Having enjoyed 10 consecutive days of unrelenting headache, I finally gave in and went to see a doctor. There were the typical root cause expectations related to bad ergonomics and so forth, but the doc did take me seriously as one shouldn't apparently suffer from headache for so long. The doctor herself took blood tests (way convenient) and send me to bed with muscle relaxants for 2 days on MC (medical certificate).
Still the headache wasn't unbearable, just continuous discomfort. So I was merrily working on my laptop at home when the doctor called in the results. My platelets (aka trombocytes) had plummeted, so I had to see another doctor immediately. Sooner than I realized I was being admitted into hospital with positive results for dengue fever.
I never learned to know the sucker who stung me (later learned that it was one Aedes Aegypti). In Finland mosquitoes make this infernal whine just before they start to feast on your blood. And they don't carry any diseases. Well I guess this is part of living in the tropics.
So good possibility (and way too much time to kill while resting on a hospital bed) to make some comparisons on the hospital care between these two countries.
I'm now in a private hospital through my insurance. It feels quite similar to Finnish public sector hospital. The facilities are considerably newer though. One thing I have noticed is the amount of paperwork I need to review and sign. All kinds of terms and conditions and getaway clauses I guess. Admittedly I didn't read every paper when worrying about dengue in the admissions.
I do feel like getting a quality care from a Burmese nurse (among others) and Edinburgh schooled Sikh doctor. This particular doctor mentioned that some of my Finnish hospital procedures sound like they were done here 30 years ago. And there I was expecting Finnish level of health care being among the best in the world. I still do, but so seems Singaporean equivalent as well.
NP: Amerigo Gazaway's DJ-set from South by Southwest (SXSW) event couple of weeks ago.
PS. I'll proofread, add links, tags and geo location once back slouching over my laptop in as unergonomical position as before
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