Tuesday 29 January 2008

Which food?

I have just added an article in our News section which discusses Caffeine having an adverse effect on blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. I am not totally surprised, not that I had any insider knowledge, or have I any biology background, but Caffeine is quite a strong stimulant and I could imagine it causing other problems. But what really gets me with all the warnings on food and drink is the amount of conflicting information we get.

I was reading the other day, that red wine is not good for you, although recent thought was that red wine was good for you. The report mentioned above regarding the caffeine did state that although it could be adverse for people with diabetes, its fine for those without diabetes. My mum after her stroke was told that she shouldnt drink pineapple juice with the particular tablet she was taken. A friend with high cholestral was told not to eat prawns, even though I understood fish to be good for you!. Its all very confusing.

Food and drink is a very popular issue in the media of late and much is spoken about food labelling regarding the ingredients, the calorific, fat, salt and additive content; perhaps companies could also add warnings as to the adverse effects of the product on those with particular problems. Perhaps we could see on a jar of coffee "Warning not suitable for those with Type 2 diabetes", or on a sausage roll, "Do not take this product if you have a heart condition, or if you have woken up with a bit of a cough". * It all sounds ridiculous, but it would give us, the consumer a bit more help when trying to keep up to date with all the latest trends in food and drinks.





*This is untrue, its just to make a point, before people start writing in to ask if they can eat a sausage roll as they had a heart attack 3 years ago, or for that matter because they have got a cough today.

Thursday 24 January 2008

Fine the patients?

I was watching television this morning and there was a lengthy piece about on how long people have to wait to see a doctor. I never knew there was a problem, and in fact I never knew how lucky I am.

I have been registered with my surgery all my life, and have never been anywhere else, and so as it turns out, I have had the wool pulled over my eyes regarding the efficiency of doctors surgerys. If I phone up in the morning, I can get an appointment the very next day, and normally with my own doctor. I thought this was commonplace, but according to the television, and now having researched, it clearly isnt. Depending on where you live you could wait days for an appointment, not much fun when you are sick or in pain!

The last time I was in the doctors however, I did notice they had a sign that was kept up to date with the percentage of missed importants. It was running at around 7%. Now surely at the surgerys where you have to wait days for an appointment this figure must be huge. As people either get better, or have to travel to the local A&E.

Everytime an appointment is missed someone misses out. A doctor is left waiting, and a patient with a crippling painful illness is left at home waiting for his appointment in two days time bacause some idiot had a cold and after a day or so in bed feels a lot better and couldnt be bothered to ring up the surgery and cancel the appointment. The private sector would pay a GP between £20 and £25 for a consultation, so why not fine the patient this amount? I am sure if someone had to go private and knew if they didnt turn up they would still have to pay they would make sure they cancelled the appointment, so why should the NHS have to suffer?

I hate the way people just dont seem to care nowadays. "It someone elses problem", but its not, its all of ours problem.

Wednesday 23 January 2008

Buy Cheap, pay more.

We get a lot of phonecalls from people asking about our products and then get told they can buy it cheaper elsewhere. We also get a lot of phonecalls from customers asking us if we can fix their products as they bought it from a company who have since gone bust / are charging a ridiculous amount to fix it / dont want to know.

One of my favourite stories was one of a man who told me he had bought a scooter from the internet cheaper than us. He received the scooter, put it together, and after a week it stopped working. He phoned the company who asked him to repackage it and send it back and they would send it back working within 4 weeks! I would happily say 95% of our customers would not be able to do this. But apparently this is acceptable practice as it was cheaper.

Its amazing the amount of people that are just looking for the cheapest product on the market and are not taking into consideration the quality or even the backup service offered by the people they are buying from. If you are looking for a product which is going to improve your quality of life and aid your mobility, surely quality and service should come long before price?.

It is possible to buy anything cheaper on the Internet, but its not always price that is important. I would say that 85% of enquiries we get through the Internet are from family members or friends of the end user. Quite often these people think they are being helpful finding the cheapest product, but unfortunatly when the problems occur its not that person who has to struggle on with the swollen ankles that cant be raised or, having to sleep in the chair for weeks on end because the adjustable bed is broken and they just cant sleep flat with the COPD.

The Internet is a great way of finding cheaper alternatives, internet retailers generally have less overheads so they can offer the products cheaper, but dont lose out on service or quality. If you are looking for someone else, think about the inconvienance that could be caused if the product breaks down. Imagine what it would be like if your mobile phone breaks, its like you have lost a limb, well in the case of mobility products, that is never truer.

Monday 21 January 2008

Welcome

Hello and welcome to our new Blog.

In our Blog we will offer comments and advice on all issues relating to a wide range of disability and mobility issues.

We will keep you up to date with current affairs and also issues on the marketplace, including product reviews, new products and general advice when using the products.

If there is anything you would like to see mentioned on our website then please email us and let us know.