Hygiene Threshold

One other document that I had to submit was my health report. Yes, I had to have a health checkup in Vietnam. I didn't think much about it until I saw the hospital.... Would I even call it a hospital? My goodness..... when I first saw it, I almost fainted! It looked like one of those pigeonhole block of flats in HK and it was overcrowded with people. The people were just squatting, sitting or even lying around everywhere and anywhere their butts could fit onto! I don't mean to be racist or anything, but the people here are very 'weather beaten', so they look a bit like they have not had a bath for a long time..... I would have taken a photo but I thought it was quite rude to do so..... Hence, only a picture of the hospital building!

While waiting, I could see patients wheeled by their own family from one place to another. Their family members could be holding their drip while pushing the bed! The patients here are just wheeled around without any thought for their privacy. I was more taken aback than anything as I saw patients with all kinds of injuries..... It's almost like a scene from the ER except that this was just another section of the hospital. I even saw an old man holding his own urine bag walking around! The wheelchairs here are also 'koyak'. It's made from one of those plastic chairs that we sit in lecture theatres, with just 2 wheels by the side and one tiny wheel in front. It looked like something my technical student could make.

I first had my ears, nose and mouth checked. Here, they do not use the ice-cream stick thingy to probe into the mouth. Instead, it was a metallic one! Gasp! How many millions of people have used it before me??? Even though the stick is put aside after each patient, I still felt queasy when the nurse pushed it into my mouth.... In my mind I was thinking: Has it been sterilised? How long has it been lying here in the room collecting bacteria? I went for the eye checkup after that but there was nothing alarming about that.

Next stop was the X-ray. A few of us were ushered into the X-ray room and all of us just waited for each other to get our 'photos' taken! Lying in one corner was the robe that I had to put on. Again, I do not know how many people have worn it before me. But I'm very sure this time that they do not wash the robes after each wear. Worse! They did not tell us to leave the room while the other person was taking her X-ray. We were all exposed to the X-rays!!! As if one time was not enough! And I was not told when to breathe in and do the arms-behind-the-back-chicken action.

I was getting worried as I still had to get my blood drawn.... Fortunately, I was brought to a place which is for foreigners only. It was air-conditioned and much better than the other sections I was at. But it was by no means Singapore standards still. So drawing blood was actually the most pleasant of all my checkups at the hospital..... I thought hospitals were supposed to be well sanitised and sparkling clean.... But I guess I was wrong. I think I'm a clean freak. But after this experience, I think I have a greater tolerance for dirt and filth. It really made me question if the patients here can really get better.