I really needed an electric hoist so that I could transfer from one chair to another ( to my standing chair or iBot ) Because I just don’t have room for all these bloody chairs in my flat, they have to be outside ( under cover ). I applied to get a hoist via the NHS system but 1/ they probably won’t give me one at all, and 2/ they absolutely will NOT give me one that’s going to be outside, and exposed to the elements at all.

Ebay to the rescue. People that need Hoists in the first place are obviously often not in good health. They die and the hoists are then not required. There are lots around, though I guess it’s a gamble as to how well it works when you get it. By design they have to be strong and last though, so usually I guess it’s a safe bet.

Today, Pete from Bristol came with his dad ( 89 ) and together they carried the ceiling track and hoist into my place. He had told me that it had been for his late wife. She’d had lung disease and then whilst in hospital, he said she’d been dropped ( tho it was denied ) and broken her neck. He’d applied for funding help but was refused any. Pete drives a recovery truck, and isn’t well off at all. His wife died, he said, followed shortly after by his mum.

We talked about the ‘injustice ‘ of the funding system for disabled people, and he then went on to talk about the money that the NHS wastes on other things. As he is the ‘ practical sort’ he mixes with practical people. A fella he knows supplies and services beds that go up and down in critical units of the NHS. This fella’s job is to go in once a year and replace the battery on the electronic bed and give it the once over. He asked Pete if he knew how much the batteries cost him. Pete replied that actually he did, and that they were £18 each. The fella then asked him to guess what he charges the NHS for a new battery once a year…..

£867.

God, is it any wonder the NHS is strapped for cash?