Waiting Again.

Early next week, after 7+ months of (presumably) gradual ascent in someone's in-tray, we should hear the outcome of the Healthcare Commission's Independent Review. I have touched on their place in the grand scheme of things a couple of times at least (I wasn't so hot on the labels in the early days). They're frequently described in the press as the 'Health Service Watchdog' which isn't a bad description but, considering the size of the Health Service, I wish they had more than one dog to watch it.

So we had to complain about our treatment, or lack of it, by the local PCT. We compiled what I'm tempted to call a dossier about the PCT's exchanges with us, particularly the appeal panel session itself and the increasingly isolated position of our PCT with regard to bilateral implantation and meningitis.

I don't know how this will end. In retrospect, it seems to me that we took something of a scattergun approach to the complaint, including as many possible angles in the hope that one of them was the required trigger. Like I've said before, these dealings with bureaucracy feel like a particularly cruel children's guessing game. There is a right answer, they're just not going to tell you the question and will, if the mood takes them, change the answer if you get too close with your guesses.

I'm not sure what range of actions are open to the Healthcare Commission. We give short shrift to the dream scenario, where an outraged 'Commissioner' demands the PCT apologise and reimburse us for Tom's second implant forthwith. Instead we kid ourselves that it's a done deal and the outcome will be along the lines of 'while it is unfortunate, the PCT were within their rights to...'. And so we prepare for the next step.