“we cried… my father lying there foaming and having seizures
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Actually sometimes also cannot blame those "high-standing government scholars". It is really a matter of dollar and cents. How can they justify to their even higher-standing superiors that they want to allow all $50 dollars A&E cases to be treated within 1 hr when the private hospitals are charging $500? Please note the figures are arbituary and are just for illustration sake.Originally posted by ShutterBug:We oughta kick this sort of so called "high-standing government scholars" off of their high chairs and replace them with real people, with real hearts, who can do real work!
What the hell is MOH doing???
Money other than making the world goes round, also let you be attended in a shorter time in A&E.
Sad but that is the fact of life. -
Same thing had happened to poor father whom and heart problem when he was driven to TTS and the doctor took hours to attend to him. While my mon and sis were awaiting out impatiently and could only heard my father cried out breathlessly asking for immediate assistance from doctor. All we saw the doctor and nurses were taking their time on other things. Out of sudden, we did not hear a sound from my father. Fifteen minutes later, the doctor came out and told us my father had passed away with apology.Originally posted by bic_cherry:“we cried… my father lying there foaming and having seizures, with no one to attend to him, has been haunting me since…”
ST Forum: FULL HOUSE AT HOSPITALS
Worst stroke possible but dad made to wait 6 hours (18.8.2005)
I CAN empathise fully with (Ms Rodziah Shaari ("Seven hour wait at SGH for bed for sick dad"; ST, Aug 13).
I had similar encounters in Singapore General Hospital (SGH). My dad was sent to the A&E department three times in two months because of stroke and, each time, my family had to wait at least six hours before he was pushed to a ward.
I can understand that the hospital is short of staff and we have to wait for every thing. But to make a patient wait hours for a bed is unforgiveable, especially when the patient is in critical condition.
The third time my dad was taken to SGH was also his last. When I drove him to SGH, he was already paralysed and could not speak. The A&E doctors were quick to attend to him because of the urgency of his condition.
They ordered an immediate scan to see how badly his brain had been affected by the stroke, after which he was left unattended in a corner to await the results.
I could see that my dad was getting weaker as time went by. About two to three hours later, when the results came out, the doctors confirmed that he had suffered a stroke I again and had to be admitted.
It took another hour or two for the admission staff to tell s us that my dad had to wait as no bed was available in the neurology ward.
When we checked on him in the observation area, he was in a serious state. He was having fits and barely conscious, and his mouth was; foaming. No one attended to him.
It was only when we cried that a patient service officer quickly picked up my dad's file and called for someone to push him away. . When my dad finally got to the ward, it was past 2am. And we had arrived at the A&E department about 7pm; it took more than six hours before my dad was seen by a neurologist.
If my dad had been taken to the ward earlier and been treated by a neurologist, his chances of living might be higher.
The neurologist told us that my dad had the worst kind of stroke anyone could get. He also told my family to quickly consider having a special injection administered as his condition was deteriorating by the minute since the onset of stroke at 5.45pm at home.
We took no more than 10 minutes to reach a decision. And to think that six hours were wasted in the A&E department.
The image of my father lying there foaming and having seizures, with no one to attend to him, has been haunting me since. Sadly, he was pronounced brain dead the next day.
I appreciate the doctors in the A&E department for their sense of urgency, and the doctors in the neurology ward who tried their best to save my father.
But I did not detect the, same sense of urgency in hospital staff who were at the front line, doing admission administration and ferrying of patients. I saw faces filled with weariness and reluctance rather than urgency and compassion.
I agree with Ms Rodziah that it seemed acceptable to the hospital for patients to wait hours for a bed - and specialised treatment and care. If Singapore wants to be a top-notch medical hub, how can we condone this kind of work attitude, and hours of waiting in the emergency department?
Tan Tze Yee (Ms)
Copyright @ 2005 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
Freaking government squeezed everyone till last breath. I cursed sggov will collapsed quickly. -
I totally agree...but our esteemed EDB chairman thinks girls and FT are more valuable and vital to the economy of Singapore, unlike the Singaporean male whiners who are dispensable..Originally posted by iveco:How about making girls serve NS? They can always be deployed in the hospitals to alleviate staff shortage. -
All ministries affected except MINDEFOriginally posted by hisoka:thats something i could never understand ALL department/ministries must cut staff head count........... it either means there are some problems which led to extra jobs and i guess some one should be made accountable or that its just some policy they inplemented for fun.
anyway why isit a general policy and not one that by individual department? -
this has got nothing to do with the gabrament... so save your rants for the correct party.. and that is the doctor on duty at that time...Originally posted by Lowclassman:Same thing had happened to poor father whom and heart problem when he was driven to TTS and the doctor took hours to attend to him. While my mon and sis were awaiting out impatiently and could only heard my father cried out breathlessly asking for immediate assistance from doctor. All we saw the doctor and nurses were taking their time on other things. Out of sudden, we did not hear a sound from my father. Fifteen minutes later, the doctor came out and told us my father had passed away with apology.
Freaking government squeezed everyone till last breath. I cursed sggov will collapsed quickly. -
What do you expect Khaw Boon Wan to do if the government has decided to cut costs and not to increase health subsidies despite an aging population and medical technology that is becoming increasingly expensive?Originally posted by ShutterBug:We oughta kick this sort of so called "high-standing government scholars" off of their high chairs and replace them with real people, with real hearts, who can do real work!
What the hell is MOH doing???
From the figures on MOH website, medical fees at Mt.E are more than 3x those at AH, for example. Of course every doctor and nurse that has gained enough experience at AH will want to run over to Mt. E. Furthermore, an eye specialist earns many times more than an A/E doctor, who has to work long hours at night...which specialty do you think young doctors will choose?
Get real...the truth is, cost of medical treatment is high. The cost of treatment at Emergency Departments is higher than most other specialties and it is the department that tends to lose money. Now that the hospital administrator is given a fixed sum of money from the government to run the hospital, how can he make do with limited funding with more elderly needing treatment? Aesthetic medicine and eye surgery make money...of course he will encourage those departments to expand and pay their doctors well. But what about departments like diagnostics (laboratory medicine, radiology) and emergency medicine that always lose money? Do you think he will want to expand and pay their doctors well....and lose even more money?
At the end of the day, money is the issue. Are we prepared to spend more money on healthcare and buy fewer F15s and submarines? Maybe cut down on the overseas training trips and spend the money increasing hospital facilities instead.
Another thing: hospitals are run by silly MBA administrators, not doctors. They see 2 wards half filled and say it is not cost-effective, so close one ward and make sure all the beds are full. Then one dengue outbreak and patients will have to be turned away...In healthcare, cost effectiveness can kill...are we prepared to lose some money over such inefficiencies or save money, be super-efficient and lose some lives?
How can you blame the hospital staff when the beds are full? Yes, the poor chap was having seizures and foaming at the mouth. But can the nurses pull another patient from his bed and give it to this poor chap? -
it is just like any company.
customers complain and employees will feedback to management. but will they listen? all management cares about is profit.
so frontline people face the brunt. whatever it is, it is the fault of the management, not the frontline staff. -
I had the same experience at SGH with my dad who passed away there.
His condition had deteriorated after the doc told us he was recovering and when we asked this young punk of an asshole doctor what happened, he replied curtly, "How will I know? Ask God!"
We were too distraught to argue with him, not wanting also to offend the doctors there. I remember also that he was warded during the Chinese New Year period and we were told that as it was a public holiday, there was nobody to perform any blood test or scans on him.
Same thing happened to my friend who recently had a severe headache that lasted a week. When we tried to schedule him for a CT scan urgently, we were assigned a date a month away! Thank God his friend managed to force the hospital to bring it forward as it turned out to be life-threatening ailment.
The PAP said "Every Singaporean matters." But in reality, some Singaporeans matter more than most. Unless you are from the Lee family or are filthy rich, don't count on rapid response from the medical community.
The episode involving LKY's wife in London shows the lie of the PAP Government. Does anybody think that if you are a common Singaporean, the fvcking SIA would convert a plane into a flying hospital for you? What a bIg JOKE!! -
I tot Lee clarified that he paid for the plane and the medical staff? Or was i wrong?
The episode involving LKY's wife in London shows the lie of the PAP Government. Does anybody think that if you are a common Singaporean, the fvcking SIA would convert a plane into a flying hospital for you? What a bIg JOKE!!
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Seems like everyone here had some bad experiences with SGH. I would like to share mine as well.
My dad was down with Chronic Lung Cancer 10 years ago and bless his soul, he passed away peacefully 2 years back. We had the chance to "try" out both Mt. E as well as SGH.
During his fight with cancer, and when finances were not so drain, we admitted him into Mt. E everytime there is a bad relapse. The specialists there always ask this question, " Your dad is old and suffering. If he pass away, do you want us to do our utmost to resucitate him?" Our answer will always be yes! And it did happen a few times throughout the 8 years we "patronized" Mt. E. The Specialists are always less than 5 mins away from an emergency. Swear to God, I see the Dr running to the ICU when the nurse informed him that my dad "cannot make it".
Over at SGH, the story is totally different. My dad stopped breathing once at the dialysis centre. The nurses there stood and did nothing. I asked them "Aren't you going to revive my dad?" They actually told me that they need the dr to come and give the instructions to revive him!!! WTF! I told the nurses that if they do not do it immediately, I will F***King sue the whole hospital! Only after this "threat" did they try to revive him, luckily still on time. The Dr did come, (guess what?) 30 mins later!!! My dad would have finished his "heaven or hell" interview be then!
One of the consultant there told me later on that they have a undisclosed policy to provide the best medical care or ICU beds to young and fit patients. The older the patient, the less care he/she will be given! Walau, the way he made that statement sounded like we are in WW3 now.
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The attitude of the doctors in SGH is the worst. You see, they have to finish a stint there after graduating from NUS before they can go private. To put it bluntly, you die or don't die, they still get their fixed monthly pay. KNN Understand? It is different from the private practice where their pay is from you paying them specialists' consultation fees.Originally posted by Profounder:I had the same experience at SGH with my dad who passed away there.
His condition had deteriorated after the doc told us he was recovering and when we asked this young punk of an asshole doctor what happened, he replied curtly, "How will I know? Ask God!"
We were too distraught to argue with him, not wanting also to offend the doctors there. I remember also that he was warded during the Chinese New Year period and we were told that as it was a public holiday, there was nobody to perform any blood test or scans on him.
Same thing happened to my friend who recently had a severe headache that lasted a week. When we tried to schedule him for a CT scan urgently, we were assigned a date a month away! Thank God his friend managed to force the hospital to bring it forward as it turned out to be life-threatening ailment.
The PAP said "Every Singaporean matters." But in reality, some Singaporeans matter more than most. Unless you are from the Lee family or are filthy rich, don't count on rapid response from the medical community.
The episode involving LKY's wife in London shows the lie of the PAP Government. Does anybody think that if you are a common Singaporean, the fvcking SIA would convert a plane into a flying hospital for you? What a bIg JOKE!!
SGH has the best equipment in Singapore, but the worst doctors!! -
Sometime back, I was admitted to CGH for a minor operation in the evening. at 10pm, a doctor came to poke a needle for infusion. During the process, his HP rings and after the 5 failed attempts, he said he had to leave urgently and will come back to do again. When he left, I ask the nurse if the doctor was a houseman and she said yes.Originally posted by ndsef:The attitude of the doctors in SGH is the worst. You see, they have to finish a stint there after graduating from NUS before they can go private. To put it bluntly, you die or don't die, they still get their fixed monthly pay. KNN Understand? It is different from the private practice where their pay is from you paying them specialists' consultation fees.
SGH has the best equipment in Singapore, but the worst doctors!!
At 11:30pm, he came again to try again. I stop him and told him to get a qualified doctor instead. He did not dare to get the house doctor but got a philippine nurse to do it instead. The nurse did 2 attempt and got the neddle thru.
During the operation, the surgeon saw the needle position and re-do the needle again.
Total, I have go 8 needle holes for a bag of saline solution.
Damn. to think that I pay for B2 rates.
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redo needles?Originally posted by SevenEleven:Sometime back, I was admitted to CGH for a minor operation in the evening. at 10pm, a doctor came to poke a needle for infusion. During the process, his HP rings and after the 5 failed attempts, he said he had to leave urgently and will come back to do again. When he left, I ask the nurse if the doctor was a houseman and she said yes.
At 11:30pm, he came again to try again. I stop him and told him to get a qualified doctor instead. He did not dare to get the house doctor but got a philippine nurse to do it instead. The nurse did 2 attempt and got the neddle thru.
During the operation, the surgeon saw the needle position and re-do the needle again.
Total, I have go 8 needle holes for a bag of saline solution.
Damn. to think that I pay for B2 rates. -
Re-insert a new needle. I think that what he meant.Originally posted by shinta:redo needles? -
Do you think SIA would respond to your request in such unprecedented speed if you were an ikan billi? It is first and foremost a commercial airline!!Originally posted by Cindyfeh:I tot Lee clarified that he paid for the plane and the medical staff? Or was i wrong? -
it is always about power and money.
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Agree with what forumers have said & experienced. The problems lies in the way the re-structured hospital are run. You have to find a way to beat the system when it doesn't serve you well. Here are a few xamples:
1) If you need to call for an ambulance for emergency, be prepared to be send to the nearest hospital even though your medical records & your regular doctors are in another hospital. The ambulance will follow strictly to the procedures. THerefore, it is much faster if you call for a cab & direct the cab to which hospital that you wanted to be admitted. For for medical emergency , call for mobile doctor .
2) Be prepared to wait for up to 3 hours at A&E, even if you have a fever & think your condition will deteoriate fast. This is due to the long queue & slow time taken for nurses to take the file & examine you. Instead , if no surgery is required, just go straight to a GP whom you know can see you in the shortest time. THe quick examination will relieve you of your pain & stress rather than be aggravated at A&E during prolonged waiting. In fact , for $80 charges, A& E is not worth it & should be avoided as far as possible.
3) In cases of really life & death situation, go straight to pte hosp when there is no wards available at restructured hospital. You will realise that the whole process & time taken to wait for the ward & doctor to see you will not be worth the savings you get.
4) Even though, there is always the CT scan machine on standby 24 hrs , you should know that it is not used according to when you want it. As such, ask to fix an apponitment early to get the scan before it is fully booked for 1 whole month. Even then, be prepared to wait for at least a few hours for your turn.If this is the case , why not get a scan at another hospital that is available earlier. There is no diiference in which hospital you do the scanning.
5) Too many unpleasant experiences have taught us that even if you have fixed at an appoinment at 10.00am , you still may not get to see the doctor at 11.00am. Then your time with the doctor may last for just 5 mins. As such, if you think that your condition doesn't warrant to see a speciaist doctor, so be it. Go consult your own family doctor or recommended private specialist. It is your own decision that you have to make to cure your illness, not the doctors. They are not GOD . In fact, most of the time, they may not have your utmost interests in mind.
6) My final advice will be to go & find out more about your own medical conditions rather than just rely everything what the doctors have said. THe doctors & nurses may have their hand tight due to legal procedures & the way the whole system works. What matters most is you should take ownership of your own life & not just rely blindly on the advice of the doctors or nurses. They are looking at 90% of the cases but you may be the 10% that they have left out. -
Yeah, MM lee paid. Only after when people started to querry who is footing the bills.Originally posted by Cindyfeh:I tot Lee clarified that he paid for the plane and the medical staff? Or was i wrong?
Even if you a rich commoner; you will never get this sort of treatment from SIA to convert the flight into a flying hospital. -
Message is....make sure you have good medical insurance. Medicine is a commodity nowadays...yi4 fen1 qian2 yi4 fen1 huo4
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Yeah and I bet if I offered to pay, they will laugh like lunatics.Originally posted by Cindyfeh:I tot Lee clarified that he paid for the plane and the medical staff? Or was i wrong?
Think about what happened first.They flew her back first then LKY clarified.
Will any normal citizen be given this treatment?Let alone be in a position to defend him/herself?
Face it people, what is meant to be public good, has been privatised and become a KPI beholden entity. -
If you are consulting a specialist and registered A class, you will be attended to at super fast speed!However, if you are registering C-class and referred to GH by the polyclinic, you may have to wait for days and if you need emergency treatment, you may have to wait hours!This is my experience in the $$$$ face hospital in the $$$face society where lives are not as precious as $$$$$$!
Mind you there are many poor heartlanders crossing the causeway to seek treatment in the Malaysian govt run hospital!What the Malaysian think of our hospital which cannot even provide basic needs to the poor and sick Singaporeans? -
Let you in on a secret if you haven't seen it yet:
Government hospitals are subsidized. If you provide a good service to subsidized patients, more will come and the government will have to subsidize more. If the service is poor and you fork out cash to go private, then the government won't have to subsidize you.
Now, does it make sense to provide good service to subsidized patients? -
Our freaking gov over priced everything; of course, medication treatment become subsidies to everyone~! Sometimes, when I look at the hospital bills; I don't know what kind of pricking subsidies our blood sucking government is giving to us.Originally posted by oxford mushroom:Let you in on a secret if you haven't seen it yet:
Government hospitals are subsidized. If you provide a good service to subsidized patients, more will come and the government will have to subsidize more. If the service is poor and you fork out cash to go private, then the government won't have to subsidize you.
Now, does it make sense to provide good service to subsidized patients?
blood sucking government blood sucking government
blood sucking government
blood sucking government
blood sucking government
Is all I can Say~!~!~!~!~! -
WE ARE PAYING TAXED!!!!!
The problem is with the policy..... in spore u are poor, u can wait for die.
In m'sia even if no $$, u get medical services.... MIND you... the taxed % at msia is similiar to spore and not like 30% ~ 40% in UK.
General hospital in msia for normal cough is RM1~2 and the amount of medicine u get is 2x of outside. Msia GH hospital specialist cost is RM5~10 for fever, cough.
And there are lots of kind hearted experience doctors work in m'sia GH. They willing to work there not bcos of $$$ but to save ppl. Many of them work at private hospital or own clinic but they still take 1 or 3 days per week to serve at GH for the public.
Msia GH are subsidies even more but they still do it.... bcos the aim for GH is to serve public who is poor and not to earn ppl $$$.
They amount of $$$ collected in spore GH is making profit.... frankly speaking. Yeah again..... "Corporati$$e"
Over here.... everything is $$$ and $$$ and $$$.