Chapter 3111: with translation of chapter title

Xie Ning froze; only patients who couldn't breathe could see the emergency department?! What rule is this?

He knew some Swedish, just not very fluent, communication might be difficult, but his hearing was fine. This exchange student named Sun Wenyi didn't lie; on the other end of the phone, they indeed asked whether he could breathe.

Upon hearing this, Assistant Liu's facial expression was extraordinarily vivid.

The operator at 1177 on the other end continued explaining, if you could still breathe, they wouldn't accept the emergency patients just mentioned during this evening time slot. Because in her view, that simply wasn't an emergency.

"This isn't a joke, is it?" Assistant Liu said somewhat resentfully, "If you can't breathe, can you even make it to the emergency department in time? How..."

"Little Liu." Xie Ning said in a low voice, "Then let's make it clear."

"Mr. Xie..." Assistant Liu hesitated, "How about I contact a private hospital?"

"No need, it's just a fish bone; besides, would a private hospital even see emergency cases?" Xie Ning indicated he completely didn't understand the medical process here, just judging from domestic experience it's like this.

Spending a bit of money is no big deal; a fish bone isn't worth a thousand yuan, but Xie Ning now had greater interest in wanting to see Sweden's medical situation.

Anyway, having now left the real estate industry and entered the medical field, knowing a bit more is always good.

Consoling himself, he sent Sun Wenyi away, and Xie Ning reluctantly went back to sleep.

Hoping the fish bone would disappear on its own after a night's sleep, Xie Ning consoled himself.

Domestic is still more convenient, although the emergency department might also have queues in the evening, but if it were domestic, the problem should already be resolved by now. And only patients who can't breathe can see the emergency department; thinking of this, Xie Ning sighed, feeling that his cheap son-in-law compared to Swedish doctors really isn't easy.

After returning, Xie Ning tiptoed to change into pajamas and lie down, struggling with the fish bone, making countless swallowing motions, until finally falling asleep in a daze with no result.

Early the next morning, Xie Ning woke up early, summoned by the fish bone.

Meanwhile, Lin Wan was still sound asleep; Xie Ning felt somewhat moved, it's truly nice to have no illness or disaster. He merely had a fish bone stuck, yet couldn't sleep well all night—this really leaves nowhere to reason.

Contacting the assistant, Xie Ning kissed Lin Wan goodbye, hastily ate a bite of breakfast, the fish bone remained in place, utterly unmoved.

"Brother Liu, let's go to v? rdcentral Community Hospital." Sun Wenyi was quite enthusiastic about this big customer, proactively introducing.

"Community Hospital... can we go directly to a better hospital?" Assistant Liu asked.

"Seeing a doctor follows a process; going straight to Karolinska Hospital wouldn't even accept you; you need a referral letter from the community hospital." Sun Wenyi smiled, "It's not like back home. But it's just a small matter; v? rdcentral Community Hospital can solve the problem."

Helpless, they had no choice but to drive with Sun Wenyi to v? rdcentral Community Hospital.

On the way, Sun Wenyi introduced the situation here.

"Brother Liu, Mr. Xie, don't rush. I've lived here for several years; when I first went abroad, I thought language and living habits might be problematic. But if I were to speak now, the real worries, I fear, are not first about integrating into society, climate, prices, or supplies."

Sun Wenyi looked honest and simple, yet extremely talkative, he went on saying, "My feelings aren't obvious, after all I'm young and healthy. But if your health isn't good and you happen to have lived in Sweden for at least a few years, you'll surely agree the biggest worry is actually Sweden's medical care. The country's medical resources can be described as extremely scarce, incomparable to ours."

"Aren't Nordic countries supposed to have universal medical insurance?" Assistant Liu asked, "How does this work?"

"Explaining medical insurance is troublesome; clinic outpatient fees vary, usually 150 to 200 Swedish kronor per visit; if you want more details, you have to ask 1177."

"After paying a total of 900–1100 Swedish kronor within 12 months, you can get free medical visits for the following 12 months counted from the first visit."

"That's how it's said, but you also need to be able to see a doctor. You two think, the doctors here are all old-timers, seeing only 20-30 patients a day at most. Back home? At least 50, that's completely different."

"Many people get tumors, told treatment is free, then they wait and wait and don't need to go see a doctor, not spending a penny." Sun Wenyi said, "National conditions differ; if this were domestic, they'd have long been cursing doctors for lacking medical ethics. Posted online, more replies would come, directly scolding. But here, people are honest; if I had to say, our domestic situation is still better."

Xie Ning once again thought of his cheap son-in-law.

"Let's not talk far, just last night. Even in a small county town, if you go at midnight with a fish bone that can't be pulled out, the next day the doctor would likely be complained about. What level, can't even pull out a fish bone. But in Sweden, they basically don't call it seeing a doctor."

"Another difference from domestic: Swedish hospitals and clinics don't have pharmacies. After a doctor writes a prescription, you need to go to an apotek to pay and get the medicine. Currently, Sweden's public medical welfare sets the upper limit for prescription drug costs within 12 months at 2200 Swedish kronor." Sun Wenyi continued, "I'm not clear on more details; after all, getting sick here just means enduring it."

"Here, ambulances are basically unaffordable; I used to think it was a joke, but after coming I truly understood. A female classmate, possibly hypoglycemic, fainted in class; after getting in the ambulance and waking up, she insisted on getting out no matter what. That thing isn't life-saving at all; the subsequent fees would cost a life."

They sat in chairs waiting in line; here there are far fewer people queuing than domestically, but according to Xie Ning's observation, the speed of seeing a doctor is also very slow.

Not rushed, not rushed, Xie Ning repeatedly gave himself psychological reassurance.

"Why can't we go to a good hospital to see a doctor?" Assistant Liu still unwilling, "I'm rich, it's not that I don't want to spend money, why not let us go?"

"Brother Liu, besides emergency care, you can only go to a big hospital if you have a referral from the clinic."

"Isn't this an emergency?" Assistant Liu, being young, couldn't calm his frustration, speaking a bit urgently.

"As long as you have breath, it's not considered an emergency; you heard that yesterday too." Sun Wenyi explained.

"What about private hospitals?"

"Private hospitals are costly, I won't even mention that, but you still have to queue." Sun Wenyi said, "The doctors here aren't short of money; foreign doctors hold high status, otherwise those we've trained for over a decade wouldn't desperately cling to staying here. A dozen or so patients a day, middle‑class income and above, they don't need to live too lavishly."

"……" Assistant Liu speechless, "Then dialing 112 120 Emergency phone should work, right?"

"Brother Liu, a buddy of mine called before—don't even get me started on how awful it was." Sun Wenyi said.