I went to go get some blood tests done today - it is in a separate location from the doctor/hospital I'm seeing. As with many things in India, it was an adventure. First, just talking on the phone to try and figure out the lab's hours and trying to figure out when I had to arrive (one test had to be 2 hours post-meal) was a challenge. After that was sorted out, the next trick was to actually communicate what I needed done.
First, there is no order in India. I walked in to a mob scene around the reception desk with people waving slips of paper and trying to get their name taken down and money paid so they could go to the collection area. By now, I'm pretty good at pushing my way to the front and making myself known (I stand out, which helps a bit). But when I showed the guy my two slips of paper (one from the Hyderabad doctor and one from the Embassy doctor in Delhi), he looked totally blank and called his manager over. A major benefit of sticking out is that usually the manager is called over pretty quickly to help me in a multitude of situations.
The manager, quickly realizing that I'm probably going to be a person who easily pays the bills, escorted me into a side conference room where she had to make a series of calls to different parts of the lab because the tests ordered by the Embassy doc (to match what they'd do in the US) are not standard for India. It took some time, but eventually they figured out which "package" I would fit into. Note: the standard blood tests here cost about 400 Rs ($8) and the extra ones for the US cost 2500 Rs ($50). Still less expensive than blood work in the US and fully covered by my insurance, but interestig all the same.
Then came the actual blood collection, which I was slightly nervous about, being in a third world country. I totally flipped out (correctly) when when I saw a technician take one person's blood with bare hands and then take the next person's blood without washing his hands or using/changing gloves. And, there was no soap in the bathroom where I had to leave my urine sample. The people thought I was totally neurotic, because I asked the technician to wash his hands. He did, but then he touched about a million things before he went to open the (thankfully sterile-packaged) needle. So, I asked him again to use the Purel sitting right on the desk in front of me before he started. He did, sort of looking at the other technician guy. But, whatever - I don't really care if they think I'm neurotic as long as I don't get any infections!
We'll see what the situation is at the maternity hospital on Monday (it's a totally different institution from the blood testing center I went to today - no relation at all). If there's no soap in the bathroom and if nurses aren't using gloves or aren't washing hands before coming in ... I may be rethinking delivering here. If basic things like that are off, I would get really nervous about more serious things. The OB who saw me did wash her hands when she came in to the exam room for my first check up, so I'm not writing things off just yet. We're just waiting until Monday when we take our tour after the sonogram before any judgement is passed.
2 comments:
That's certainly interesting. I think Beth will freak out, not that the lack of hygiene is unexpected, just that you have to be subjected to it. :)
Freak out? That's a bit strong... but I have to say, after a month in Zambia, I'm not suprised. Hand hygeine seems to be less emphasized in other countries... good job sticking up for yourself!!
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