Medic! Medic! Medic...

Today, I waited for about 3 1/2 hours before I could actually take SYuen to see a doctor at GH. It was a routine check up and to clear some clouds of uncertainty over some medical conditions which had been bugging SLing and I not too long ago. To make the matter worst, the actual specialist was unavailable today [ and they gave me an appointment to see him on this day! ] and no one called us to inform us that he wasn't going to be around. I am not particularly tacky about how some people do their work but I was really disappointed with the kind of services provided. OK, to be fair, it is the GH [ it is a KNOWN fact! ] but come on, there ought to be some tightening of the slackness over such matters,right? I wasn't the only one complaining about such slackness. One pakcik that came in at 9.30am [ the time showed 11.35am at that time! ] have not even done the preliminary checking of weighing in and BP check. He was annoyed and clearly a former govt. servant and he told me that it is unacceptable to have the public wait that long. When I told him that I came in at 8.15am and I have yet to see the doctor either, he just said " My God! What are these people doing?" SYuen and I smiled and I am proud of myself for not losing my temper or my mind. I chatted with the pakcik casually while SYuen played with a cute Indian girl. I guess, chatting with the pakcik passes my time rather easily than staring at the voluminous people that comes in and out of the clinics in a zombie like fashioned.
One thing that really hit me hard as I was sitting there was the volume of people who needed medical attention. It was like a sea of people needing some comfort in one way or another. Sure, you can see some impatient ones, determined ones, super duper stressed ones and not-so-nice ones around but that's life but every one wants some sort of medical help. Honestly, I do sympathised with the nurses and doctors on the tremendous workload and sea of people but there has got to be a change in work attitude. BTW, I can't blame them either because if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys working, right? Well, right now, it is a "lose-lose" situation for general public and it is frustrating at times. I really wish the Health Minister and the rest of the ministerial goons just shut up, come by and see for themselves the volume of sick patients that required medical attention. To be honest , I don't want to be dependent on the cut-throat/along-like private hospital either though services is much better than the GH! So, I really wish something could be done to improve the situation in GHs around our country today. The negative work culture and attitude would have to change but I have always believed that their medical supplies can be quite good compared to the private hospitals. Personally, I feel that there has got to be a solution to ensure that the general public do not lose out as the private hospitals around the country has started to be the medical courtyard of the rich and high income bracket earners today rather than saving lives!

When I finally get to see the doctor with SYuen, it just took us about 7 minutes to be in the room, chat with the doctor, explained some of our worries, get some brilliant medical answers and another 10 minutes wait to get a new date for the next appointment which is 6 months from now! One thing that struck me the most was that the attending lady doctor did apologise for the late attendance to us and explained to us that there weren't many doctors around and so, it took a while. I told her unabashedly and spontaneously that it was a long wait. I've gotta be direct and honest too, right? But the difference is I smiled. That is a superb reaction to a very difficult situation indeed! My hats off to you, Dr.Shalini for your honesty. I most definitely appreciate that gesture a lot! It shows a lot of heart and consideration. Somehow, my confidence in civil servants serving in the medical field is boosted slightly little bit!~