I don't know if I should be relating these facts, but since this is my blog about my life, I need to fill in the gaps.
Okay, remember when I took my first set of blood tests back in May and the results went awol?
Then you also remember that my doctor took some more blood samples and sent them off to the lab at the hospital back in June?
Since then I have been waiting with baited breath for the appearance of said test results.
My daughter and some of my close friends could not fathom how I could be so cool about the entire situation. Why didn't I go to another private lab they wanted to know? Because I did not want to have any more blood samples taken. I'd already been through the process twice!!!
Somehow I didn't want to know the results before I went on holiday, and I reassured myself that the results would surely be ready by the time I returned.
Really now? Decided to check yet again when I came back, and my doctor, the sweet lady that she is, was up in arms. Her advice..... go pay the hospital lab a visit and see whether they would release the results to me if I pleaded my case.
Three weeks ago, I headed to the lab, where I met a pleasant young chap who told me that he couldn't give me the results even if he wanted to because.....get this....the hospital did not have any paper to print the test results for disbursal......what??????????
I told him all I really wanted to know was whether they had been completed. He took pity on me, and off he trotted into the back section of the lab to ascertain whether they were completed. He returned smiling and told me that they were indeed finished, and that as soon as the paper delivery arrived that afternoon, the results would be printed and sent to my doctor pronto. I thanked him profusely, because you all know I've said it before, it's very hard to get good service out of government personnel. I am eternally grateful to this young man.
Okay skip forward three weeks to today, when I kept my appointment with my doctor for the said test results.
Do you want to guess the outcome? Only my test results were received....not a single result for any of the other patients who have had tests over the past few months.....what????
I'm still dumbfounded.
However, the good news is, is that all my blood work was okay with the exception that my cholesterol was a tad high, but nothing to worry about.
In the meanwhile I may have to pick up the cause for all the others who are not as fortunate as I am to have blood test results today.
Why is it that things have been allowed to get to this awful stage? People's lives are at stake here.
Something needs to be done. The staff cannot work under such conditions, and its unfair to ask them to do so.
We hear these stories every day, shortages of everyday items at the hospital and the clinics, but yet nothing is being done to take care of the situation.
It is totally unacceptable.
I rather assumed that no news was good news. It never occurred to me that you hadn't even had results. I'm glad they were ok though. We don't know we are born in the UK. Similarly here in NZ things are so much better despite complaints. Your pic made me laugh. I've just been to the Doc. I have bronchitis. I have the ballet in an hour. I bought the best tickets a year ago. I'm hoping paracetamol and brandy will see me through.
ReplyDeleteWe have a state-of-the-art hospital and many Caribbean residents from the other islands come here for health care.
DeleteLots of squandering of funds allocated for the health sector has taken a toll on both the Sanitation and Hospital/Polyclinic departments.....it's very sad.
So sorry to hear that you're not feeling well. Where on earth did you get bronchitis?
I hope you enjoyed the ballet in your paracetamol and brandy-induced stupor....your brother CJ is laughing at your predicament.
Glad to hear all is OK. Like GB I had assumed it was all over months ago. I was asked recently by someone if they should move to the UK (a serious question). I think out health service alone would make it worth it. We moan and groan - much as we do about the weather - but at the end of the day we are niggling about a spot of rain while elsewhere are suffering awful typhoons. Our complaints about the health service are a bit like that.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I have this vision of GB doing ballet, high on brandy and paracetamol. Can't stop laughing...
CJ you made me laugh with your comment....give GB a break. I know he figured running off to NZ would have saved him from cold weather ailments, but hey what does he know?
DeleteOur health care would be great if the health care funds were not squandered away....it's very sad actually.
Most of the squanderers when they need health care can afford to fly to the US and Canada for medical treatment, thus the sorry state of affairs at the hospital does not affect them in any way.
well I am glad that your results were good, but it does seem a bit bizzare that you had to do a follow up visit to the hosptial just to get your results sent off to the doctor. I guess I dont realize how blessed I am to live in the lucky country :)
ReplyDeleteThis folly has surfaced over a period of time....the government hospital used to be a professional institution.
DeleteI think it needs to be privatized and that would solve the problem.
There is another private hospital on the island that is run professionally with no fault.
There are also private labs that can be utilized, but one can't truly assess a situation except one travels the same route.
What the... what happened there? Like you said, it's totally unacceptable, as people's lives are at stake! I liked the fact that you are standing up for other people, as other people may not have the courage to go to the hospital lab to demand theirs. Sometimes, we are faced with such inefficiency, that we have to step up and remind them to do what needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteMeghan Garner @ AuroraDX.com