a wrinkly to come back from retirement!

Then there are the oldies that never retired in the first place like David Attenborough, (who, I admit, is a different generation to me), Ronnie Wood who will rock ‘til he drops (out of a coconut tree?) and let’s not forget one of the most famous old age pensions in the world our beloved Queen. I have been watching The Monarch on TV and she leaves us all standing. She is tireless, alert, articulate, interested, gracious and smart. How does she do it? Oh yes, I’m in good company.

Talking about TV shows, we recently watched the Gerry Robinson programme on the National Health Service. Remember, the NHS - the 4th largest employer in the world? Despite funding being increased by 50% to £100 billion a year the waiting lists are still horrendous, the computer systems are unwieldy, outdated and not fit for purpose, and there are systemic inefficiencies throughout the entire service.

One year on from his previous programme when he re-visited one of our most successful hospitals in Rotherham and where he uncovered staggering problems we were amazed to find that his recommendations had been embraced and staff had new, envigoured attitudes.

But wait, all is not well. The Government have announced another “initiative” that is about to undermine all the good done. No wonder everyone is so demoralised. Gerry Robinson put it well. He said something to the effect that the Government issues policy directives but has no way of managing and monitoring them. It’s like telling a child to tidy up his bedroom and expecting him to do it. It just ain’t going to happen.

I, like many, many others, can recount tales of catastrophic failures from personal experience. Old Grumpy has had a low pelvic pain since mid August and now he is very anaemic. The pain was so bad in October that it caused us to cut short our “New England in the Fall” trip. He has private health care and was duly referred to a consultant who arranged for a biopsy to take place “on a Thursday”!

When the biopsy finally took place TWO WEEKS later it took another THREE WEEKS before the Consultant gave him the good news that the results were OK. However, he said that he would keep an eye of things and made an appointment to see him again in the New Year.

My husband wasn’t happy with this because he was still in pain and was now feeling exhausted all the time. He went to see his GP who ran tests, discovered the anaemia and asked the consultant to carry out a more thorough investigation. So here we are, 4 months after first consulting the doctor, back at the beginning again. In the meantime my poor husband is still in pain and is so exhausted that it is an effort for him to get out of bed.

Today he goes for another investigation under general aenesthetic which may (or may not) finally uncover the problem.