48 hours with a neo-socialist healthcare system
It's been 3 days since I've been ill with fever and a sore throat - tonsils, the same old culprit which has been robbing me of a healthy life since childhood.
On day 2, I decided to venture into the Vardcentralen. The Vårdcentralen is a public health clinic and one will find one of these in every locality in Sweden. I enter post lunch, and I am given a checkup by a nurse who informs me that my situation isnt so good - hardly the discovery of the century. I pat myself on the back for turning to professional medicare. Just when I begin to feel that I am in safe hands, I am told that there are no doctors in the clinic. It brings shock to my dead eyes. I am angry with myself that I am sick and that I've had to skip work; I am pissed at the thought of walking in the cold to reach the Vårdcentralen; and now I am furious that they don't have a single doctor on call at the health clinic!
I am told that if my condition gets worse by night, I should call xxx number and they will arrange for some medical attention. My mind races to how convenient it was to simply drop in at Dr. Koradia's clinic, and walk out knowing that I'd be fine in a few days.
Here I am, feeling so sick and looking so terrible that I could make a sadist cry with compassion. And now no doctor!
In true Swedish politeness, I am informed that I need to take an appointment in advance, and that doctors are only available for a few hours in the morning. Just so that one has a fair background, there are no private doctors in Sweden. One has to, without much of a choice, go to a Vårdcentralen when in need of medical help. I am asked to come the next day if in need of consultation from a doctor.
I trudge to a pharmacy where I obviously cannot purchase the medication I want unless I have that unavailable doctor's prescription. So, I pick up a few strips of the over-the-counter pain killers and head home.
The next day, I finally get face to face with a real doctor who prescribes medication, and tells me that tonsil extraction would be a good idea to avoid frequent illness. In comes a footnote - subject to a waiting list!
The doc tells me that the waiting list is pretty long and that I'd have to wait for alteast 3 months before I can get operated. 3 months?!!
I walk out after paying the consultation fees of a 100 kr., and just before I leave, I ask the receptionist as to how much would the operation would cost. I am shocked at the reply - in a pleasant way. A tonsils extraction operation would only cost me 250 kr.!
Now, can someone help me figure out the math here?! 100 kr. to meet a doctor, and 250 kr. to get operated?!
Here's the killer - even if you want a neurosurgeon and his jamboree pecking into your brain for an 8 hour operation, you only pay 250 kr.!
Here, I plead my case. I dont need a neurosurgeon and I definitely do not need his paraphernalia.
Am I being extravagant or demanding or a parasite on the healthcare system when I say that I just need a f***ing doctor when I need a doctor?!
I'd be a happy man to walk into the sterile environs of a clinic, wait in an acceptable queue, meet a doctor who tells me that I look gorgeous when I know I am as yellow as a sunflower, take my prescription and walk out!
But no! That would be way too sweet!
Leaving all the sarcasm and fury aside, I really dont know whether to hail or disapprove this system.
On one hand, you have a healthcare system which is accessible to every single citizen of this country - providing cost effective medicare to one and all. But, on the other hand, you have an archaic system, which provides healthcare, but not when you really need it the most.
My thoughts wander to the apalling situation back home. Leaving the Hinduja, Apollos' and the Breach Candys' aside; what about the government hospitals meant for one and all which rarely or barely meet any hygiene standards, where doctors have to be bribed; what about the unavailability of any form of medical treatement to a large pencentage of the rural population?
It is no longer spine chilling when we hear of infant mortality and post pregnancy deaths... they are common... we have become immune in our own social inadequacies.
I rest my case when I realize that Sweden ranks #2 in the world on the UNDP's Human Development Index - life expectancy and healthcare being an important parameter in the calculation of the indices.
Equality in everything is what this country stands for. The best available medical services for all. But available in time? Or God forbid, sometimes too late?
It is said that justice delayed, is justice denied. Can someone give me an answer to healthcare?
posted by /A @ 5:15 fm
4 comments
4 Comments:
hey dude, poor thing, i know its not a fun thing to get sick there, and guess i came prepared with all the medicine from singapore which i conveniently passed to ed when i left. i have heard many horror stories about the queues at docs, luckily i dont have to go thru it.
The healthcare system in sweden sounds pretty ridiculously but I bet it doesn't beat the US. India with all its shortcomings still has what I believe is a pretty good health care system. For the most part, you can walk into any private clinic and the doctor will treat you. Both my aunt and uncle practice medicine there and manyh times they treat patients for free if the patient cant afford the medicine. In the US however, no insurance no medical care. YOu have to pay horrendous sums of money out of your pocket. You can never really see a doctor unless it is an emergency and tonsils/fever would not be considered one. And what sucks is that for everything there is a specialist. The basic MD will not be able to treat anythingmore than a cold or a flu or tonsilitis. In india if you brake your jaw or hurt your knee any doctor could treat you. Having seen and lived in both countries...I see the drawbacks to each. One of the biggest differences is the indifference and uncaring attitude that most physicians in the US have. It;s almost creul at times. I have seen people sitting in the Emergency for 5 years waiting to be treated. 5 hours! NOt becahse of lack of staff but becayse of paperwork that needs to be done. Many times Paperwork and money is worth more here than a life.
I hope you feel better soon.
I think Sweden needs a good set of doctors from India. They should probably have a good visa system and attractive packages and their situation will become fine in less than 2 years.
Anyways, a good option for you will be to come down to India and get treated rather than waiting for 3 months.
BTW, an excellent post...
in my country we make health care more exciting. it is like going to a casino. to ensure your good health, you have to make a bet against your own health. you find someone who is willing to bet with you each month that you will not get sick. if you do get sick, you win the bet and you receive cheap, high quality, health care. but each bet taker employs an army of mathematicians to calculate the odds of your illness occuring based on a series of risk factors; so on average, by the time you win the bet you have already lost several months consecutively and you can never break even. if you cannot afford the monthly ante, you are in trouble--you can visit the doctor for the cost of about half a month's salary.
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