Today’s post should have been about an article I saw last week.

What it is about is the issue of taking things for granted. Health is one of them and on Sunday night I had a health issue – angioedema, namely swelling under the skin in my tongue. My tongue swelled to twice its normal size and made swallowing and breathing very difficult. So at 2am I took a an Uber to my local A&E and within two hours was on a drip, had a specific injection for this condition, was being monitored in a special unit.

Thankfully the swelling has come down and I’m able to write this with no real discomfort from my home.

As much as being a fan of the NHS, the way the teams worked through the issue was elegant. From an initial triage, through admin, consultation, treatment, admission, and ultimately discharge, was a wonderful dance. Without being specifically in pain it was joyful to see how the processes and relationships worked. There was no small amount of learning as numerous people looked at my situation to establish the next course of action.

And the thing that helped most? Being able to describe the issue with photos I’d taken at various stages of the swelling.

The experience has made me think about the importance of the relevant expertise we have and how we need to join it up to provide a seamless experience for the people we serve.