Here’s a rare site, an empty Japanese hospital! Now to be fair, this is just one section of the hospital, but on this particular day (last Tuesday the 3rd), at this particular time (around noon), the place was truly deader than a door nail. (Hmmn, that’s kind of an unfortunate conceit given the subject). Naoko (who is way down there holding down the fort) said it was on account of the wind, which was blowing awful hair day fierce on this day. Considering that we sometimes have to wait over 2 hours for Naoko to get her routine ultrasound done, I was grateful for the emptiness. But it did make me wonder about the possibility that National Health Care has given rise to a whole group of folks who, windy days notwithstanding, at the drop of even the tiniest real or imagined symptomatic hat, rush to the hospital irrespective of whether their ailment warrants it.
This reminds me of my first experience in a Japanese hospital. It was last September. I was mountain biking in the Northern Alps near Hakuba when a friend took a bad jump and landed on his head. He had to be rushed to a hospital in nearby Omachi. It was a Sunday, and the hospital was deserted. I remember waiting in an area that looked much like the picture you’ve posted.
At that point, I’d already heard many complaints about Japanese health care (from locals and foreigners alike), but the doctor on shift that day was excellent.
Mike-
Thanks for commenting. Sorry about your friend, but I trust he ended up alright. Yup, I think it really does depend. I wish it wasn’t like that, that everything was consistent and level, but then the doctors would be robots and not doctors, I suppose. Although I can’t know for sure, my wife’s doctor throughout the pregnancy seems to be one of the good ones, and my wife is happy with him. He’s comparatively young, which I think makes some difference….