In more
literate days in Australasia you often saw variations
of a frightening message
on dunny doors : It is no use standing on
the toilet seat - crabs here can jump more than 40 feet . In a
similar crude vein, the great Australian ballad Clancy of the
Overflow came to mind when confronted by a repulsive sight when about to sit on
a seat at the taxi rank and bus stop shelter opposite the main entrance of the
Townsville General Hospital . There , sticking out like an infected
thumb in the footpath , was the above large metal cover
clearly marked SEWER , with a grotty overflow
pattern . It looked as if there
had been a bowel obstruction resulting in a shower of excreta , maybe even
an ejaculation like the
Pohutu Geyser at Rotorua.
Adding to this unhealthy
scene were numerous
discarded sticky round
pieces applied to patients for tests to see if their hearts are working , some fag
ends , old newspapers jammed into the
seat , probably Golden Staph and mutating
ebola. Not a good
look outside a major
hospital . Much is said about
the need to combat the spread of germs inside hospitals, but you see, hear and experience things which clearly indicate there is room
for improvement. In Queensland recently there have been deaths from diseases caught in hospitals. In the past, Little Darwin has reported on the unhealthy hospital setup in Darwin , which includes asbestos in public waiting areas .
A patient
recently told how ,
after nearly a week in hospital, a jolly nurse
had told him he could probably go home in the arvo
and " escape the hospital germs. " It
seems just waiting
for a bus outside the Townsville Hospital could lead to a bad case of athlete’s foot if you are
wearing thongs or sandals. Should this writer have cause to visit hospital in the future , he intends to wear gumboots or propel himself on circus stilts.
