Hospitals

[Kupcake]

My son probably has mononucleosis (waiting for blood tests to come back today) and the doctor said yesterday if his skin gets any yellower he should be admitted to hospital. I've been to Jorvi before (and never ever want to go back there again) so i was wondering if anybody can recommend a good hospital for the doctor to send us to, just in case it comes to that.

[sinikettu]

Does one get a choice?

I thought that if you live in Espoo you go to an Espoo hospital, and if you live in Helsinki you go to Helsinki hospital..
Unless you pay for one of the private medical companies/hospitals.
Not sure. ..sorry.
I know that where I live in West Vantaa, it is a hours bus ride to the Vantaa hospital, but ony 15 minutes to Jorvi and it is a political hot talking point during the current election campaign.

Here is a list with locations.
http://www.hus.fi/default.asp?path=59,403,5831

mononucleosis is more commonly known as Glandular Fever..Hope your son gets better very soon.

[Pursuivant]

Does one get a choice?

in Vantaa you get the choice of Peijas-Rekola or Honkanummi

[Amandine.K]

I dont think you get the choice unless your son needs treatment that is only offered in Lastenklinikka for example.

[sinikettu]

Does one get a choice?

in Vantaa you get the choice of Peijas-Rekola or Honkanummi

Kiitos... Pursuivant...
Peijas is a fine hospital..it is just one hour by bus..and about 35 minutes by Ambulance, from where Pursi and I live.
If that is too long...Honkanummi is the last resort
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image ... metery.jpg

[Kupcake]

Does one get a choice?

in Vantaa you get the choice of Peijas-Rekola or Honkanummi

Is there a choice in Espoo? And is there a better choice in Espoo than Jorvi?

[Rosamunda]

No, there is only one public general hospital in Espoo and that is Jorvi. There is also Puolarmetsä but I don't think they have any pediatrics. My kids have been hospitalised in Jorvi (and even operated on there) and I have visited kids in hospital there several times and I have (nearly) always been impressed. Sorry you had a bad experience. If you are evaluating the quality of the hospital based on a trip to ER on a Sunday afternoon (I am guessing) then honestly you should give the place a second chance because it really is not that bad. I speak from experience as one of my kids broke a finger playing in the yard and we drove him there on a Sunday afternoon in August and it was hell... we ended up going private. But that was in 2002 and since then we have been back several times (not only to ER) and it has been fine.

And by the way.. I do know bad when I see it. I just came back from the UK where my father had an AAA op (aortic abdominal aneurism.... major stuff) in Devon. The hospital was built by GIs in 1942 and has not been renovated since. There were 27 sick men on his ward. He discharged himself only 3 days after he left the ICU and the ward nurse said "I don't blame you". There were buckets in the corridors to collect rainwater and maintenance repairs were carried out in the middle of the night. Even my mother said she had to take a deep breath before going in to visit him. (but... he has made a brilliant recovery, albeit at home!)

Anyway, I hope your son gets better quickly. Unfortunately it can be a lengthy recovery and it will be a while before he can return to school. (BTW, there is a teacher attached to Jorvi and if it is the same one that I spoke to a couple of years ago she does speak English but she has no materials for English speakers. Maybe the school can provide something.... )

[simon]

I thought depending on the seriousness of the case jorvi is really the only main children's clinic in Greater Helsinki area.

[Kupcake]

Hi guys. Yellowing seems to have faded, so admission to hospital is unlikely at this point. Blood tests came back negative today for hepatitis (didn't even know he was being tested for it) so that's good, but we have to return tomorrow for another blood test for EBV. I'm a bit annoyed that the doc didn't take the blood for this test yesterday, but my very poor Finnish skills, combined with his limited English skills didn't make for effective communication.

Yes, i had a bad experience in the ER at Jorvi. Short story - i had a pretty serious bacterial infection in my blood, and the doc wanted me admitted for a couple of weeks for antibiotic treatment and to monitor my heart. The doctor i saw when i was admitted explained that if i was admitted then i would be at serious risk for contracting MRSA and she arranged for "hospital at home" service, which ended up being excellent and thorough. My 7 hours in the ER at Jorvi were pretty scary, not because of what was wrong with me (which was bad enough), but because of what was going on around me. There were 6 of us all in a very small room, beds touching each other at various points, some people literally sounded like they were going to die at any moment, the room stank of urine and faeces, there was much coughing & choking noises, two older people fell out of their beds and it took lots of shouting on my part to get the attention of anybody to come and help them. I felt like i was in a hospital in a third world or developing country. I just can't stand the thought of having to go back there, but it's good to hear Penelope that your experiences are better than that, and i'll try to keep that in mind if ever i have to go back for some reason.

Back to the mono, do you remember how long the fever lasts? My eldest had it many years ago and i just can't remember.

mononucleosis is more commonly known as Glandular Fever..Hope your son gets better very soon.

We call it glandular fever in Australia too, but the doctor kept referring to mononucleosis - is that the common name for it here?

[Rosamunda]

I think mononucleosis is the medical name that most doctors use these days. Certainly in France that is what they call it.

I know Jorvi ER is grim. That is because it is the only major ER centre in Espoo (250 000 inhabitants?) so it gets pretty busy at times. I think the home nursing arrangements in Finland are pretty good. I know several people who have been treated that way for different things and yes, it does mean you reduce the risks of MRSA (same reason my dad decided to auto-eject from the hospital in Devon). I guess we are lucky here in Friisilä because our terveysasema is Puolarmetsä hospital which does admit not so serious emergencies; I always go there first. I spent a few hours there in August after falling off a ladder, they have an X-ray unit so I was treated almost without waiting. In fact I think we managed 8 visits to Puolarmetsä in less than 3 weeks in August (not all emergencies though)... a family personal best... and were always treated really really well and rarely had to wait. But my guess is that, if you are not in the Puolarmetsä catchment area they will send you straight to Jorvi.

There used to be a (09) 10023 number that you could call and they would give you advice on how to deal with an emergency (not the dire ones, that's 112). Not sure if it still works though. It covered the whole of Espoo, Helsinki, Vantaa and Kauniainen and IIRC they spoke English.

I once arrived at Jorvi in an ambulance (with one of my kids) and we were dealt with quickly and efficiently (and he was operated on the next day). Everyone was really kind and helpful and they handed me a bunch of leaflets in English and made sure I had an English speaking nurse to answer my questions. They even gave me a mattress to sleep on over night.

[Rosamunda]

I thought depending on the seriousness of the case jorvi is really the only main children's clinic in Greater Helsinki area.

Jorvi is a general hospital for all inhabitants of Espoo. However, kids (and adults) from Espoo are sometimes referred to HYKS (Helsinki University Hospital) to see specialists (eg allergologists, ENT etc) but it is always Jorvi who does the referral. Espoo residents can't go direct to HYKS.

[onkko]

mononucleosis is more commonly known as Glandular Fever..Hope your son gets better very soon.

We call it glandular fever in Australia too, but the doctor kept referring to mononucleosis - is that the common name for it here?

Results on Google : Glandular Fever 217,000 results mononucleosis 1,460,000 results
Its mononukleoosi in finnish and seems that usa/canada texts says its mononucleose and uk/australia texts that its Glandular Fever.
"Mononucleosis: Mononucleosis is a common infectious viral disease transferred in saliva or kissing. It is also called "glandular fever" outside the USA" and in UK page "Infectious mononucleosis is commonly known as glandular fever." . Thatll maybe explain it.

[Kupcake]

Mononucleosis is a common infectious viral disease transferred in saliva or kissing.

Some call it the kissing disease in Australia. When we get the final diagnosis, and if it does turn out to be mono, we'll be informing the new girlfriend ...

[Pursuivant]

aaah, pusutauti it is here too...

[EP]

Pusutauti is quite common among teenagers and 20somethings. I was quite amused when when my husband´s 50+ single friend had it frequently...

About Jorvi: The ER experiences I have had have not been too good. One very bad, some just not good. But all my experiences for staying (or kids staying) at the wards could be rated from good to excellent.