Medical Madness

Today I've been pondering visits to the doctor.  A random ponderence (another official word) yes, but I was inspired by a series of events at work.  The first was a man who dashed into reception to ask for directions to the doctor.  His friend had slit his wrist open.  Good God!  Does he need a first aider?  An ambulance perhaps?  Why no.  His friend had "patched him up" and just needed someone to "fix him up".  Right.  Fair enough.  It's just a slit wrist.  No need to panic.  So I gave the gentleman directions and then off he went.  Then today I had a phone call from a man who urgently needed to speak to his wife.  Their daughter was seriously ill, couldn't move and he was with the doctor who needed to find out symptoms.  His wife doesn't have a mobile so is there any way I can get her on the phone.  Ummmmmm.  Ok, so we found a walkie talkie type thing-a-ma-whatsit, transferred the call to it and off I set in search of the wife.  I found their cabin and knocked on the door.  I waited.  No answer.  I waited.  Still no answer.  I tried again, a little louder this time.  No answer.  I was concerned, if there was a sick child inside that I was doing more bad than good by banging on the door but the husband insist I continue.  So I gave it a real pounding only to be greeted by a "who is it?".  Um, I'm from reception, I have your husband on a walkie talkie type thing.  So the woman opened up the door and had obviously been in the shower as her hair was in a towel and she had another wrapped about her person.  I had to wonder how desperately ill her child was if she'd had time to take a shower.  She then took the walkie talkie and angrily told her husband that everything was alright, she was ok now and to stop disturbing her.  She hung up on him and returned the walkie talkie.  I returned, feeling somewhat confused.  Was the child sick or not?  Who knows.  It just seems that people have different ideas of what constitutes a visit to the doctor.  The people who really could do with a doctor end up patching themselves up and getting on with it and the people who really don't need a doctor are falling over themselves to get an appointment.  Very strange indeed.  I'm always surprised at the amount of people who go to the doctor because they have a cold.  It's a cold people, a cold.  You just take some lemsip, drink soup, whine to your significant other.  You don't need a doctor.  The amount of people that return in a state of shock that the doctor sent them home with nothing more than advice to buy some flu pills.  All that and you're less $60 for the appointment.  Well I could have told you that and I'm just a Little Stalky.  Honestly, all you're doing is spreading your germs, possibly collecting more germs, basically creating a massive germ party and paying to be told that you need some vicks vapour rub!  And whilst you're talking to the doctor about feeling bunged up, some bloke is in the waiting room bleeding all over the place because his friend "patched him up."  'Tis madness.  Madness!