Malaysian Hospitals Suck

On November 16, 2010 I wrote a post titled : Horror Hospitals - a critique of the poor quality of public healthcare in the country. While my rant met with approval in certain quarters, it did not go down well with some others (Namely junior doctors serving at government hospitals - based on feedback from a friend who posted a link to my post on his social networking site.) It can be read at: http://jothijeyasingam.blogspot.com/2010/11/horror-hospitals.html

Though the doctors in question did not comment, I did receive a response from justwannadropbyandsayhello. The comment is as follows:

"fractured hand? can u die from death if not diagnosed earlier? come on..
They know their job and that’s why they are called a doctor.
Just be a patient.. and don’t be a selfish..
other people deserved a treatment better that you in term of priority..
“staff overworked is not an issue”
seriously, can u work 36 hours straight without a sleep?
Do you want a sleepy doctor to operate on you?
joker..
P/s: I’m not a health staff etc but I have a friend there.. Instead of bashing them, I try to put myself of their shoes.."

First of all I would like to thank justwannadropbyandsayhello for commenting. Considering that this person came out strongly in defense of doctors at public hospitals, I thought it was only fair that I write in reply. A shame that the email address provided does not exist, for I fully intended to provide notification of my reply. (My answer is in italics)

"fractured hand? can u die from death if not diagnosed earlier? come on..
They know their job and that’s why they are called a doctor.
The golden rule is read thoroughly before you attempt to comment. Firstly my brother fractured his finger and not his hand. And nowhere in my post did I state that his fractured finger would result in death.

What I wrote was: " Do they not know that there have been people out there who have gotten up and walked after being involved in an accident, only to die a few days later because of internal bleeding?" What I meant was just because a person appears only to have sustained minor injuries from an accident does not mean that they are out of the danger zone yet, so don't treat such cases lightly and make them wait hours to see the doctor.

Just be a patient.. and don’t be a selfish..
other people deserved a treatment better that you in term of priority..
Considering that you were not at the hospital the night of my brother's accident, how do you know that there were other people there who deserved better treatment? Can you safely say that you know? Perhaps one must first have fractures on the fingers and collar bone to answer that question properly. Maybe the excruciating pain would provide some amount of enlightenment.

“staff overworked is not an issue”
seriously, can u work 36 hours straight without a sleep?
It definitely is an issue for the hospital authorities to tackle. It is not an excuse for providing poor quality medical treatment ever. Is it the patients' fault that the doctors or other medical staff on duty are not getting enough sleep hmm?

Do you want a sleepy doctor to operate on you?
joker..
Based on all the cases of negligence at public hospitals that have been reported in the media, it does appear that a lot of sleepy doctors have been operating on patients!

P/s: I’m not a health staff etc but I have a friend there.. Instead of bashing them, I try to put myself of their shoes.."
Does your friend know about this?
http://www.klik4malaysia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4921%3Asultan-ismail-hospital-under-investigation-for-negligence&catid=77

I doubt that I'm the only one with grouses against the quality of service at public hospitals. It's at best an old story. But each time we hear of something unfortunate happening to someone, it reminds us of how little we can rely on such hospitals.

Stylish After 50

There is no age limit to being stylish and fashionable. One's fashion sense does not melt away into the sunset after 50. Plus there's absolutely no rule that says a woman in her 60s or 70s who has grandchildren must stop wearing make-up, painting her nails and wearing lovely clothes. Way too often have I heard the common refrain: " So old already why must dress up, who is going to look at us?" or "Already a grandmother, why want to do all this some more...." Said in typical Malaysian lingo of course! First of all, I don't get the concept of dressing up for other people. When you look good, you feel good, it is as simple as that. It is not about the number of people who might stop by to lavish you with compliments. It is about making a statement about who you are - someone who believes in looking good by wearing clothes that compliment her. Forget the white streaks in your hair, those faint lines on your face. Clothes, shoes and accessories don...

A Humanitarian is.........

This monkey apparently went to the rescue of a puppy during a pipeline explosion in Nanjing, China. The image was posted on Twitter. However reports have surfaced that the photo above has been circulating on the net since 2006. True or not true, animals have been known to watch out for each other and even nurture a cub from another species. Recently a neighbour of ours moved out. The sad thing is that he left his two dogs behind. A pair of cross-breed German Shepherd dogs. For a couple of days they wandered about the neighbourhood, a woman who lives a few doors away and my mum would feed them. Three days after they were left to fend for themselves, people from the Veterinary Services Department came to take them away. We don't live in a dog friendly neighbourhood. The thing is, though the official story is that dogs who are taken away are put to sleep - via injection. The unofficial story is far different. Most of these dogs who are abandoned and the many strays usual...

Curly Haired Indian

Last Friday I walked into a shop at Amcorp Mall that sells hair products and accessories. As I entered, I heard a customer whining to the sales staff at the counter about her hair. Said customer was a middle-aged Indian woman with long freezy hair down her back. When she noticed me, she gave me a look and told the staff at the counter: " You see lar, we Indians all have this kind of hair only." I was quite amused that she was putting me in the same category as her, considering that I don't have a huge lump of friz bobbing down my back. If only someone had given this woman some sage advice about managing her thick mane, maybe she wouldn't be whining and hankering after silky-smooth stresses - which she naturally cannot have unless she resorts to rebonding and rebonding till death, by which time she might no longer have any hair left. If only someone had told her that maybe she should not have her hair that long! And that perhaps she should trim it a little...

Gripevine

Search This Blog