We saw a lonesome asparagus stalk at the weekend and the hint of green under the olive tree is asparagus plants, so it won’t belong now before we’re asparagus hunting again!
Yesterday, I went to the doctor for the first – ‘new normal’ time. The last time either of has been was a few years ago and then it was just a case of wandering down to the doctor’s office and waiting. Sometimes we would have to wait a couple of hours, but usually shorter – and we’d always be seen the same day.
We have always been amazed by the efficiency of the Spanish health service. When Ian had a lump on his throat, he went to the doctor who immediately sent him to the hospital for an x-ray and then back from the hospital to the doctor on the same day who went through his results with him. Of course, the speed which it happened was very worrying for us. But that’s just how things are done. I had the same with my ankle when it was hurting one time – straight from the doctor to the hospital for an x-ray.
And I always smile when I remember I asked one adult student about the pros and cons of living in a village vs a town, and she said that a big negative of living in a village is you can only see a doctor in the morning, but in a town you can see a doctor (without an appointment) in the afternoon and evening too!
So I wondered what it would be like seeing a doctor now in this ‘new normal’ world.
Now, we have to make an appointment for the doctor to phone us first and we call the Extremadura health service call service. At this stage, people with covid symptoms get put into the ‘covid’ system, people with urgent things are sent to the hospital and then the local doctor calls everyone else. The doctor rang and asked my symptoms (it’s an infected flea bite which isn’t healing), and told me to come down now. The people waiting for covid tests were waiting outside, and there was just one other person to see the doctor, so I was in and out in five minutes – probably all in all 15 minutes from when she called. There was one other person to see the doctor when I left.
I can’t make up my mind if it is an efficient system or not. Certainly not having a waiting room of sick people must be good and not having covid people milling around with non-covid people must be beneficial. It obviously works well in a village this size as the doctor was able to say ‘come now’ and most people will be there in minutes. I’m not sure how it works in a bigger town. But I’d say from our perspective it seems pretty efficient, even if we can no long wander down when we like.
I wonder about the doctor though, as calling people must put an extra step into the process for them. I guess it reduces the number of people who perhaps only have a question and don’t need to be seen. I noticed the doctor was wearing a telephone headset, so I suppose it’s made as easy as possible to reduce any inconvenience. Also, because it’s in effect an appointment system so she has the records of the person in front of her, rather than it being a surprise. As we only have one surname, they can never find us in their records, so at least all of that was done before I arrived.
Certainly it will be very interesting to see what happens next and whether they revert back to the turn-up and wait system, keep the current system or have a sort of hybrid of both!