Beds and bugs

I’m thinking of retiring from medical practice in 2012 – on 9 June (i.e. my 65th birthday) or 30 June (i.e. the 2011/2 financial year’s end). It’s not that I’m not doing good work – I reckon my work currently is as good as it’s ever been. Rather I’ve had enough of The System. Greedy governments, mad medical indemnity insurance, crazy continuing professional development decrees. And on it goes. Bureaucrats, bean counters and other assorted apparatchiks have gotten the better of me. They’re all bastards. They’ve worn me down. Smooth as a river stone. I’ve done my best. Held out for as long as I can. But two more years will see me out. Maybe I’ll change my mind. I doubt it, though.

At least I no longer do hospital work. Thankfully. I’ve previously written of hospital bans on lab coats, ties, below-elbow sleeves, watches, and even long fingernails [1]; also bedside flowers [2]. The latest news from the UK – which has lost the plot as a nation – is a ban on sitting on patients’ beds. The response to this lunacy from near [3] and far [4] is negative. Vehemently so. I agree. Some of my best hospital work occurred during quiet chats with patients – with them in bed, and me sitting on the bed holding their hand.

But, I know, I’m a sheep man in cattle country. And yesterday’s man. Or if I’m not now I will be in two years time. Ho hum.

‘Change Your Clock, Change Your Smoke Alarm Battery’

Last night Sweetheart Vivienne and I enjoyed an extra hour of sleep. Because at 2 a.m. today, daylight saving ended in Tasmania [1]. To mark this auspicious occasion, the Tasmania Fire Service [TFS] and battery maker Duracell teamed up for a campaign urging all Tasmanians to ‘Change Your Clock, Change Your Smoke Alarm Battery’ [2]. CYC aims to ensure all smoke alarms are kept in working order. It’s message’s promoted via print media, radio and TV advertisements; and on the web [3, 4]. Also in-store promotions in supermarkets and hardware outlets ‘to promote the campaign where Duracell batteries are sold’.

Smoke alarms are important – nay, vital – little gizmos. They literally save lives [5]. So making sure they work’s a no-brainer. So, as a volunteer firefighter and citizen and doctor, I’m in favour of CYC. But I have a couple of caveats: First, changing smoke alarm batteries annually means a very large number of batteries are discarded before the end of their useful life. In this regard, when smoke alarm batteries run low there’s a warning tone; and batteries are a waste disposal problem [6]. Second, I’m bothered by a private sector corporation (i.e. Duracell) entering into a financial arrangement with a public body (i.e. TFS). I know I’m old-fashioned, yesterday’s man, a sheep man in cattle country etc. And I can’t point to a practical downside to the CYC arrangement. I just think it’s wrong. In principle. That’s all. Ho hum.