A&E

This weekend I had my first hospital experience here in the UK. Nothing serious. Just thought our SA family might find it interesting.

Andre's been having some stomach pains on and off for a very long time now. So far no doctors could really tell him what exactly it is. He was on a course of tablets for a month which relieved the pain a little. Now that's finished and the pain was really bad on Saturday.

So after we did everything we needed to do on Saturday we got home and said, "Let's go to the hospital! We haven't been there yet!" Just kidding. He really didn't feel too good and we need to get this sorted out.

Off we went to the nearest hospital A&E. That's accident & emergency. Neither really applied to us but if you need to see a doctor on the weekend that's where you go. You state your name and pains at the reception desk and then take a seat. It could take hours depending on how many people are waiting. You don't make an appointment. After about 30 minutes we got to see the nurse first who checked Andre out to see what he needs. She offered pain pills which he declined and said he needs to see a doctor and the wait will be about an hour.

We were lucky that after only 15 minutes a doctor came and called us.

Now when you go to see your GP here you get a 10 minute appointment. On Saturday the doctor spent over an hour with Andre. He took multiple vials of blood which they tested right away while we waited. He suspects Andre has some stomach ulcers, but also checked for everything else. We were very impressed. Even more so when we walked out without having to pay anything!

I know how much health insurance (medical aid) can cost in South Africa and often it won't cover everything. And how much a doctors visit can cost. All those tests and an hours time of a doctor on a Saturday afternoon would have cost us a small fortune back in SA. We are fortunate to get it all for free here. It still feels strange to us walking out without paying! But we're not complaining at all!


*Oh, if you're wondering what's happening to Andre and his stomach now: the blood tests came out fine so nothing more serious than possibly ulcers. He's seeing the GP today. (For the maximum 10 minutes appointment!) Who will then probably make another appointment where they will do more tests. If it is ulcers he will get antibiotics which will clear it up. But no more hot curries for Andre!!