She’s in tech and was on her way to a training site when she suddenly found herself at the hospital. The co-worker who had helped her get to the hospital said, “she suddenly fell the moment she stepped out of their office gate”, and that was when she called their boss who has a car to help them get to the hospital.
Even though my friend had an underlying health condition that she was managing, she didn’t realize that low blood pressure had joined, and according to research, that’s even more deadly if it had not been discovered earlier. This is where mandatory health checkup would’ve sufficed.
If medical check-up had been made compulsory, she wouldn’t have overworked herself so much while leaving her health to suffer for it.
I say that “good health is not an underrated blessing, rather, we only just wait until it forces us to pay attention to it”. A compulsory medical check-up would’ve rather forced people to know their health status in time and find a way to prevent the condition blowing out of capacity making us spend less and have more time on our hands to focus on the things that matter.
By the time I discovered that I had peptic ulcer, I was already at the hospital under an oxygen struggling to balance my breathe while my dad was actively praying for the oxygen to bring me back to life.
When I asked the doctor if that was how severe ulcer pains get, he said it was because I didn’t pay attention to myself or that the H.pylori bacteria was already there, and that my nutrition for sometime triggered the pain which gave me shortness of breath and later sent me right under the oxygen. This would’ve been fatal if it hadn’t pushed the breath shortness forth first.
However, if I knew that there was a national law that enforces medical check-ups at least, I most likely would’ve realized that I was in some form of danger and would’ve taken the necessary precautions and I wouldn’t have scared my dad like I did.
Now, let’s talk about a country like mine where we are short of everything including well-staffed and appropriately equipped hospital, will the law enforcement for medical check-ups work? I wish to answer in the affirmative, but it’s unfortunate that I can’t.
Enforcing such a law in a country like mine would mean that more than half of the population would be in jail because the seemingly affordable healthcare system is low on the necessary items needed. And the reactions of some of the staff there will make you want to run for dear life without looking back. I can say this because I’ve experienced it multiple times.
I remember an option for NHIS when I was serving, and I was down with typhoid. I went to one of those NHIS approved hospitals where I was supposed to be attended to without paying a dime, but I was met with “government was still owing them, and they were no longer rendering the free service for now”.
Imagine such a country enforcing the medical check-up law, it would mean that the law will first of, only be applicable to the poor, and second of, many of the poor will be in jail by now, because where will they get the money for the check-up from when they haven’t even properly fed themselves?
Companies can enforce the routine check-ups of course. I know some companies that do this. But enforcing it on a national level is close to impossible because there are more pressing issues like providing well-equipped hospitals, pay medical staff well, and employ able hands. After then, we can discuss the next steps which is not even enforcing medical check-ups.
Images are from MetaAi.