Thursday, 5 February 2026

BANISHMENT Repealed!

Hello Friends!

With a huge sigh of relief I can tell you that today my Banishment is repealed and I can now use Facebook once more.

I am speechless, however, to read in the screen capture that they admit to their technology making the mistake!!!  Wonders will never cease!

I am not sure whether it was the help of a very kind relative of a friend of mine in Texas who works for META or if it was just pure luck that it happened today but I'm back. I will not pretend that I really thought my time on Facebook was done. It is worrying though that this has made me aware that so many organisations these days rely on their social media platforms to disseminate information.



Top of this list is the local doctor’s surgery who now only uses Facebook to reach out to patients registered at the surgery for community events such as the annual flu inoculations. No doubt many of you will recall over a year ago when the local surgery closed and amalgamated with the one in an adjacent village. That surgery would contact the patients by telephone to notify them that the flu inoculations were now being administered and would they like to book their appointment. Every eligible patient was contacted by this way. The new practise however puts an announcement up on Facebook to let everybody know that the flu injections clinic will be happening soon if you would like an appointment, it is your responsibility to make it, and would you please let all your friends and family who are not on Facebook know.

Personally, I think this method is appalling. You cannot rely on word of mouth to spread information about something as important as the annual flu inoculations. Stepping off soapbox before I need a tetanus injection because I'm getting splinters in my feet.

I have had my doctor's appointment, the one that has been repeatedly cancelled and rescheduled over many months this past Tuesday. In the next day or so I will be putting up an entry dedicated purely to that meeting which I will tease you by saying it was interesting to say the least.

In the meantime, I've got loads of Facebook notifications to sort through I honestly can't see how I have got so many when I haven't been on there for a fortnight still I'd better wade my way through in case there's something I need to see.

Until next time
Debbie xx

14 comments:

  1. What a relief. I am so pleased that you are back on Facebook. I can't believe that things like Flu jabs are only "advertised" on Facebook. Not everyone has a computer or is au fait with using their mobile phone to access it. A relief you have had your Dr's appt. and I can only help that it may be of some use to you in the long run.

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    1. Oh, my friend, if you think it's been bad up to now, as they say, you ain't heard nothing yet! Tuesday's appointment will go down in history! It's a shocker.

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  2. Welcome back. I guess! I guess you really need it especially -- how silly to have that be the only way they alert people to something like that. I guess it forces everyone to have it but then you have to look at it!

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    1. unfortunately forcing people to Facebook discriminates against a portion of the population who either do not know how to use a computer or do not have access.

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  3. I think using only Facebook to alert people to flu jabs etc is insane and discriminates against older people, many of whom don't have a smart phone or a Facebook account. I am only in my early 60's and I don't have either. If I did I certainly wouldn't be checking posts from my GPs on a regular basis on the off-chance that they were sending out a general alert. It sounds like a ploy so that they can stop giving them on the basis that the uptake isn't high enough.

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    1. honestly I don't know what is going on with the surgery. In the local newsletter they placed an announcement saying that a salaried GP has been employed So what does that mean about the other GPS there? It's just one problem after another now And expecting the general population who use Facebook to do their jobs for them is unacceptable

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  4. I've not been on Facebook for about a year.. our surgery texts and emails everyone about flu and covid vaccinations which must be an improvement over using flawed social media!

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    1. our old surgery used to phone us up and tell us that our inoculations were due and there was a clinic and would we like an appointment. It was then up to you whether or not to accept the offer But the job was done simple.

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  5. So pleased for you Debbie - you must be so relieved. It is awful though the mistakes organisations can make due to their technology.

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    1. thank you yes it is a huge relief, And there is a lot coming up socially with St David's Day in March that it's good to be kept informed about

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  6. What a relief, I am so pleased for you.

    I don't do Facebook . . . my surgery sends texts for vaccinations, appointments etc.

    All the best Jan

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    1. You'd think that would be the sensible way, wouldn't you? My old practice phoned everyone who was eligible. Not everyone uses social media.

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  7. I never had any reply when I appealed.
    Doctors using Facebook hardly seems faor for those technophobes or people without the internet,.They do make assumptions. I heard of one elderly man who went into a surgery to make an appointment and was given an iPad and told that he had to use that, He had no idea what to do and another patient had to help him.

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    1. I used to be noncompliant to try and fight the corner of those who do not understand technology, but it didn't do me any favours in the long term, and I found I was missing out on important things so had to do for me, not for others.

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