Yesterday I spent six hours getting treatment in a local Emergency Room where my doctor sent me. Besides the fact the care I received was excellent (particularly touched by the empathy of the nurses given it was a v busy day for them), when you spend six hours in a place and you’re pushing an I/V pole back and forth to the bathroom, you begin to notice who’s in there with you and the turnover therein.
Work related injuries seemed high, fingers damaged or hanging off, injured eyes, swollen ankles: all day they came and went. The triage area is better organized these days and the assessment is faster. Unfortunately I was in the category of clogging up a room due to my particular treatment, but I noticed they were able to administer many patients I/Vs and certain kinds of treatment in chairs.
In future when I hear people cribbing about unions and workers and extended health benefits — I’ll direct them to sit and observe a day in the Emergency Room. (And to remember those who also sustain injuries on the job treating the injured) I feel glad to live in a country where when people are injured or ill they get treatment and their access to that treatment is based on their immediate need (in terms of emergency medicine) rather than (individual) ability to pay.
One thing I do not quite grasp is why technology remains so old fashioned when it comes to treating women’s health issues particularly. (Tho’ the prostate test could equally be improved) They are still pulling out the equivalent of gardening implements and putting them into uncomfortable spots where they do not fit and fumbling about with said uncomfortable gardening shears to grab some tiny something or other that doesn’t fancy being grabbed, yet heart surgery can be performed through a vein with a tiny balloon, all kinds of things can be dealt with through the belly-button, knee surgery through a keyhole, etc therefore if you are out there inventing some high tech laser gadget for entertainment put it down and take up the cause of revolutionizing some of these darned gynae implements instead. Think pelvis not poker!