Although I am well aware of the popularity of Karin Slaughter, and being a self confessed crime novel fan, I am ashamed to say this is the first time I have read one of Karins books.
Of all the crime books I've read, the majority have been enjoyable, a small percentage I haven't bothered finishing and an even smaller percentage are memorable. 'Cop town' definitely falls into the latter.
The reason for this is quite simple, reading this book, you are not just processing the unfolding of a crime. You are processing the lives of the wonderful characters and their everyday struggles contained in the pages.
I said after reading the Elizabeth Haynes book 'Into the darkest corner' that reading the book produced feelings within me that were at times quite unpleasant and caused me feelings of anxiety and disgust, and it is the same with 'Cop Town' and it sets the book apart from your average crime thriller.
,
The story focuses on the killing of a cop from the Atlanta police force in 1974. The force has only just started accepting female recruits, but sexism, homophobia and racism are still rife within the force. Women can't partner men, and whites can't partner blacks. And if you happen to be gay, well you're on your own. The two central characters Maggie and Kate are struggling to be accepted by the force, and on top of trying to catch an elusive killer.
This is a fantastic crime thriller, but the accurate exploration of racism, sexism and homophobia make this book much, much more than that. It's a history lesson. And you should get a copy.
Tuesday 4 April 2017
Sunday 2 April 2017
My experience of the NHS
Hello all,
It's been a while, I hope you are well.
Today I want to tell you about my experience with the NHS, as it seems the only time you ever hear about the NHS now is in a negative capacity. Whether it's waiting times, no available beds or government cuts.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the NHS for the recent treatment I got under their care.
A couple of months ago, I was referred to the ENT department for an issue I had with my nose. This problem has been causing me problems for over ten years now, but I had always put it down to my use of cocaine, so because I was an addict with a conscious I was reluctant to waste NHS time by complaining.
Because my use of cocaine has stopped but the problem persisted, I went to see a fantastic doctor called Dr Webb. He told me that I had a deviated septum and enlarged turbinates, and thankfully and rather kindly assured me that it was in no way related to cocaine use.
The symptoms are not very pleasant, but if it helps anyone suffering with the same thing then I shall tell you what happens. The main problems I had was 'stuck' mucous. Because my septum was out of line and my turbinate (boney like structure at either side of the nose) was enlarged, mucous would build up and get stuck and dry up. This would happen daily and i would become aware of it by pressure building up. I would then have to aggressively blow my nose and release what had become a bone-dry ball of blood and mucous often up to half an inch thick. I also used to snore quite bad due to not having a perfect flow of air through my nose.
Dr Webb gave me a steroid to use but assured me that the could and more importantly WOULD operate on me if this didn't work.
Recent news stories reveal that minor operations such as this would be put off in order to save money in order to prioritise major operations. Don't get me wrong, I would happily have lived with this problem if it meant the money being spent on a life saving operation to someone else, but the way the news has been spun regards to the NHS letting patients down and undervaluing those with minor ailments left me a bit anxious that it would happen to me.
Thankfully, it didn't. Dr Webb, operated on me on Friday, just two months after initially reporting the problem. Which I thought was fantastic. Admittedly, I did get several reschedules through the post, leaving me dreading that one of the dates would have on it a date ending in 2018 or 2019. But it didn't, it was just a day either side of the original plan. Bearing in mind I've waited in a longer queue for concert tickets, and then for up to a year for that concert to arrive, waiting two months for something that was going to improve my quality of life was insignificant.
My praise doesn't end with the waiting time and Dr Webb. On the ward (the daycase unit at broadgreen hospital) I was treated with respect and dignity. I arrived at 7:30 and was the last operation of the morning. I was put in my own room, with my own bathroom and television. Although the reason for this wasn't made clear, I would like to think that it was for my own comfort due to me being the last operation of the day.
The staff are overworked, that much is clear to anyone. Whether you have called your GP, sat in A+E or been admitted to a ward you know how much strain the staff are under. The remarkable thing however is that they don't let it show. I used to work in a call centre where people with broken tv remote controls and other tv related issues used to call to get help. There used to be an LED light that used to light up red on the phones when there were 50 or more calls in the queue. This honestly used to send people into a rage. Desks would be banged, headsets were flung and the customers generally got a poor service from people who were otherwise good at their job. This doesn't happen in the NHS. People have to understand that if you have waited 7 days to see your gp, or 7 hours to see a doctor in A+E then they have been seeing a constant stream of people before you. Not just twiddling their thumbs sitting at a desk. Despite seeing a constant stream of people, to be treated with respect, dignity and care is in my opinion somewhat superhuman.
I would like to thank all the staff at broadgreen hospital for the care I received.
It's been a while, I hope you are well.
Today I want to tell you about my experience with the NHS, as it seems the only time you ever hear about the NHS now is in a negative capacity. Whether it's waiting times, no available beds or government cuts.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the NHS for the recent treatment I got under their care.
A couple of months ago, I was referred to the ENT department for an issue I had with my nose. This problem has been causing me problems for over ten years now, but I had always put it down to my use of cocaine, so because I was an addict with a conscious I was reluctant to waste NHS time by complaining.
Because my use of cocaine has stopped but the problem persisted, I went to see a fantastic doctor called Dr Webb. He told me that I had a deviated septum and enlarged turbinates, and thankfully and rather kindly assured me that it was in no way related to cocaine use.
The symptoms are not very pleasant, but if it helps anyone suffering with the same thing then I shall tell you what happens. The main problems I had was 'stuck' mucous. Because my septum was out of line and my turbinate (boney like structure at either side of the nose) was enlarged, mucous would build up and get stuck and dry up. This would happen daily and i would become aware of it by pressure building up. I would then have to aggressively blow my nose and release what had become a bone-dry ball of blood and mucous often up to half an inch thick. I also used to snore quite bad due to not having a perfect flow of air through my nose.
Dr Webb gave me a steroid to use but assured me that the could and more importantly WOULD operate on me if this didn't work.
Recent news stories reveal that minor operations such as this would be put off in order to save money in order to prioritise major operations. Don't get me wrong, I would happily have lived with this problem if it meant the money being spent on a life saving operation to someone else, but the way the news has been spun regards to the NHS letting patients down and undervaluing those with minor ailments left me a bit anxious that it would happen to me.
Thankfully, it didn't. Dr Webb, operated on me on Friday, just two months after initially reporting the problem. Which I thought was fantastic. Admittedly, I did get several reschedules through the post, leaving me dreading that one of the dates would have on it a date ending in 2018 or 2019. But it didn't, it was just a day either side of the original plan. Bearing in mind I've waited in a longer queue for concert tickets, and then for up to a year for that concert to arrive, waiting two months for something that was going to improve my quality of life was insignificant.
My praise doesn't end with the waiting time and Dr Webb. On the ward (the daycase unit at broadgreen hospital) I was treated with respect and dignity. I arrived at 7:30 and was the last operation of the morning. I was put in my own room, with my own bathroom and television. Although the reason for this wasn't made clear, I would like to think that it was for my own comfort due to me being the last operation of the day.
The staff are overworked, that much is clear to anyone. Whether you have called your GP, sat in A+E or been admitted to a ward you know how much strain the staff are under. The remarkable thing however is that they don't let it show. I used to work in a call centre where people with broken tv remote controls and other tv related issues used to call to get help. There used to be an LED light that used to light up red on the phones when there were 50 or more calls in the queue. This honestly used to send people into a rage. Desks would be banged, headsets were flung and the customers generally got a poor service from people who were otherwise good at their job. This doesn't happen in the NHS. People have to understand that if you have waited 7 days to see your gp, or 7 hours to see a doctor in A+E then they have been seeing a constant stream of people before you. Not just twiddling their thumbs sitting at a desk. Despite seeing a constant stream of people, to be treated with respect, dignity and care is in my opinion somewhat superhuman.
I would like to thank all the staff at broadgreen hospital for the care I received.
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