The Lockdown Diary - DAY 115

Hospital. Blood clinics have been rearranged from outlying facilities to the two bigger, more central sites and are walk-in, 12 until 4 on weekdays, which is clearly to reduce risk and limit possible transference.

Masks are mandatory in the building and there's a boxed stack of disposables at the door. Sanitise in, sanitise out. Bloods were on the ground floor so there was no call for lifts or stair etiquette. People sat in the corridors were separated one per bank of three as I walked down to the phlebotomy area.

Outside phlebotomy is a nurse with an equipped station and she runs a temperature check. It's normal. Sanitisers are of course eevrywhere but before you go into bloods, you again must sanitise. 17 is the number showing, next ticket off the strip is 18, it would increase by four by the time I'm seen but the wait is short - two were in when I arrived and there appears to be a stagger to allow for a wipe-down or some such procedure. Bloods taken, in and out, left my stool sample as they're processed via the same trolley, back in three months. The waiting room has tagged chairs that are out of use to maintain social distance and the overall experience is of well-managed space. I have no idea how an office is manageable given what is in place there as a basic.

There was an outside possibility I'd have been momentarily in the same hospital as Mum but she hasn't been moved yet. Things are, however, changing hourly as four on her ward were moved or discharged in quick succession - she's booked for a move or discharge (!) on #118 but a move before seems more likely.

Son went in for his last day of the year at school. He ended up doing four Thursdays solely because he's year 10 and there's a run-in to prepare for his GCSE year. Again, they went in as quarter classes and were suitably spaced in arrangement - busy but in a substantially reduced volume. This hasn't gone away.

Recommended listening - The Cult, She Sells Sanctuary



Pat on the back if you guessed it, it queued up behind the Echo tracks yesterday and it should be in your head for the foreseeable as it is mine. Phenomenal.

Good day's work was capped at the start by a phone-in review of the details of the night before which confirmed my stuff, and carried out a job with which I was unfamiliar but had an idea on how to do which was correct. Putting out fires all over the place, a huge confidence booster in my own knowledge.

Stay well