Kanton http://www.ombudsmann.zh.ch/
When I had my surgery, i was in the 4 person room (with one other person) but during another procedure, all the rooms were semi private.
Anyway, my point is that it is a mixture of who you choose as a physician and your insurance. At this point, given the mess that is US healthcare, i'm happy to be here, but of course ymmv.
I do wonder if this is why our insurance is higher in Bern. To me it's worth it, actually compared to the US. And the cost of procedures, etc is lower than in the US- in my experience.
But when I went to give birth at Bruderholz I had a horrible experience - they misdiagnosed my son with dangerously high biluribin levels - but it was how it all happened that was astounding. I went to the bathroom and returned to my room to find my baby gone. I had to wander around before finding someone to tell me he'd been taken to the sick baby unit. I went down and just sat and watched him receiving light treatment. I was on my own, spoke no German, was very hormonal and scared. No-one sat with me and explained what was going on - I was literally left sitting there.
When I returned to my room I found all my stuff had been moved into another room with 2 women who had seriously ill babies.
A few hours later they said, your baby is OK - he can come out of light treatment, there was a mistake in the lab tests. No apology. And shifted into yet another room. So the the 'manner' of the staff was appalling.
But now I have a great ped. - he's extremely thorough, and has a great manner. My son needed a minor op. a few years ago and he referred us to the best surgeon for this Op. The experience at Bethesda hospital Basel where he had the Op was simply outstanding - in terms of medical treatment but also human treatment.......It really does depend on the doctor you get. And as people have said, once you have a good primary doc. ped. etc - they usually have a network and can refer to the best in various fields.
To be fair, i will say every cloud have a silver lining. When i was in Bern, in Inselspital for my hand surgery, i felt that they tend to rush you out yet they were responsible.
The hand surgeon persuaded me to taking overall anaesthesia repeatedly because he was told that the anaesthesia team was so busy that they did not have enough time for partial anaesthesia. Obviously they want to send you home a.s.a.p. i insisted partial one in the arm in case the anaesthesia for the whole body would do harm to my brain. When i waited to 10 in the night, from 11 in the morning, i could not wait anymore. i asked for superficial and partial anaesthesia just in the hand, or around the cut, which can be done without the anaesthesia team, by the surgeon himeself. He kindly told me that if he did so, my thumb would never feel anything anymore,because that kind of small operation could only heal your cut in the skin other than the cut to the nerve.
Regarding Swiss hospitals, my experience has only been with Ticinese hospitals, and I have never had anything less than a fully positive experience, same regarding the doctors and specialists.
Tom
A couple of years ago my father was visiting from the US. He slipped on some ice on the Uetliberg and landed on his skull. He was taken to a nearby hospital. He seemed to recover pretty quickly; he was conscious and coherent that night. However, over the next several days he went downhill. He started acting very strangely, hallucinating, thinking he was in Texas (where he grew up 50 years ago). The doctors had no idea what was wrong so they transfered him to the head trauma ward at the University.
My father is a diabetic of ~40 years. It turns out, this incompetent hospital staff had not to given him his insulin...for 3 f-ing days. By the time the transferred him his was almost in diabetic coma. The University hospital recognized this, gave him an insulin drip and he was OK within hours.
I've got a post dwelling somewhere on here when it happened. If this were the US we would own that hospital.
I'll be damned if I ever go to that hospital again.
Back on track: the last couple of time we've had to visit the ER, we've driven to the Baden hospital. It's a little longer to drive there for us, but the time spent waiting to be helped is a lot less than I've experienced in any Zürich hospital.
I am no Dr, but delirium after a head injury ? I would also have sent him to the head trauma unit and not suspect diabetes. Does he carry a card or badge or bracelet, was that missed ? Did the family not inform the hospital on admittance that he was insulin dependant ?
Glad to hear he recovered.
We brought his insulin to the hospital when he was in the first ward.
Case of bad/no diagnosis again