Diary projects 2003 Romania

Safe, safer, safest

A country like Romania surprises you every day. Some people think that whatever belongs to the company or institute they work for, can be taken home free of charge. This applies to all classes of society. This kind of attitude has been tolerated throughout the years. Nowadays you see more and more security firms guarding the belongings of companies and institutions like the hospital in Sibiu. The hospital used to have a lot of problems with this kind of behavior due to the fact anybody can walk in and out freely of the premises (especially employees). Although this is a good thing, sometimes it gets a bit on your nerves....

Take for instance a simple act like shopping in the local D.I.Y.- store. Sibiu has got at least three of this kind of stores, all well stocked with all kinds of materials, equipment, tools etc. I was being sent off to purchase 60 sq. meters of modular ceiling which by the way wasn't available just a few years back. So off I went and when entering the store you are kindly told you have to get a shopping bag or shopping cart, otherwise you won't get in at all. OK, fine by me, I just want to buy my ceiling. Once inside, I asked where to go to and was told I had to go to the stockroom which wasn't in the store but elsewhere on the premises. I left my shopping cart and went to the stockroom. I asked the local assistant what kinds of modular ceilings they had in stock and asked about the prices. Three types were available and after some deliberating I made up my mind and ordered 60 sq. meters of ceiling. The assistant enters his office and writes out a receipt for me to bring to the main store for a invoice.

Back to the store I went. At the entrance the guard gives me a sharp look.......oops forgot my shopping cart!! I found the right department and soon a invoice is being made. In the meanwhile I just look around a bit and see numerous surveillance cameras all over the place. Just around the corner from where I stand, a young lady is watching the monitors. Curiously I went over to her to get a quick glance of it. Immediately a guard tells me to mind my own business and leave. Back to the counter and received my invoice. They tell me to go the cash-desk on the other side of the store to pay for my purchases. I walk over there and get in line. All goes fairly smoothly until I'm up at the cash register: the lady tells me I'm in the wrong place, I have to pay at the other cash register next to us. I don't argue with her because I see two very big security men and get in line at the other cash register.

So far so good, it's my turn now so I pull my credit card. It seems that this cash register isn't equipped to handle credit cards (I had already seen this, that's why I went to the other cash register in the first place). After some explanation, we use the other cash register to pay. All the time I'm being closely watched by the guards. One of them literally looks over my shoulder. The cashier asks for my license plates number. I'm confused, so she tells me it's for the police. If they pull me over, I can hand over a receipt to prove I'm not transporting a illegal load. I had to give my name and address too. Everything was written down on my receipt. Then she signed it, I signed it and finally it was stamped. Just as I was ready to fetch my stuff at the storeroom, I was stopped by a guard. He had to put a stamp on it too.... At last, all is set and done and I went to the storeroom to pick up my ceiling.

I quickly loaded my car and went off to the hospital. Along the way I took a look at my watch. I had been in the store for over two hours!! I laughed and thought "Whatever happens, if I get pulled over by the police I can prove I'm totally innocent.....or can I?"

Does the hospital takes care of its patients or is it the other way around?

Like in all other countries, if you're feeling sick you go to your doctor and if he believes it's necessary he gives you a referral for a consult at the hospital. You get an examination and it turns out to be serious you will be admitted. Every Romanian is insured so you don't have to worry about the money.

You're are lying at a ward of 20 sq. metes together with nine other patients. Fresh air is not available and privacy is completely out of the question but you're in good hands now. You will be taking care of by nurses, doctors and other personnel. So you think......

It all starts with the rounds by the doctor. Every time he gets to your bed he complaints about his income, bad conditions etc. He claims he likes to help but you have to pay something extra to receive the care you need. You like to feel better again so you pay him €50 ($63) for starters. The examinations are being carried out and it turns out you've got appendicitis. The doctor starts to complain again about the circumstances he's got work with and he soon finds another €150 ($189) in his pocket because you're in a lot of pain now! After the surgery, the nurses take care of you and it all starts over again. They complain about the hard work and blah blah blah. You're just out of surgery and you're not feeling all to well so you contribute to the “nursing fund”. After a few days you're feeling a bit better and you're even hungry again. The doctor says it's OK to eat and you're looking forward to your first meal. You know it will not be haute cuisine but anything tastes good when you're hungry....doesn't it?

Oh no, now the domestic assistant has got plenty of mouths to feed. She has to pay the rent also. So what do you do? You are in the middle of recuperation and you don't want to starve to death either. You pay and eat! Furthermore, this way you get nice clean sheets every once in a while too. In the end you leave the hospital in good health but flat broke.

PS: This happens a lot at the hospital and presumably at other common services. Fortunately, there are a lot of doctors and nurses who don't show this kind of attitude, although they are vastly outnumbered in my opinion. This attitude has to banished from hospitals to achieve a higher level of medical care.

Transport by ambulance? You never know for sure!

A woman, 82 years of age, falls down the stairs at home. She suffers from a lot of pain in her upper leg and phones her doctor. He thinks it's nothing serious, just a couple of bruises but if she likes, he could get her a referral for an X-ray at the hospital. She wants to be sure so her doctor rings for an ambulance and leaves.

After a few minutes the ambulance arrives. The ambulance men asses the situation and tell her she can't come along because she's way to heavy for just two men to carry. There's no one else around to help out, so they leave her behind!! They will come back for her if she manages to find some none who can help them carry her into the ambulance. After a while she's able to reach her friend (78 years old!!) who's willing to help. The ambulance returns but again refuse to carry her to the car because her friend obviously isn't able to help them out. The woman decides to leave it at that. Maybe her doctor was right and her leg hasn't been broken after all.

After three weeks of immobility and excruciating pain she finally gets to the hospital. It turned out her leg had been broken after all. Problem was: nature had gone its way and the fracture had healed in a totally wrong way. Now, one leg is 3 centimeters longer than the other. She can't be operated because of her age. The revalidation process will be long and complicated and in the end her leg will never heal properly.

This is just one of many stories from Romanian society......