Man who went to the out-of-hours clinic with a cold recovered in the waiting room

A man in his thirties who went to Læknavaktin, the out-of-hours clinic, on Tuesday evening with a cold was discharged from the waiting room four hours and twenty minutes later without seeing a doctor. By then he had no symptoms.

“I came in with a sore throat and a runny nose,” says Kristján (34). “By the time my number was finally called I was better. I'd got backache from the chairs, though, so I took a new number.”

According to a member of staff, this is more common than people think. “We call it the waiting-room treatment,” he says. “It works in about 60 percent of cases. It hasn't been fully tested on the other 40 percent, because they're still waiting.”

A community of sorts has formed in the waiting room. Regulars now recognise each other, and there is a knitting circle on Thursday evenings. Two couples have met in the waiting room this year, and one of them is expecting a baby. They hope to see a doctor before the birth.

The health authorities say they are aware of the problem and have responded by installing a screen showing the estimated waiting time. It always shows “1–2 hours”, which according to Mysan's sources was the average wait in 2009.

A new app is also on the way that will let people take a number from home. Testing has gone well, but the waiting time for access to the app is currently about three weeks.

People who are not in immediate danger are still advised to call the 1700 health line. There, they are put in a queue.