As a representative of the US here in Australia, I feel it is my duty to inform everyone back home what to expect should they ever decide to move / visit the land of Oz.
The healthcare here is questionable. Take a gander at the two pictures I’ve posted.
Exhibit 1: If you think this is a picture of a makeshift missionary clinic in outer Uganda – you are almost right. It actually is the exam room of the “walk-in” clinic I visited several weeks ago. Long story short, prescriptions do not transfer to pharmacies overseas, so I had to go get a new script written for me at one of the local walk-in clinics. Upon arriving at the ‘clinic’, I hesitated for a moment because it looked more like an unkempt house than a medical establishment. But – desperate times call for desperate measures, so I walked in and paid the receptionist the $50 consultation fee. As I’m filling out the obligatory paperwork I hear a strange clicking sound. Yes, it sounds familiar, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. As I return to the window to hand her my paperwork, she hands me my receipt – fresh off of the TYPEWRITER. Do those still exist? I know my spelling skills have regressed to a 2nd grade level without the help of spell check on my laptop. I can only imagine the amount of correctional fluid they must go through in a week. Anyhow, the receptionist leads me back to the exam room and notifies me that the doctor will be in to see me momentarily. I knew I only had a short time to document my VERY questionable surroundings. Part of me wishes I had taken more pictures, but at the time, I could only focus on the obvious fact that the sheets/protective paper had CLEARLY not been changed since the last patient. I decided at that moment that if I was asked to put on one of those backless paper gowns – I was bolting! I started staring at the crumpled paper to see if I could see any physical evidence of another human’s DNA when the doctor came in. He was at least 75 years old and it didn’t take long to realize that he was legally deaf. We engaged in small talk (which I suppose is an oxymoron considering I was screaming), exchanging pleasantries and talking about where we were from. For the record, he still thinks that I moved from Charleston – and I just didn’t have the patience to correct him. We finally got down to business and I told him what prescription I needed. He looked really confused, so I was thinking of all the synonyms for “the pill” and praying that this wouldn’t turn into a game of charades. I finally got my message across and he wrote me the script without hesitation. For a split second, I thought about asking for something more exciting, like zanex,(I’M KIDDING MOM!) but I didn’t want to go through the trouble of “acting” high strung. Hmmm….on second thought, maybe I should go back…kidding again…or am I? Whaaaa???
Exhibit 2: Does anyone see anything wrong with an establishment advertising “SURGURY” in neon lights? (Unfortunately, this is NOT the first establishment we’ve seen of this kind.) If you don’t have a problem with the signage, maybe you will have a problem with the fact that it’s surrounded by a Thai take-out restaurant and ‘Dollar General’ type store. This might be assuming a lot, but I wouldn’t image you’d be in the mood for Pad Thai and some cheap deodorant after you’ve been under the knife. There is NO WAY IN HELL I would ever be anesthetized here. In fact, I wouldn’t have my blood pressure taken without at least 2 additional witnesses present incase things got a little crazy. If I was good at ‘blogging’ I would figure out a way to take a poll to see if you all think there is a better chance of this place being featured on a Dateline expose or part of the SAW 7 movie set.
The healthcare here is questionable. Take a gander at the two pictures I’ve posted.
Exhibit 1: If you think this is a picture of a makeshift missionary clinic in outer Uganda – you are almost right. It actually is the exam room of the “walk-in” clinic I visited several weeks ago. Long story short, prescriptions do not transfer to pharmacies overseas, so I had to go get a new script written for me at one of the local walk-in clinics. Upon arriving at the ‘clinic’, I hesitated for a moment because it looked more like an unkempt house than a medical establishment. But – desperate times call for desperate measures, so I walked in and paid the receptionist the $50 consultation fee. As I’m filling out the obligatory paperwork I hear a strange clicking sound. Yes, it sounds familiar, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. As I return to the window to hand her my paperwork, she hands me my receipt – fresh off of the TYPEWRITER. Do those still exist? I know my spelling skills have regressed to a 2nd grade level without the help of spell check on my laptop. I can only imagine the amount of correctional fluid they must go through in a week. Anyhow, the receptionist leads me back to the exam room and notifies me that the doctor will be in to see me momentarily. I knew I only had a short time to document my VERY questionable surroundings. Part of me wishes I had taken more pictures, but at the time, I could only focus on the obvious fact that the sheets/protective paper had CLEARLY not been changed since the last patient. I decided at that moment that if I was asked to put on one of those backless paper gowns – I was bolting! I started staring at the crumpled paper to see if I could see any physical evidence of another human’s DNA when the doctor came in. He was at least 75 years old and it didn’t take long to realize that he was legally deaf. We engaged in small talk (which I suppose is an oxymoron considering I was screaming), exchanging pleasantries and talking about where we were from. For the record, he still thinks that I moved from Charleston – and I just didn’t have the patience to correct him. We finally got down to business and I told him what prescription I needed. He looked really confused, so I was thinking of all the synonyms for “the pill” and praying that this wouldn’t turn into a game of charades. I finally got my message across and he wrote me the script without hesitation. For a split second, I thought about asking for something more exciting, like zanex,(I’M KIDDING MOM!) but I didn’t want to go through the trouble of “acting” high strung. Hmmm….on second thought, maybe I should go back…kidding again…or am I? Whaaaa???
Exhibit 2: Does anyone see anything wrong with an establishment advertising “SURGURY” in neon lights? (Unfortunately, this is NOT the first establishment we’ve seen of this kind.) If you don’t have a problem with the signage, maybe you will have a problem with the fact that it’s surrounded by a Thai take-out restaurant and ‘Dollar General’ type store. This might be assuming a lot, but I wouldn’t image you’d be in the mood for Pad Thai and some cheap deodorant after you’ve been under the knife. There is NO WAY IN HELL I would ever be anesthetized here. In fact, I wouldn’t have my blood pressure taken without at least 2 additional witnesses present incase things got a little crazy. If I was good at ‘blogging’ I would figure out a way to take a poll to see if you all think there is a better chance of this place being featured on a Dateline expose or part of the SAW 7 movie set.
1 comment:
How about the fact that you can get bulk billing. WTF do you get a discount if you have two or three surgeries at once!?!
Post a Comment