Still in Wolverley - Mike meets the NHS

Mike working on the blog

We are still in Wolverley. In the morning we had a look round the village - very attractive with some interesting buildings. A row of old houses near the church had been partly carved directly from the local sandstone hill. Opposite there was a doorway cut into the hill side cliff. Further down the street there was an imposing grey stone building that was once been a courthouse and more recently the local school.

We also found the doctors' surgery. A week ago I had fallen heavily after a canal side bollard (one of the nasty new wooden ones) leapt up out of nowhere and tripped me up. My left thumb had been sore and stiff since then. Thinking it was a long time for no improvement to a bruise I fixed up a visitor's appointment (my local address: The Lock, Wolverley!) to see the doctor. An hour later I got in to see her and she said I should go round to the hospital within a day, or two at the outside, to get an X-ray as there could be a broken bone which could set incorrectly. It couldn't wait til I got home.

Here we have one of the difficulties of life afloat - how does one get to specialist medical attention if moored in a small village in an area one doesnt know with one's sole means of transport limited to 3mph? Remember also we would not want to leave our expensive boat unattended for more than a day or so. Anyway, with advice from the surgery reception we concluded the only place with Xray facilities I could get to reasonably easily was the Minor Injuries Unit in Kidderminster, fortunately only 10 minutes taxi away.

After a boring 1.5 hour wait to see someone I was efficiently assessed by a nurse/practitioner who doubted that there was any break but sent me round for an Xray just in case. This was completed in 10 minutes and fortunately showed that she was correct. Best guess - a bruised or damaged tendon which would take a few weeks to heal. In conclusion I must say the NHS worked very well for me.

By the time I left the MIU it was raining again. The Met Office website is indicating a choice between light and heavy rain showers for the rest of the week. So it isnt clear whether we will move tomorrow and if we do how far we will get.