Quantum Forest

Hospitals suck. Period. This year I have spent an inordinate amount of time as a visitor in hospitals: two and a half months. This includes anything between six and twenty four hours a day visiting, sleeping, walking around, eating, talking to nurses, doctors, cleaners, clerks and patients. One of the problems is that patients are a captive audience; they cannot afford to have a meal outside — and food sucks, to go to a movie theatre — and TV is boring as hell, to stay in a nice hotel — and beds are uncomfortable.

I am not talking about run down public facilities but private hospitals in Tasmania. For the cost of a room (~AU$550 per day) one could stay in a first class hotel, with nice food, beds, entertainment, gymnasium, swimming pool, concierge, etc. Yes, there would not be any medical staff, but if one could hire them on demand, and most of the time one does not — or does not want to — see them, it could pay to be in a nice hotel. If only private health insurance would include this option…

As in any group of humans, hospitals host competent and nice people, as well as the nasty and incompetent. To be fair, there is a huge diversity, and we can find jewels in almost any unit of a hospital, although sometimes this may take a while. I would like to say thanks to all the jewels (you know who you are) and a ‘get lost’ to the rest.