Stay calm

I've been visiting my dear friend Robin regularly since his last release from hospital and forced move to a nursing home. He had no choice in the matter, since he's in need of 24-hour care and couldn't possibly cope at home. It's a nice place he's in, but he's still lost his freedom and is reliant on the staff for almost everything (they have to use a hoist to get him into and out of bed, and his out-of-bed time is spent in a motorised wheelchair.

During a recent visit he bemoaned the fact that no progress had been made towards appointing somebody to look after his dealings with the bank, and he asked me to take over the responsibility. I gathered all the information about what was involved and assembled all the necessary documentation. Robin signed the authority form yesterday (duly witnessed by a staff member in the nursing home) and I brought everything to the bank this afternoon (a frustrating trip across the city in very slow-moving traffic). I'd spoken to a member of staff earlier and had been told to be there 'after 3 o'clock', which I did.

There was no sign of any staff for a good ten minutes, until somebody eventually popped up and came over to me. This turned out to be the manager, who said he was in a bit of a rush but would review the material I'd brought. I told him I was confident that everything was in order, but it turned out it wasn't. 'Ah', he said, 'all this is fine, but I'm sure we'll also need medical certification that Robin is unable to conduct his own business and whoever provides this certification will also need to witness Robin's signature.' I'm afraid I rather blew my top, since this was the first I'd heard about this and I'd painstakingly ticked all the boxes I'd already been told to.

He calmed me down to an extent but refused to shift from his position. He photocopied everything I'd brought and promised to pass it on to the bank's legal department immediately. 'You'll hear back from us early next week' was his parting shot. Gggggrrrrr … Fortunately, traffic wasn't too bad on the return trip home, but I was still upset when I got there. My basic point to the manager was 'Why did nobody tell me about the requirement for medical certification earlier?' It's all very annoying.

p.s. The blip? That's a sculptural piece I spotted in a little green space close to the bank, which is in Rathfarnham Village.