Given the fact that I have never been hospitalized prior to having children and even then I needed no medication, and literally discharged once I felt ready to leave the hospital, now having been hospitalized 5 times in the past 18 months has given me an intense and closer look at hospitals in Cape Town.
1. Hospitals and specialists operate on their own time.
I realised early on that time is on a different scale in hospital. “Your medicine is coming now” could mean anything from a 30 minute to an hour wait. A specialist morning visit could mean he/she would pop in at 7:00am or 11:55am. Waiting is part of being in a hospital. Everything in hospital works on a different timetable to the world outside.
My worst experience was being admitted into hospital at 11:00am in preparation to be operated on at 2:00pm – not having eaten or drunk – since early morning. Only to be wheeled to theatre at 5:00pm but then having to wait for another two hours, as the specialist had an emergency procedure she needed to do. I do not mind the emergency that the specialist had to attend to but it was the waiting that got to me. One feels out of control I guess. And not having eaten or had anything to drink all day, it was an extremely long and tiring day.
On another occasion I had another operation booked for 7:30am, I checked in at 6:00am. At 7:10am I was wheeled up to theatre to be prepped for the operation. In this instance no waiting was needed!
I have quickly realised that hospitals have another clock by which they work. What what might feel urgent to me is not urgent too them. I have quickly learnt to forget about the clock and developed the art of staring out of the window, doing nothing but learning to wait.
2. The kindness of nurses and hospital staff
Working in a hospital is truly a calling! I can only imagine how tiring and hard it must be working with the sick , the infirm and the injured. Yet, I have been personally blown away at how caring and kind the hospital staff are. They often have a smile on their face, they are helpful, they are not irritated (even if I have rung the bell for the third time in an hour). They are constantly aware of their patients and what they are going through. In the busyness of life they act as the calm within the hospital. In their being consistent and kind one feels cared for and nurtured.
3. It is good to have emergency savings
In a week leading up to one of my hospital visits, we had to spend R10 000 directly out of our pocket for tests, medicine and scans. Some of that money we will recover from our medical scheme but some we will not. I realised that it is advisable to have some easily accessible savings tucked away, as our costs could have been much more. I think we often think “it could never happen to me” and if it does, one thinks one can quickly make a plan. But this is not always the case, and having money close at hand for any emergency – including medical – certainly comes in handy, as it did for us.
4. Medical aid and Gap cover
Private healthcare in any country can be expensive and if one wishes to make use of it, a medical aid and gap cover is essential. One specialist I visited requested the details of my gap cover upfront, explaining that they charge above medical aid rates. In most instances my hospital account was far greater than the specialist and anesthetist account combined. I was very grateful to not have to pay for either expense or shortfall because of the medical aid and gap cover I had acquired.
5. First class medical cover
Sometimes we forget how fortunate we are to have such amazing healthcare, even though South Africa is a third world country. Many would argue that public healthcare have pockets of excellence and others areas that need work, but overall South Africa practices amazing medicine. I am astounded that the medical care I have received is on par with first world countries such as England and the United States. I have appreciated the fact that specialists are abreast of the medical advancements happening worldwide. I am also grateful for all the specialist and surgeons who have chosen to stay in South Africa, regardless of the opportunities they could have elsewhere. One could feel totally at sea as one navigates the unknown world of medicine but I have been comforted by the fact that the varying specialists I have dealt with have had a genuine interest in my well-being.
Two years ago I was skeptical of hospitals and having hardly visited them, did not like them very much. These past 18 months I have had a glimpse into the world of private healthcare in South Africa, and I am truly impressed. We are very fortunate to have access to amazing healthcare at an affordable cost.