Ok, I know I said I would write about Budapest next, but I really have to share my first emergency room experience. Yes, first. I was not the kind of kid that was always getting hurt, at least nothing my dad couldn’t fix.
Anyways, Saturday I finally faced the fact that I had somehow gotten a UTI or something similar (gross, sorry). I blame it on never being able to find bathrooms in Budapest, but that’s beside the point. So we decided to go to the emergency room, which is about a 10 minute walk from the beach house (we’re back at the beach, btw). I have what is basically a green card here, and therefore, access to the public health system. This does not however mean that everything is free (for all you universal health care advocates). I thought that the visit would be quick and easy, I just wanted the antibiotics. But once the doctor saw me, he told me that he wouldn’t treat me because I was pregnant, and there is no gynecologist/OB ward at the hospital. Granted, it is a hospital in a beach town, so it’s not huge, but come on.. half the women in this town are pregnant. What if you go into labor? Apparently you have to take an ambulance to another hospital.
I can understand why the doctor didn’t want to treat me; he said he didn’t want to be responsible if something went wrong. But there’s no gynecologist?? Ugh. So we had to take a family trip to a nearby town to try their hospital. They let me in immediately, and did full prenatal testing, including ultrasounds and 30 minutes hooked up to a fetal heart monitor. After they deduced that everything was fine with Baby, they informed me that they could not do the blood test there until Monday when the lab was open, so I would have to come back. Are you kidding me??? This is not something you want to just live with until the lab is open. And then wait two days for results. And besides that, Paolo and his parents were leaving Sunday night (Yes, I have the beach house to myself for a week!!), so I had no way to get back to this hospital.
So we came up with the alternate solution of me coming back to Treviso, Paolo’s hometown, for the test Monday morning, then taking a bus back to the beach. However, when I woke up Sunday, I felt like a new woman, almost entirely better. I no longer saw the need to take this ridiculous test, especially if I was going to have to wait until Wednesday to even get treatment for it, if they saw that I had it. Surprisingly, Paolo’s parents also agreed that I shouldn’t get the test if I felt fine, so I got to stay at the beach. But we all agreed that I should at least go back to the emergency room this morning to have the one test done that they were able to do there, just for good measure.
I woke up bright and early (9AM) this morning, and dragged myself over to the hospital, urine sample in hand. BTW, here you take your urine sample at home and then bring it to the lab. Sounds both disgusting and like a great way to forge drug tests. Anyhow, I got there at 9:30, which I thought for sure was early enough. No such luck. The lab is only open from 7:30-9:15 AM. I hope whoever works there doesn’t actually think they have a real job. If you work less than two hours a day, you might as well be unemployed. I begged with my best Italian for them to please do my test anyways, which they actually said yes to, surprisingly (probably because I’m roughly the size of a small whale). But then the guy told me that since I’m pregnant, I have to pay for the test. If I wasn’t, it would be for free. To which I replied in the most polite way possible, “Are you kidding me?” Sorry, but I find it ridiculous to pay anything for a test that everyone else can take for free, and that I don’t even need. I don’t care to seek treatment anyways at this point since I feel better; it was mainly to appease The Family.
Basically, the whole thing was completely stupid. I can’t believe that something as simple as a UTI can’t be treated more easily and quickly than that. Everyone I dealt with was very nice and helpful, but their system sucks. Nothing is computerized, you carry your paperwork from doctor to doctor. Which judging by my experience, you may be going from doctor to doctor a lot more often than you would expect. I probably shouldn’t complain too much, since most of the services are for free, but they aren’t really. For the taxpayers here, they are very much paying for the services. I feel like I’m somewhat taking advantage of the system, but on the other hand, I’m also giving them another citizen, which with their current birthrate, is much needed. And I may be working here someday, so I don’t feel too bad about the whole situation. The system has some merit, but needs a serious overhaul. It could be so much more efficient and user friendly.
At least now I know what I’m up against. I won’t be returning to an Italian emergency room unless it’s absolutely urgent, because that’s the only way I’ll receive urgent services.
Ciao for now,
Kathleen
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