or: Great excuse for a holiday

I’m a prime candidate given my love of travel though many others opt for it for various other reasons including a lower cost than their country of residence, an opportunity to recover in another country from whatever procedure they elect to have (which not so coincidentally, also makes it easier to deny that any procedure has even occurred e.g. “No, of course I haven’t had a boob job, can’t you see I’ve been away tanning in the tropics?”.

I had been considering this for quite some time (no, not the boob job) since it is cheaper to have a full medical in Bangkok than it is in Hong Kong. I also have a friend living there at the moment so it is a good excuse to visit. Given my concern in seeing doctors, combining it with a trip also rewards my taking preventative action.

The hospital itself even makes it easy starting with making an appointment online based on whatever style check up that’s desired. Within 48 hours, a confirmed appointment arrives via email with instructions as to what can be consumed (or not), what to bring and in some cases, what to wear, to the appointment. They even give an approximate cost (in a variety of currencies) and an estimate of the amount of time the entire process is likely to take.

Appointment confirmed, I head to the hospital which looks more like a concrete hotel than a hospital. It doesn’t even smell of bleach and there is no-one in sight dressed in a white coat. This is reassuring for me.

Entering the reception area, I look around to try to work out where I need to go. Seeing my confusion, a nicely dressed woman in a purple coat came up to me and directed me to the registration area on the tenth floor. Yes, you read that correctly, ten floors up is the registration place. The ground floor is purely the welcome area where quite a few people in purple coats give directions to the lost and / or confused patients. There is even a Culture Desk complete with flags from various countries, advertising the language assistance they can provide.

In the elevator, I notice this hospital has twenty-one floors! They don’t all seem to be for patients as the buttons for floors one to nine have “Staff Only” written next to them.

The elevator doors open to reveal the Sky Lounge. A massive atrium surrounded by a Starbucks, a bookstore, the Registration Desks and a lot of lounge chairs. I haven’t seen anything like it in a hospital before. Perhaps hospitals have all evolved to be like this and due to my active avoidance of them, I wasn’t aware.

I’m called forward by a large guy behind a massive wooden desk. There’s quite a few of these in a row and when it’s busier, patients would take a number and wait to be called. There was no need for me to do this.

I hand over my passport and complete the very straightforward paperwork. He enters it into the computer and prints out a wristband for me, complete with my photo, hands me my new file and an ID card for next time I’m there and directs me to Level 12 for my check up.

Level 12 has it’s own Information Desk and they direct me to another area where I hand them my file and sit down. No sooner have I started reading, I am called in, weighed, measured, blood pressure and temperature taken, sent back out and told it would be about fifteen minutes until I’m seen.

So I start to read again.

Not even five minutes later, and mid chapter, I am called in.

Head to toe I am examined.

I am out again in 10 minutes and walked around to the Cashier Area.

I’m offered a seat (when it is busy, again there’s the number taking system) in front of one of the cashiers, the bill is produced, I pay and the wrist band is removed.

Downstairs, I take a number for a taxi and I wait.

This is when I should have started to read. I spent more time waiting for a taxi than I did being checked.

Thankfully, I’m skin cancer free.

Step one, completed. Now I know what to expect when I go there.

Next time, I’ll brave a full check.

Baby steps…

* Thanks to Metric for the title to this post.