Faroe Island Essential Services

Police. Check.

Fire Department. Check.

Hospital Emergency Room. And check.

In an earlier blog about my travels in the Faroe Islands, I wrote about getting to experience the services of the police and fire department. In another blog I wrote about wanting to go deeper into the culture of the places I visit.

Thanks to a misstep today on what we had already named “an anything can happen day,” my friend and I spent a good part of the day in the emergency room of the National Hospital of the Faroe Islands.

The day had started so very well. We had cappuccinos and morning buns with rhubarb jam and cheese in a new cafe, followed by a lovely stroll through a bookstore that is centuries old. We visited the post office to buy interesting stamps for letters home.

The day had turned gray and cold, and on our way to another island, we were looking for a place to buy a bowl of soup. And then my friend took a tumble.

We took a detour to the National Hospital instead.

It’s a bit difficult to navigate a medical system where all of the signage and instructions are in another language. However, we found our way, and the medical personnel who cared for my friend could not have been kinder.

We also learned how to have a prescription filled in the Faroes (yet one more check), and how to have it filled with instructions in English (and another check).

Before we left the ER, we did think to ask our doctors for advice for the best place to go for soup.

They were right.

And my friend? A few stitches, a tetanus shot, and several bandages later, we’re taking an early night. And plans for more adventures tomorrow.

This blog is posted with the full approval code of the unnamed patient.