272. Blood Tests
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| Waiting for a blood test in a hospital North Italy |
There weren’t many people at the hospital in Vittorio Veneto at seven this morning. That’s because people on Monday mornings are at their own home base practitioner getting their prescription which authorizes blood tests at the hospital.
The second step is to get your blood test registered at the hospital counters which open at 7.30, but most people arrive at least half an hour earlier not only to avoid the rush which runs into hundreds of people daily, but also not to drive oneself bananas to get a parking space- by seven thirty, the car park is choc block full and you need to wait in line as people come to retrieve their cars after they have had their blood test.
The third step is to go to another counter and pay what Italians call “the ticket” which is a contribution to the total cost of the service provided. The amount varies from year to year and no one really knows what the percentage is but I worked it out once it comes out at about a quarter of the total cost.
Routine blood tests, which covers most of them, are totally free and you can collect the results, very often, the next day. People need to make sure they collect their results within 30 days otherwise they will be penalized to pay for the total cost of the service. However, if like me you have to have special tests which need to be sent to special laboratories which take even up to two or three weeks to be elaborated, then you pay “the ticket”. The batch of blood tests I did this morning cost me 54 Euros, therefore I would imagine the total cost to the health service is about 200 Euros.
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| The ticket machine that gives you a number for your turn in line |
Fortunately they have now installed a ticket machine that gives out a number for whatever counter you need to go to. I remember the days, and not all that long ago either, when I had to stand in line to wait for my turn which on average was about an hour. You still have to wait an hour, but thanks to these numbering machines, now, people can sit down or take a stroll which quite honestly brightens an otherwise extremely downcast spirit.
Once you have registered your blood test prescription and where appropriate paid your “ticket” you then go into another area furnished with another counter and a nurse who marks the containers for the doctor with your identity and gives you a number. Armed with this number you wait for the voice from the loudspeaker to call you through to door A, B, or C.
Once your number has been called you enter the tiny room where there is a narrow table covered with a green cloth. You sit down in front of it and put your best arm on it. If it is a routine blood check the conversation is limited to a “good morning” usually accompanied by a smile. If it’s something complicated the doctor will ask you certain questions from which she fills out a form and then pats your arm to find your best vein, puts the needle in, draws out the blood and puts it in the various containers pre-marked with your identity. You then say thank you and out you go for a cappuccino and pastry, as you only have had water from the night before.
You then return to your car and move out as fast as you can to leave room to the next poor soul who has been cursing under his breath for the past half hour, waiting for a place.
