My First Visit to a Chinese Hospital!

My First Visit to a Chinese Hospital!
DaqingDevil May 08, 2013 20:50

Just the other day I was reading an article in a Chinese paper online about doctors and the medical system here in China. My interest had unfortunately been brought about my catching the local version of the flu and it was a brutal reminder that in times like that you really need some expert help and confidence in the system. In the article it told about a young guy who had been misdiagnosed and the doctor had prescribed a rather expensive course of medicines and treatments even though the patient’s illness was terminal as was subsequently found out during a second opinion. The unhappy patient wandered back into the hospital and stabbed the doctor to death in frustration! About 5000 people offered comment on this incident with 800 saying that what the patient did was wrong and the rest basically said “Good job!”

 

Now my illness wasn’t terminal (although during  a couple of nights I thought I was going to die) but due to the reputation of the medical system and hospitals in particular I wasn’t prepared to admit to myself that maybe I needed to visit a Chinese  hospital! I eventually succumbed and went to the hospital here in my district of Longfeng. The buildings and grounds of the hospital were vast and with my assistant I wandered into the place, greeted by massive corridors, deserted rooms and that Siberian wind blasting through the open doors. As sick as I was I was still observant.

 

I paid 2 yuan to see the doctor (about $0.30) and followed my assistant down to what I guess was the consulting room. The door was half open and my assistant walked in and beckoned for me to follow. I looked in and the doctor was actually seeing a patient.I said; “Shouldn’t we wait until he has finished with this guy?”

 

"No, it’s okay," she said! I disagreed. Sheesh! In the room, when I eventually entered and which had 20 foot ceilings and was the size of a badminton court, there was an examining table, a 3 legged stool of about 1955 vintage which was where the patient sat to talk to the doctor and that was about it. The doctor had a computer on his desk and a stethoscope around his neck to give him that professional air I guess. My assistant explained my problems to the doctor who found a thermometer for me to put under my armpit and who then asked me to lift my shirt and he tapped away at my back a couple of times before sitting back down. I might add that an aspect of my flu was that my chest sounded like a chainsaw running out of fuel to an unaided ear so I was intrigued as to what the doc reckons he would be able to hear with a stethoscope! There was some to and fro conversation between my assistant and the doctor after which I asked the big question: What’s he reckon? He says you’re sick she told me!

 

Having established that I was sick we waited for the thermometer to register a fever and in that time another doctor wandered into the consulting room. He struck up a conversation with me in Chinese and of course I understood not a word of what he was saying. My assistant translated for me and said that this doctor had his dream come true meeting an English speaking foreigner in the hospital and that he was quite overjoyed to see me. I thought he was going to ask me for an English lesson right there and then but maybe he sensed that I probably was not feeling too well evidenced by my hacking cough, snotty nose, fevered brow and unhappy looks. I reckon he could have made a similar diagnosis as his colleague without too much trouble and without a stethoscope. The consulting doctor had a look at the thermometer and confirmed I had a temperature then put the thermometer back in its stainless steel container ready for the next patient. Lucky they don’t check your temperature by placing the thermometer under your tongue I thought, picturing the look that might appear on a patient’s face as he tasted something unusual on the little glass tube after it had been under my armpit for 10 minutes! The doctor scribbled out a prescription – well I say scribbled because they write in Chinese characters and you would need to be reasonably neat writing them wouldn’t you? One false stroke and who knows what you might end up taking 3 times a day! Anyway we went to the hospital pharmacy on the way out and we were followed by the doctor still pursuing his dream ( and me) yabbering away, still in Chinese until he realized that perhaps the dream was walking out the door. He said goodbye by saying “Hello!” and that about sums it up. Everybody evidently knows “Hello” and “Bye-bye” and walking down a street in any of the areas here you will hear “Hello” thrown at you by passers-by and from open windows of passing cars. I always yell back “Nihao” which is hello in Chinese and that throws them into fits of laughter. Oh yeah, the foreigner entertainment continues.

 

The medicine at the pharmacy cost me about 50 yuan (about $8) and Erin (my assistant, I better give her a name) told me the dosage I should take and then said that the medicine we buy at the hospital pharmacy is somewhat stronger and better quality than what you buy at the local chemist! I didn’t have the heart to tell her that the manufacturing company was the same and that she might be wrong. Chinese are given, and still get, a heap of misinformation about many things and in some adult classes I teach I get incredulous looks when I shoot down one of their little beliefs. For those readers that would like to see just how wealthy a Chinese Governmental pharmaceutical company is here’s a link: www.chinasmack.com/2011/pictures/harbin-pharmaceuticals-plant-looks-like-european-palace.html

 

Back outside in the freezing wind I taxied back home, took the prescribed pills, rested that afternoon missing just 1 class and was up and back at work next morning. I still felt a long way from 100%, maybe about 66% but ultimately the hospital visit and the pills took me from the Dark Side to a better place. Last week my mate had an appendectomy. That’s another hospital and another story!

Tags:Health & Environment Lifestyle

5 Comments

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rotain911

a most musing experience

Jun 19, 2013 11:25 Report Abuse

Mojo

It's funny how things are so much funnier when you have experienced them first hand! Very amusing - hope you have fully recovered.

Jun 13, 2013 21:22 Report Abuse

tianxiaonan

wonderful!

Jun 07, 2013 19:32 Report Abuse

derek

Love the story and "Devil", (if that is your real name), your humor is certainly not lost on me as I have had similar experiences. A well written piece of work my friend. See you Sunday night.

May 11, 2013 09:00 Report Abuse

Alejandro55

China it´s not the right place top get sick :s get well soon. I enjoyed reading about the typical "hello" that all the "laowei´s" get everyday. BTW reading your article was pretty darn difficult... you should think about making spaces and paragraphs. - friendly advice-

May 10, 2013 16:47 Report Abuse