So, today my daughter ended up in the emergency room. While spending time in Denmark, my little girl fell off a tree on her side and got hurt.
Well, after 15 years, it was time to experience the Danish socialized medicine again. Has it really become a death trap like some in the US swear by? Is it really slow, inefficient and heartless like any other government agency?
Well, as an aggravating situation, the hospital we went to is in the city of Roskilde, that these days lends its name to the "Roskilde Festival", one of the largest summer music festivals in the world. More than 130.000 people come here to enjoy the music and some alcohol, so a lot of people show up hurt in one way or another.
When we arrived at the hospital, there was a steady stream of people being brought by paramedics from the festival site to the emergency room. Most of them with foot injuries.
So, I expected to be there for hours, waiting to be seen. After signing in, we barely warmed up the waiting room seats, when they called my daughters name. The doctor saw her immediately. None of that seating in a smaller room, waiting for another long time. Immediately she started asking my daughter questions and decided an X ray was in order.
She then gave us directions to get to another part of the hospital and on we went.
We checked in over there and same thing: barely 5 minutes and they whisked us in the room. The nurses there were so nice and accommodating to my daughter. Initially they wanted her to lay down for the X ray, but those movements proved too painful for her, so they immediately changed course and figured out a way to do it standing up. Less than 30 mins later we were back at the doctors room where they had analyzed the X ray and concluded she didn't have any fractures. For good measure they then did a urine test, to check if her kidneys were bleeding and also negative. So my daughter was OK, just a nasty bruise. They sent us on our way.
This whole experience took less than 90 minutes and I felt they thoroughly examined her.
The weirdest part of all this? In no moment were we asked for insurance or credit cards or any form of payment and no bill was produced.
In reality, the Danish society, politicians and citizens believe that taking care of each other is a duty of the country. Something that everyone has a right to. The best care possible to everyone, no matter your skin color, income and occupation. We are all humans and deserve healthcare that is not driven by a profit motive, but by a will to keep people safe and healthy.
In these days where millions of people stand to lose access to health insurance in the US, it's hard to understand how people can have a heart to let that happen, while at the same time calling the healthcare system in the US the best in the world. I experienced something that what's not only better, but has heart and compassion in it, something the US could learn from...
Just an update, as many were worried about my daughter: She's in great shape, playing in the woods, running, jumping and happy as ever. Thank you to everyone that expressed concern