As many of you probably already know, travel in any of the "Old World" countries like the United Kingdom can be a serious problem because sidewalks are often uneven, there are steps everywhere, and for the most part, buildings can not be brought up to modern safety or handicapped standards because of their age and historical significance. In other words, you just cannot replace floors that are not even, nor can you install railings and ramps in ancient buildings.
I know these things, so have been extremely careful in my travels to hold onto railings or walls if there are no railings, and to be always looking for tripping hazards as I walk. (I even "Mind the gap" in the Underground stations!) In my several international trips, I have done fairly well. I am also lucky, in spite of my age, to still have pretty strong bones.
Anyway, just four days from the end of my trip, I was in a souvenir shop in London looking for a specific t-shirt to take home with me. Could not find what I wanted, so headed for the door, but missed a small, 3" tall step, and fell flat on my face! (I specifically remember the view going down and watching the floor getting inevitably closer, so I was not passing out from something.)
First thing I did was check that my glasses which had fallen off my face were broken! Whew! A lady passing by saw me fall and came into the store to help me, and several store employees gathered around me. I moved my arms and legs to see if everything worked, and three store employees pulled me up. I was afraid they might drop me, so one got behind me and one of either side got me up safely into a chair. My right knee was scraped and starting to swell up and I had two tiny scrapes on my face. Otherwise, no bleeding, and I could bear weight without horrible pain, so I sat for a few minutes while store employees brought me some wet wipes to clean the dirt off my legs and hands and a bottle of cold water to drink.
I was feeling OK and the other store I was headed for was nearby, so I said I'd walk, which I did for a couple of blocks, but then decided to take a cab back to my hotel since my knee was really swelling up. Got back to the Premier Hub Westminster hotel on Tothill Road. I had stayed here on previous trips and loved the location--a block from Westminster Abbey, half a block to a Pret a Manger takeout place, and a little over a block to a Starbucks and the entrance to St. James Underground Station! What more could a person want??
This budget hotel of tiny rooms has a bar, so I sat down on a bench, showed the lady behind the check-in desk my increasingly puffy knee, and asked her if she could get my some ice from the bartender. (It was a hot day, and I was wearing shorts.) She took one look and raced off for the ice. As I sat there with the ice on my knee, she and another hotel employee got concerned and said I really needed to go to the emergency room. I told them I could walk on it and doubted anything was broken, but they were insistent. They were short-staffed right then, but called an assistant manager at another hotel in that chain nearby, and he came over and took me via taxi, which he insisted on paying for, to a nearby emergency room, and he waited in the long check-in line while I sat inside!! That took about two hours of his time, AND I HAD NOT EVEN FALLEN IN THAT HOTEL!!!
After I got checked in, about 9 pm, he headed home, and I waited about another three hours to get seen by a doctor. The waiting room was large and completely packed, and in regards to furniture, it was pretty basic. Most of the people waiting looked very much like the people in the U.S. who are poor and do not have health insurance.
I knew that the UK government provides free medical care to all of its citizens, but what I had not known until a few years ago was that this coverage also applies to visitors, legal or illegal! Frankly, I find that amazing! I also find it amazing that the hotel staff went so far out of their way, professionally and personally, to care for one of their customers.
The doctor at the emergency room ordered a cat scan of my head since i had a couple of small scrapes on my face, an x-ray of my knee to check for anything broken, an ECG of my heart, and a complete blood count. My blood pressure was high, but I told them I had missed my night meds, so they ordered some for me. Also gave me option of one stitch or glue on the one small cut just above my lip that was still seeping blood. I chose glue, so that went on along with some steri-strips.
I got the results about 3 am, and I was waiting for my paperwork to leave, when they told me that they really preferred that I stay through breakfast so they could observe me because they did not think it wise to try to find a taxi so late, and hope to get into the hotel that late. They said they were also worried that because I was alone, if there were any problems with my brain and I passed out, I would not be able to call anyone for help.
I told them my back was really painful from spending so much time in a hard chair in the waiting room and the uncomfortable "trolley", as they called the emergency room beds that we call gurneys. Anyway, they said they would put me in a much more comfortable regular hospital bed with pillows and warmer blankets, in a nearby room they reserve for patients they want to observe for a few more hours. At first I refused and said I just wanted to go back to hotel, so they sent in their supervisor="convincer" who talked me into. If I was still OK, I could leave after breakfast.
So, I got wheeled off to a nearby four-bed room with curtains dividing the space and the nurses station right outside the entrance door. I tried to nap, but mostly stayed awake while other patients came in. Breakfast was porridge, toast, corn flakes, and tea. No eggs, sausage, bacon, or orange juice as we might get in a U.S. hospital, but the bed was comfortable and the head and foot could be raised or lowered. Nurses were also attentive and helpful. They also gave me a government-issue cane. I did not think I needed it, but took it anyway so they did not have to call in the convincer.
So, about 10 am, I got my release paperwork and headed off to the taxi they had called for me. As I got near my hotel, I pulled out my credit card to run it through the payment machines, but the driver told me my fare had already been paid for by the government health service! Walked the half block to Pret to get some takeout food so I did not have to out later. Said hello to new set of hotel staff and took elevator to my room. Quick shower and a five-hour nap later, I felt 100% better, but what an experience!!!
Overall, it was a similar experience you would get in any big-city emergency room on a Friday evening--long lines that barely seemed to move, lots of people uncomfortable on hard chairs, long boring wait, and uncomfortable "beds" with those thin hospital blankets in the emergency room.
However, I think the medical and personal care I got was excellent, which is what really counts. Also, I saw a lot of other people getting that level of care where in the U.S. they might not get such care. Having the taxi prepaid was utterly amazing. I cannot imagine that ever happening in the U.S., can you?
You hear a lot of negative reporting about the long wait times for necessary surgery in countries with national health care, and you also hear about certain drugs not being available and people who can afford it having to pay for private doctors and hospitals, so I thought it was important to tell you about my experience on this trip.
I don't know if I will be taking any more long trips to London, but if I do, I will most likely stay at this same hotel again. It has very nice queen beds and bedding in tiny rooms, and it really is mostly appropriate for single travelers, but overall I like the chain because the hotels are so consistent. I'll be writing about choosing a hotel later today. After one week, by the way, my lip is almost healed, and my knee is still sore and stiff, it is on its way to becoming less swollen and less sore.
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