No Emergency Room

To the average American, a hospital without an emergency room must seem like a government without paranoia.

Inconceivable.

Can it work?

It works really well.

Oh, it's you again, said the duty nurse at the surgery reception of the local hospital when TheEditor delivered the next patient.

The role of designated driver to the hospital has its up-side, nice.

Having done all these trips to get injured and ill Germans back on their feet, the lack of the quintessential American Emergency Room must be addressed. Hm, don't you like the haughty "must be addressed"?

How do you know get admitted to the hospital in an emergency when there is no ER?

In some better not named American states, we might one day see this ultimate cost cutting measure proposed.

Well, in Germany, you go to the respective ward, and they will take care of everything.

Don't you need to know what your illness is? Not everybody knows what ward or department they need to go to!

In reality, you don't have to be a doctor or nurse to get to the right place. If it is a broken bone, you go to the bones people, if you went postal, go to the psych ward, and for everything else go to internal med.

If you get it wrong, they'll figure it out and get you into the right hands. Not to forget, the above assumes you are in good enough shape to go there yourself - or hitch a ride with TheEditor.

If you need to be taken by ambulance, they'll do everything anyway.

The fact that German hospitals do not have a US style emergency room has not proven an obstacle to the TV show "ER". Germans loved that one, not least because of a young George Clooney, but they dig the other US hospital shows too.

The K-Landnews TheEditor will keep you informed about other insights gained on hospital trips. Being on first name terms with the surgery admission nurse and having seen the smile of recognition on the doctor's face, it is only a matter of time until they will start to reveal the deepest secrets of the German healthcare system. And you, dear readers, will be the first to know.