Cataract treatment - can it really be true?

moneyistooshorttomention

ripplyuk wrote: »

It's not that they told her only one eye needed done. They were honest with her that both needed done but that the policy was that one was enough for 'day-to-day functioning'. They even let her choose which eye!

Sadly, she hasn't adjusted well to it and says she finds it disorienting.

I can well understand her feeling that way.

One of my concerns about my own mother was that I was picturing her having more Falls if she wasn't able to see properly. I know how she bustles around their home and she'd already had A Fall and I didn't want her having any extra to what I anticipated she'd have more of (of herself) anyway.

Hence being very clear she needed it done regardless - and, as I always tell her, "If the worst comes to the worst and you have to pay - then you have to pay and go ahead and do so".

Could she (or you) manage to find the £2,000-£2,500 per eye it costs to go privately? (Though, goodness knows, I find it incredible that an operation that costs the NHS only £1,000 per eye and is so beneficial is something they get awkward about paying for).

I know my own personal position boils down to "If the only way proves to be to pay for it for the NHS - then I'd pay - even if I didn't have the money to do so. I'd pay first and worry where the money was going to come from later". Though I know some wouldn't/couldn't do so...but I'm strong enough to do so and then go off to the papers complaining that the NHS has just landed me with a debt and explain the position clearly to people.

EDIT; I'm wondering what your mothers temperament is here? My own mother would have had forty fits at the idea of it - but I'd certainly be prepared personally to set up a "Go Fund Me" page on Facebook and would have no qualms whatsoever about shaming the NHS by so doing and would see myself as "standing up for peoples rights" by so doing. I know my own mother would hate the thought of anyone doing that - but your mother may be different on that?? Would she accept you setting up a page like that for her?

pollypenny

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I was originally - until I started having people telling me about jobs refused/training refused/jobs they were kicked out of because of the language and I do not approve of that. I also sympathise with how little money there is for things sometimes - so I hate seeing any of it spent to allow for personal preferences and want it to go on things we all need.

I also started counting how many versions of Welsh there are - I thought there was "two in the process of becoming one". When I got to about 16 different versions and finding I seemed to be expected to learn 3 of them (North Welsh, South Welsh, local version) there was also an element of "Blow this for a lark - I was only prepared to learn one language - not three".

I only know a few words of my own dialect - from back along maid, and I speak standard English/what I gather is probably "received pronunciation". Makes life much easier for everyone to understand me.:).

There is one version of standard Welsh, as there is for English. Wherever you travel, you’ll find local words - it’s called dialect, of course. Added to that, there are different accents which can make some words sound totally different.

An example of the above would be the Geordie 'wor' for 'our'.

If you live in South Wales why would be expected to learn, for example, 'mas' for 'allan' for 'out'?

BorisThomson

I'm wondering what your mothers temperament is here? My own mother would have had forty fits at the idea of it - but I'd certainly be prepared personally to set up a "Go Fund Me" page on Facebook and would have no qualms whatsoever about shaming the NHS by so doing and would see myself as "standing up for peoples rights" by so doing. I know my own mother would hate the thought of anyone doing that - but your mother may be different on that?? Would she accept you setting up a page like that for her?

Shaming the NHS is a disgraceful thing to do. So many thousands of people work so hard everyday to do their best with ever decreasing funds, and they deserve our praise and thanks, not your vague attempt to shame them. If you have an issue with NHS funding then vent your frustrations at Jeremy Hunt, he's the one intent on decimating the service.

moneyistooshorttomention

"Shaming the funding (or lack of) given to the NHS" is my obvious meaning. I wasnt aware I needed to choose each exact word with great care to make it plain that I mean what I quite obviously do mean.

moneyistooshorttomention

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

Those are some of the maddest excuses I've ever heard for not bothering to learn the language of the country you've settled in.

You just didn't want to, did you? Be honest! :cool:

Speaking of not choosing each word with great care - and phrased like that makes it sound like I'm being "told off" for not wanting to learn Welsh.

You might like to rephrase that more accurately. I'm sure you can't really want to tell me off about my choice of leisuretime activities.....and realise that obviously no-one is entitled to do so.

No - I don't want to actually. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to do so. There's nothing right with wanting to do so. It's up to each individual person whether they want to do so or no.

I've got other things I want to do instead. So if I want to do cookery/learning about plants/learning about dance (ie the things I am interested in) and other people want to learn Welsh - then those are our respective choices as to how we wish to spend our time. There are no value judgements attached to either. Each to their own as to how we spend our time (and our money). It is not up to anyone else to form judgements about our choice of hobbies/interests (as long as they're legal).

p00hsticks

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Speaking of not choosing each word with great care - and phrased like that makes it sound like I'm being "told off" for not wanting to learn Welsh.

You might like to rephrase that more accurately. I'm sure you can't really want to tell me off about my choice of leisuretime activities.....and realise that obviously no-one is entitled to do so.

No - I don't want to actually. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to do so. There's nothing right with wanting to do so. It's up to each individual person whether they want to do so or no.

I've got other things I want to do instead. So if I want to do cookery/learning about plants/learning about dance (ie the things I am interested in) and other people want to learn Welsh - then those are our respective choices as to how we wish to spend our time. There are no value judgements attached to either. Each to their own as to how we spend our time (and our money). It is not up to anyone else to form judgements about our choice of hobbies/interests (as long as they're legal).

Personally, I wouldn't class learning the native language of a country you have moved to on the same lines as a hobby such as cooking or flower arranging though.

In England councils and local authorities spend a considerable amount of money on providing translation services to non-English speakers.

This money could be used more productively if all immigrants to the country showed the courtesy of making the effort to learn the native language - perhaps even to provide more cataract operations on the NHS.

hunters

Had the OP known the Welsh language they could have sung the Welsh National Anthem today before the rugby started but then apparently Wales is not a country.

boots_babe

My mum had her cataracts done, and it was something like 10 months I think between each eye. This wasn't Wales, it was England. Just general lack of resources I think and big waiting lists.

tooldle

I live and work in Wales. My elderly mother is awaiting an out payient apt to examine her cataracts. In our area the wait is approx 9mths for a first apt. This is down on the 12mths plus that was the waiting time a few years ago. Whilst there is an ongoing push to increase the use of welsh in the workforce, it is rarely essential and commonly listed as a desirable criteria in job adverts. Medical students are now encouraged to learn welsh if training at a welsh university. There have been some recent changes on the use of welsh for employers, but to the best of my knowledgethese changes do not make the ability to speak welsh an essential criteria to work in a bilingual service. I am friendly with a number of medical professional in hospitals across south wales and cannot think of a single one who speaks welsh.

tooldle

The nhs trust will likely have a welsh language officer. It would be simple enough for the op to ask the question directly