We've had a intimate look at Polish medicine - more up close and personal than we would like. Ed is home on a "hall pass" after almost 3 weeks in the hospital.
We needed an ambulance to take us to the hospital. This was an interesting experience. I suspect that we have cultural differences regarding use of ambulances. We use them in emergencies, when the patient needs medical care on the way to the hospital or cannot be moved in more conventional ways because it is VERY expensive. Our chariot was staffed with one paramedic, a young man, and a driver, whom I would guess to be 70. When the ambulance arrived, the paramedic came up to our flat, expecting to accompany Ed down to the ambulance. He seemed quite surprised to find his patient wasn't mobile. Hey, if he could have gotten up, taken the elevator, walked down the 8 or 10 steps in the entryway, and climbed in the ambulance, we would have just taken a cab. For someone who was in excruciating pain, the ride and all the blows to the wheelchair going up and down stairs had to have been torture, but they got us there; that's what is most important. We were asked more than once how we would pay for the ambulance. We have an American international health insurance policy rather than Polish insurance. We assured everyone that we would cover the cost and be reimbursed by our insurance company. We paid cash when we arrived at the hospital, all of 85 zł (about $25 US). If we had been in the states, the trip might have run our insurance company somewhere between $800 and $2,500 (2.500 - 8.000 zł). The ambulance would have been more high tech, and treatment may very well have begun during the ride to the hospital with the ambulance team in contact with emergency room doctors in route. The patient would have entered the hospital through the emergency room, would have been seen immediately for triage. When we arrived at the hospital. I stood in line to give them Ed's information and paid for his visit with the doctor. We sat in the hallway with other patients while we waiting for our turn in the queue.
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| The staff inspires more confidence than the infrastructure |
We've been at Certus, a small private hospital (30 beds) on Grundwaldzska. Ed still needs intravenous antibiotics twice a day - probably for another 10 days, but he is improved enough that he can leave the hospital when he's not connected to the drip. That means we get to sleep in our own bed, he can recline in our comfy chair, watch our own cable television, and eat our own cooking!
His hospital stay has been a Polish immersion experience for both of us. We are lucky that the doctors and a few of the younger nurses spoke some English. Many of the older nurses spoke no English, but you can get many things across with body language. There are also time when we also give up and let them do what they want because trying to make our desires known just seemed like too much work. In this instance and in others during our stay in Poland, we let many things slide because we don't want to be the fussy foreigners.
There have been both pros and cons if I compare this experience to what it might have been like in the states. Here's a recap:
Doctors: were very attentive. The first day, we saw the doctor who admitted Ed five times. Even on weekends and holidays, at least one doctor stopped by everyday in the morning and again in the evening. They took plenty of time with us, much more than I can imagine an American doctor doing. I did, however, feel that they were less than forthcoming with us, not answering questions, not discussing likely outcomes, etc. I also felt that they ran a ridiculous amount of unrelated tests and without the constant threat of malpractice lawsuits that we see stateside. I haven't gone to medical school, but does a man with a very severe bacterial infection need to have his prostate checked. . . twice?
Nurses: as with any group, some were better than others. We were especially impressed with some of the younger nurses. They were very smooth with a needle, and Ed has seen a lot of needles in the last few weeks, they also very caring, making sure I had linens to sleep on the couch in Ed's room, bringing us cups of tea, and even dragging in a comfy chair that may have come from someone's office or their break room. The communication between the nurses and all of the other staff members was excellent. I always felt that everyone, right down to his physical therapist, knew exactly what progress or set-backs he was experiencing.
Other staff: There were also ladies working on the ward who cooked and served the meals and cleaned the rooms. I don't know that I've seen a hospital room cleaned so thoroughly everyday, but I've never spent so much time in a hospital room.
Food: We were both served three meals a day; it was so convenient for me not to have to leave the hospital, occasionally, I had to leave for errands, but I went many days without me stepping outside. The first and last meal were identical everyday, 5 or 6 slices of bread, a few cold cuts, and a cup of tea. That wasn't bad for a day or two, but when you've seen that plate more than 30 times, it gets a little old. I would occasionally ask the staff not to prepare supper for us and get take-out of Ed's favorite meals to add a little variety, only to have the doctors and nurses ask, "what's wrong with the food here?" Would a Pole never crave a little variety, or are we scrutinized more closely because we're foreigners? The mid-day meals were cooked from scratch, always a homemade soup, half a plate of mashed potatoes with a horseradish gravy, a protein, (always fish on Friday, even though we had ham for breakfast and supper on Friday), and a vegetable. The ladies were very good cooks, but the meals were very heavy on starch and lacking in fruits and vegetables big time!
Room: Other than the lights and television, the only electronics were the call button. So compared to most American hospital rooms, it was decidedly low-tech, but all of those other connections never seemed necessary nor were they missed. As a matter of fact, as much time as Ed spent tethered to an IV, if he had also been connected to an O2 sensor, and an automatic blood pressure cuff, it would have just been too much.
The television in the room only received a few Polish channels, none of the English speaking news such as BBC or CNN. We both brought books to read and downloaded David Sedaris audiobooks. That led to our new hobby of trying to imitate David Sedaris. When I had to be away, I put Austin Powers on Ed's iPad to pass the time. Yana said laughing is good for you, and it seemed to help.
Our first Sunday morning there, the nurse let us know that a priest visits every Sunday to bring Holy Communion to the patients and staff. It would have been wonderful to receive communion (the communion table is "open" in our church), but since we're not Roman Catholic and we wanted to respect their beliefs and traditions, we declined.
I'm hoping the need for intravenous medication will be over in less than 10 days. Ed was very ill but is making remarkable progress in his recovery. I knew before all this that long hospital stays are much more common here; we've reached the point where I'm wondering when it will end.
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| The hospital doesn't have an elevator, so this is how patients are moved from one floor to another |
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