Hi readers, it's Emily, Kerry and William here today, talking health again, following on from Kerry’s article last week.
This week, I, Kerry wanted to share a bit more about the appointment itself and my thoughts. Although I know what it was about now, I didn’t really at the time and was nervous. The nurse explained she’d not seen my notes, and only knew I used a wheelchair. I shared that I was anxious, so she told about it being a new health check, looking at physical, mental and social health.
She went to check my blood pressure, blood sugars, and asked lots of questions about my physical health, and how my diet was, about my mental health (how I was feeling, what kind of support I get, my friends etc). She gave some general advice too.
What surprised me was that I couldn’t be weighed as they didn’t have the right scales. I was weighed ages ago in hospital, sitting in the wheelchair, which is then weighed without me in it, and from subtracting one from the other, they can then calculate my weight. It would be helpful to know what I weigh now, as I’d like to know my BMI and if I need to lose, or gain weight. All three of us wonder why they, or some of our GP surgeries don’t have these special scales, as how else do people like me know their weight? Perhaps there is a good reason why not and if so, we’d love to know.
In the meantime, I did ok in the check, and is good to know what this check was all about. We hear a lot of bad things about our health services, but this is really good. Thank you NHS.
The writers of the Our View column are supported in their editing by People First Dorset - a charity led and run by people with learning disabilities with support from staff.
コメント