El Nada Hospital

It gets more 'real' by the day.  Over the past couple of weeks Alice has been feeling what she thinks are occasional movements by the baby.  I've been able to put my hand on the bump and at times feel them too, but they're so small that to be honest it's been difficult to know for sure whether it's the baby or just an overactive digestion system.  However, this week we had an ante-natal appointment which all went well, and during which time we saw the baby move on the screen.  "Oh," said Alice.  "So that feeling is the baby moving!"  Everything else is on track - the measurements are within the 'expected norms', and all the organs and limbs and growing fine.

Last time we were with Dr Cherif we asked when we should visit the hospital to check it out.  He suggested that weekend mornings are best, as most of Egypt is asleep at that time, and so we followed his advice.  We spent the first part of the morning checkign the internet for the exact location of the hospital, and rather helpfully found a blog by a couple of ex-pats who had a baby there a couple of years ago.  The key information we found was:

1. It's on the main road on Roda Island / El-Manial
2. It's above a huge McDonald's

Hailing a cab outside our apartment, we got to the hospital in 14 minutes.  Now, the roads were very quiet and the driver liked to put his foot down, but it strikes me that even if we end up needing to go at a busier time it's still do-able...which is just as well since there's not really any other option!  It was also incredibly useful to have read the tip about it being above McDonalds - we spotted it easily, whereas without that advice I doubt we'd have found it so quickly.

Walking round to the main entrance, we went past the McDonald's scooters.  I think it's hilarious that there's a maternity hospital above a load of mopeds that say 'McDelivery'.

Walking into reception, the first thing that struck us was that it actually felt like a hospital.  Some of our other hospital experiences here have been a bit more like walking into a field hospital in war, so finding a calm and clean reception area was brilliant.  We explained to the receptionist that we just wanted to look around, and so she gave us the price-list for the rooms and called for somebody to show us some examples.  While we were waiting, we scanned the reception area and noticed signs everywhere saying that there is a no-tipping culture in the hospital - "No Tipping: We Are Here To Serve You".  In a country where tipping is part of everyday life, it's interesting that they hammer home the point so strongly that we're already paying for a service and so shouldn't have to pay extra to make it happen (although deep down I suspect it might oil the cogs if necessary).

There's 6 levels of rooms from '1st Class' up to 'Royal Suite', and we know that a lot of people go somewhere in the middle with the 'Junior Suite' which our friends had a few months ago (it's the first level that has a sofa bed so I can stay over, and it has a more comfortable bed for Alice).  As it was, we weren't actually able to see this type of room as they didn't have any free - but we saw the level above and the level below so it's not too difficult to work it out.

The place was immaculate - considering we live in a country where dust permeates every inch of life, it was as if the hospital was hermetically sealed.  Maybe it was.  Either way, we both felt very comfortable with it.  We were shown the nursery first, and then went on to look at a range of rooms - all of which we were very happy with.  The difference between each price level is obvious, but even the cheapest were comfortable and clean.

We asked also if we could see the ICU - and to be honest were pleased that they made us wait outside for 15 minutes.  I think if they had just let a couple of people wander into intensive care I'd have been worried.  As it is, they took us into a viewing room where they opened the blinds into the second of two rooms, all fully equipped.  In the distance we could see the blue glow of the incubator lights of the second room where there were some babies being treated.  It felt a little uncomfortable seeing this, but we're pleased to know that they are equipped for all eventualities and take the care of the babies so seriously.

The language barrier could be a bit of an issue, but it was always going to be.  The big advantage is that Dr Cherif is held in such high esteem that what he says goes - we give him a list of what we want, and he will make sure the nurses stick to it.  All in all, both Alice and I feel very happy with what the hospital offers.

And on the way out we saw a horse and cart!