Healthy Health Service
So, I was in St Vincents University Hospital (aka "Vincent's) today for a DEXA scan. Now, I had an appointment for 8.45, so I arrived at 8.45 with a newspaper in my hand and an iPod in my pocket, expecting an inordinately long wait, and to have to ring work to tell them I totally would NOT be in when I was supposed to be, at ten o'clock.
I was pleasantly surprised.
See, recently they built a whole new hospital at Vincent's. I had only ever been to the old one, with it's cramped, stuffy corridors, interminable waits for any kind of examination or service at all, and faint but definitely discernible smell of pee and/or puke. Now it's all different.
I entered into a huge, glass-walled, light-filled reception area, and went up to the reception desk where there was no, I repeat no queue. I asked the guy where I had to go. He had a list right in front of him with my name at the top of it (this is when I realised things might be radically different than before). He said it was the door on the right. There were lots of doors on the right.
"That door, right there?" I asked. He nodded. How convenient, I though.
I went in the door, and found myself in a waiting room. "Ah-HA!" I thought, "it's all an illusion, I really am going to be here for hours after all!" but the thought had only formed in my mind when a friendly Indian/Asian doctor lady walked in, asked me my name, and said they'd be ready in five minutes, and could I fill out this form thingy.
Five minutes later, I was lying on a bed in a hospital gown, getting my spine thoroughly scanned by a very fancy and modern-looking machine (I mean, it wasn't even powered by steam, which means the Irish Health Service is coming along in leaps and bounds) which beeped and moved around, and the bed moved up and down along with it. It took about twenty minutes for the scan, a quick chat with the Belgian scanner-operator lady and I was done. Back in the car, at work at 9.45.
NINE FORTY-FIVE! I was shocked, amazed, stunned. All of a sudden, we appear to have a health service in this country.
(actually, it was probably an isolated incident, and will never happen again)
(posts)
4.21-en
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Comments
I hope that you parked your vroom vroom at my gaff and weren't silly and use the underground carpark.....you're dead!
Posted by: Babs | January 19, 2007 1:53 PM
Err... Hmmm...
I was silly. Feck it. It was only two yo-yos.
Posted by: Matt | January 19, 2007 1:57 PM
Yo, yo.
Sounds like you had a good time of it, good to know healthcare can actually function! Are you ok though? Was it just a routine thing? You know, dental clean, yearly physical, bone density scan, the usual? :)
Posted by: nrgza | January 21, 2007 1:54 PM
yes, hope your back's okay...
Posted by: annie | January 21, 2007 5:15 PM
Yeah just a routine thing. I'm on medication for something which I may or may not choose to reveal at some stage, and this scan was just to make sure that the medication wasn't having an adverse effects on my immune system and bones, etc.
Posted by: Matt | January 21, 2007 5:15 PM
Ah well, as long as you're ok, that's awesome! Those scans can be weird, having to keep veeeery still, in twenty minutes you're bound to move a little bit, right?
Posted by: nrgza | January 22, 2007 8:01 AM