Well, yesterday I got to experience something I never expected and hoped I would never have to experience whilst abroad....a hospital.
On Thursday afternoon, my friend Emily was in High Gate Park (ironic as you'll later learn) enjoying the afternoon. All of the parks here are enclosed and gated at night, and somehow she missed the time the gates were closed, so when she went to leave, her and Anna were locked in the park. Not knowing what to do, but needing to get out, they hopped the wrought iron fence and in the process Emily cut the back of her thigh. She knew it was bleeding, and figured it would stop, but by 10 when the bleeding still wasn't under control Hannah took her to the hospital.
For those of you who don't know, the United Kingdom has the National Healthcare Service- a form of socialized health. In order to be covered by NHS, you must have a visa- working here or staying for longer than six months. Since we aren't working and are only here for 5, technically we are not covered by NHS, so everything must be payed up front by us and then our international health insurance we all have reimburses us afterwards. Other than paying up front, we would be treated the same as any other citizen of the UK.
Anyways, Hannah took Emily to the ER where after a few hours she was waiting on and admitted for the night. According to them, triage is very different here than at home. Everything is done on a waiting list, so even though Em has been continuously bleeding for 5 hours by this point, she wouldn't get taken care of until the people ahead of her did. According to Em's doctor later, you only get to skip the line if you're gonna lose a limb or your life, everything else they deem can wait. Only one person looked at her actual cut- a 2 centimeter deep gash on the back of her thigh, and after seeing the depth and the lack of skin surrounding the lesion, Emily was told she would need to be put under for surgery the next morning.
We went to visit her at 2 on Friday, and when she didn't answer her phone, we figured and hoped it was because she was in surgery. Hannah got a message from Em earlier saying that at 8, the supposed time of her surgery, that it was going to be a few more hours. We got to her room, one she shares with 6 other people, and there was no surgery and no telling of when it would be. Apparently she kept getting bumped down the list as more important cases arrived- frustrating for many reasons, one of the biggest being that they were fasting her for surgery. So as of now, 11 am Saturday morning, the last time she ate was lunch on Thursday. So here she was, watching her 5 roommates eat when she couldn't and the doctors had no idea of when she would be taken in, so didn't let her eat in fear she could be taken care of right away but wouldn't have been fasted.
We were there with her for a good 5 hours Friday, and honestly, I'm so impressed with how she was holding up. She claims she wasn't in that much physical pain, but obviously being in a hospital in a foreign country, not having any communication with her doctors or knowing what is going on will get to you. We learned first hand that you definitely get what you pay for in regards to healthcare. It was amazing how different the service was here than in the United States. In the States, had she come in with that injury, she would be told what day, time and doctor would be taking care of you, and she'd be out of the hospital in no time. Generally in the US the nurses and staff are very friendly, helpful, and check on you often. Not here with NHS. The five hour span we were there, we saw her nurse twice. Her IV ran out and it took 2 hours for her to get a new one, even though she was ringing for assistance. The doctor who finally came in to delivery the news that she would most likely not get surgery on Friday had absolutely no estimation for her of when it would happen. Since she kept getting bumped around on the list, she finally broke down on the doctor when he wouldn't give her a straight answer about anything. Everything was, well maybe, or we'll see- super aggravating. As I mentioned you don't have the luxury of a private or two person room, but additionally they don't have tvs for you or anything like that. Emily was told not to bring her iphone, laptop, anything like that since it's a shared room and the patients have no personal area to put their belongings so essentially the nurse said bring what you wouldn't mind being stolen. The biggest thing we noticed, and most frustrating certainly for me, is that no one seemed to know anything, and always had to consult someone else before giving Emily an answer. It was almost like 2 people at the top of the chain new everything, and everyone else were just cogs in a machine. Even simple questions like, "should my bandage be changed, no one has seen my cut in 24 hours" went unanswered as the nurses had to leave to call doctors to call whoever to find out the answer, often resulting with "I couldn't get a hold of them." Even some of the nurses, especially the one who came in to give her a new IV were extremely rude, it was so different from back at home.
Visiting hours are very strictly from 2-8, so we headed out at the conclusion after getting Em tons of magazines to keep her occupied and the promise of a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts as her first meal post-op.
As we were walking home, Hannah and I were talking about how we're curious is this is how all NHS works, at this slow, unwelcoming pace, or if it was this specific hospital but it's hard to tell. Even in the states I know my Mom has said multiple times that unless I'm dying or needing a cast, she will drive right past Upper Chesapeake to take me to a better hospital in Towson or the city. Was this hospital one of those, or is this the norm?
As of now, 12.30 on Saturday morning, Emily was just admitted into surgery. She was due at 8 am, once again it got delayed, but her lack of responding to texts suggests she's finally taken back. My parents just landed here, so I'm off to see them and then sneak away to get Em her promised donuts and help Hannah get her home from the hospital once she's discharged. Biggest disappointment for Emily? Friday morning she was supposed to be on a plane to Madrid for a 5 night get away. When she told her triage nurse that Thursday night, the nurse assured her she would be taken care of Friday mid-day and could be on a flight Saturday am. Clearly that isn't happening. She's hoping that she'll be able to get a plane tomorrow and stay for the remaining two nights, but it all depends on how the surgery goes and if she can even walk properly.
That's all for this quick update! Gotta go show the fam bam London now!
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