Waiting

The activity that most defined the day. 

After S had been waiting for me to pack up things to leave on the drive to Auckland, we spent a lot of time between Albany and Tristram Avenue waiting for the stopped queue of cars in front of us to start to move again. 

The work started with a meeting which I chair; liaising between the DHB services and the District Inspectors. Waiting for everyone to join (mostly by ZOOM) was interspersed with good natured but serious joshing about distance between those of us in the meeting room .

I’m still waiting for the staff at the “flow” meeting to be enthusiastic about potential discharges. The blame culture embedded in various authorities (not least the Health and Disability Commissioner) is undoubtedly a factor. As the clinical leader, I try to model making decisions based on what is best for the patients, although I recognise that that is not straight forward.

I joined a younger colleague in an assessment, as I will assume responsibility for the patient’s care when he transfers, and we have to wait for a discharge to provide a bed to transfer him into.

So it was more satisfying, but still needing the patience of one accustomed to waiting, to discuss the support systems I want in place for when I discharge a patient; tomorrow, I hope.

The afternoon was bereft of waiting, as I had to earnestly knuckle down to write a report to put before the review tribunal.  After getting confused about which appeal a recent letter from the tribunal, was referring to, I had got too far behind to allow any more waiting. 

Finally, it was time for S to pick me up, as we are staying in Auckland tonight so she can go to her book club meeting. While waiting for her to arrive, I walked by the duck pond in Auckland Domain. There a young mallard drake appeared to be waiting with a number of ducks; for something.