Monday, December 7, 2009

UK path lab is a MACHINE!

I went and got a blood test done today, mainly to see if there is anything in my DNA that makes me so awesomely superhuman. I was amazed at the efficient, if not impersonal service here in Wales. Seriously:

9:00am - roll up to Doctor's clinic for drop in hours
9:20am - Doctor confirms I am dying, gives me plastic bag, form, map to Pathology Unit

12:10pm - walk to Path lab (which is conveniently in the hospital next to my University)
12:15pm - take form to counter - get given paper tag, number 95
12:20pm - bleeping noise, counter ticks to 95, I walk into clinic
12:21pm - i sit, nurse finds vein, takes blood
12:22pm - i leave path lab with a cotton ball taped to my arm

Honestly. There was a room with 2 chairs in it, and 2-3 nurses working to pump the patients through. It was a case of "name and date of birth please" wam bam thank you mam here's-a-giant-sticky-plaster-go-to-your-doctor-later-in-the-week. I am not sure if it is the best system ever or the worst... it was kind of unfriendly, I was just another arm to them. (But a good one I bet!) Got to admire the efficiency though - perhaps they save the people skills for when the results come in?

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