By Radia Benabbou
By Radia Benabbou
Rabat – Hospitals are places you go to when you feel sick, vulnerable and worried. They are places where you expect to be taken care of, examined and reassured. Well, if you expect something like that in a Moroccan public hospital, you are in for a big shock! Moroccan hospitals are nothing of the sort. So grab a pen and a piece of paper and take notes as we are about to give you a sneak peek into the strange world of Moroccan hospitals.
1. Doctors come and go to their hearts’ delight
Patients can watch as much as they want, but doctors will come when they feel like coming. There are no official working hours for doctors. You can be waiting for hours before a nurse comes to tell you that the doctor is not coming.
2. Nurses are the worst
Nurses in our lovely hospitals consider themselves to be the bosses of the facility. They are the most snobbish, conceited, stubborn people you could ever meet. They are of no help at all; the only effort they put into their work is in their incessant attempts to postpone your appointment at any cost. They shout, talk down to people, and complicate an already complex documentation system. If the Ministry of Health ever decides dismiss all nurses, it will be a national celebration; nobody will miss them. Instead, we will all be busy getting the medical care that we require at hospitals.
3. Remember to wash after leaving the hospital
Hygiene is a big problem in Moroccan hospitals. Anything you lay eyes on, anything you smell, and anything you touch may be infected by God knows what disease. Elevators are dirty, waiting rooms are filthy, and examination rooms have stained sheets. A rule of thumb to for hospitals is to stand as much as you can and not touch anything.
4. Hospital doors are always closed
No, we do not mean on weekends and holidays. The gates to Moroccan hospitals are prison-like doors, painted in a pale-blue which makes want to cry, guarded by men in blue. To pass those gates, you need to be resourceful enough to trick the guards. Those guards make the hospital look like an exclusive club which people are dying to get into. They will ask all sorts of question to make sure that you are not coming to the hospital on an outing with your family!
5. Nobody has the key to the equipment room
In every Moroccan hospital, there is a room where they store all the medicines and equipment that you might need in your quest for recovery. The room is like a treasure chest: small, dark and hard to open. The person responsible for the key is always absent. So you might as well bring your own supplies with you.
6. Elevators are for hospital personnel, not patients
Elevators, at least the working ones, are exclusively reserved for doctors. When the cardiovascular wing is located on the fifth floor of a hospital, you might imagine that there is an elevator for patients to get to see the doctor. Well, there isn’t! They will have to take the risk of dying on their way up the stairs.
7. Moroccan hospitals are crowded
No matter where you are in the hospital, there will always be a mob of people. The copy center, the gate, and the waiting rooms are all flooded with people waiting for the same thing as you. This calls for a great amount of patience to be able to complete your trip successfully.
© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
