Sorry for the delay today folks. I have just spent the last six hours at hospital with my parents, waiting for Dad to have a rather unpleasant intrusive medical examination performed.However, as sedated as he was (around the equivalent of 5 pink gins* I would say) when we left, he posed this conundrum:
"Why is it that if the doctors and the government are so concerned about our diets, and what we eat, that they have a Burger King franchise in the entrance to hospital?"
Indeed, Mayday Hospital has a very nice Burger King slap bang in the middle of the entrance hall.
Answers on a postcard please.
*NB a pink gin is an old naval drink:
- Add one drop of Angostura bitters to a glass
- Swirl it around
- Throw the bitters out
- Add some ice
- Add a measure of gin
- Add a little water (the gin turns pink)
- Drink with gusto
The simple answer is that the Burger King food is probably healthier than the c**p they serve up in hospital. Having had a stay in one of our fine NHS establishments a few years ago I can honestly say that I would rather eat a Burger King meal than suffer the indignity of food poisoning from a re-heated NHS portion of what might have been roast lamb again. Oh and then there was the "Do you want sticky toffee pudding and custard with that ?" moment when a big sign on my bed just happened to have the word 'Diabetic' written on it. Gah!
ReplyDeleteKen,
ReplyDeleteThe answer would I am sure take too much time to write up - I think FFF is on the mark. It also allows them to under fund the meal service knowing that most people will 'eat out' or have food brought in from the canteens and similar that they scatter around the buildings.
FFF,
they just can't get the staff - a few years ago it was probably difficult to find ancilliaries who couold read or knoew what the implications were. Now its a problem finding one who speaks English, though in some places that might not be a problem at all.
Bet the Halal requirements are satisfied though.
You should have said yes to the sticky toffee and custard but insisted they brought you the sugar free version ... providing it was certified nut free of course. ;-)
Further to my previous post - I bet they can't find people who can type either ... or proof read ..
ReplyDelete(the shame, the shame ....)
Other than the odd scribbled few words on an in-patient's bedside records most reports related to consultations seem to be seem to be dictated into a pocket memo device. Presumably these days they are digital so the files would be easy (ish) to ship for audio typing.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand there are reasonably adequate speech to text systems around which would preclude most of the need for re-typing and just require checking for anomalies. For the occasional user like myself being unpractised in dictation means the results are less than good, but for regular users and with the specialist medical vocabulary versions which are available I would have thought they offered positive benefits.
But maybe not ...
So that's how you make a pink gin!
ReplyDeleteNow to try five and check for effect!