Here's World Class HealthCare Standards
-
Doctor ticked the wrong box in report
Daughter completes hepatitis B immunisation
But shocked mum gets report later saying girl has the virus
By Tan May Ping
June 21, 2007
WHEN Mrs Kelly Lim took her 10-year-old daughter to get the third and final jab for a hepatitis B immunisation in January, she was told they were a month early.
Kristal, with her mother (right), holding a copy of the polyclinic's mistaken report on her daughter's condition. -- Picture: JONATHAN CHOO
So they returned as scheduled in February.
Then, three months later, MrsLim could not believe her eyes when she read a report from the polyclinic.
It said her daughter is hepatitisB positive. And that she should consult a doctor.
Mrs Lim was scared - and confused.
Didn't her girl just complete the three injections required for hepatitisB vaccination?
Her mind was wracked with worry:
Could Kristal have been so 'suay' (unlucky) as to catch the disease before her last jab? Did she not get enough immunity? Was she a hepatitis B carrier? How bad was the situation?
Mrs Lim, 43, told The New Paper: 'The result said 'Anti-HBc IgM is positive'. I knew something was wrong.
'Hep B is not something to be taken lightly. If she really was a carrier, then we'd have to be very careful.'
The statement did mean that Kristal was a hepatitis B carrier.
But Mrs Lim, an administrative assistant, could not get anyone to clear her doubts.
Hepatitis B is a serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the liver. The virus can cause lifelong infection, cirrhosis (or scarring of the liver), liver cancer, liver failure and death.
Kristal's immunisation and post-immunisation screening were done between August last year and May this year at the Toa Payoh Polyclinic, about a 15-minute walk from their flat.
When Mrs Lim called the polyclinic for an explanation on 30May - the day she received the screening result - she was told to wait for a reply.
A few days passed and nobody called her.
For those few nights, Mrs Lim lay in bed worrying about her daughter.
Anxious for an answer, any answer, she called several hospitals to ask what the result meant.
NO REPLY
But each time, she didn't get to speak to anyone and left voice messages.
Desperate, she also called a private doctor she visited once, but the nurse refused to put her through to the doctor as the screening wasn't done at the clinic.
A week later, on 6 Jun, Mrs Lim returned to the polyclinic again.
There, she showed the report to a nurse.
Looking at it, the nurse told her the tick means Kristal was a carrier.
Mrs Lim could not believe it and pressed the nurse to check.
That was when the nurse found out that the doctor who had evaluated the laboratory results had ticked the wrong box.
He should have ticked the box that read: 'You are immune to HepatitisB. Immunisation is not needed.'
The nurse apologised for the mistake, but Mrs Lim was still upset.
She had spent a week worrying about it. She was told that her daughter was a disease carrier, and all the time, she was the one who had to keep chasing the polyclinic for answers.
She said: 'This is totally unacceptable. Shouldn't the doctor have been more careful?
'What if the screening had been for a more serious illness? Can you imagine the stress it would cause the patient?'
The polyclinic comes under the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics (NHGP), which has apologised for the mistake. (See report, above right).
It has been a series of bad experiences for Mrs Lim.
And it started with how the appointment for the final jab was scheduled earlier than it should have been. In practice, the third injection should be administered six months from the first injection. In this case, only five months had elapsed.
She said: 'I was not happy that they were slipshod in assigning a date. What if the nurse had not spotted the mistake and the injection was given earlier?'
The NHGP has clarified that if Kristal had been given the injection a month earlier, it wouldn't have harmed her.
Mrs Lim added: 'I remember that day very clearly because it was raining heavily and by the time we reached the polyclinic, we were all drenched.'
She was so unhappy that day that she filled up a service quality feedback form on the spot. But she was disappointed when nobody got in touch with her about it.
'What is the point of a feedback form?' she asked.
Including an initial blood test, the appointment mix-up and the trip to clarify the report, Mrs Lim had to go to the polyclinic seven times in about 10 months.
'Most of the visits took more than an hour each time. It's such a waste of my time and effort.
'I hope this doesn't happen to another person. After this experience, I might just go to private doctors next time.' -
I like to know, are the nurses and doctors involved LOCALS, or FOREIGN?
========================
Polyclinic group says sorry
June 21, 2007
A SPOKESMAN for the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics (NHGP) has apologised for the lapse in service and for the inconvenience caused to Mrs Kelly Lim and her daughter, Kristal.
Referring to Kristal's screening result, the spokesman said: 'We are sorry that our doctor had made an error in ticking the wrong box in the notification memo.'
One of its nurses had also made an error in calculating the date for Kristal's third hepatitis B injection.
The nurse who attended to Kristal on 13Jan did a routine check and realised that she was only due for her injection in February 2007, the spokesman said.
Kristal was subsequently given a new appointment and priority for that session, the spokesman added.
A nurse manager explained the situation to Mrs Lim and apologised for the scheduling mistake.
But the one month difference would not have caused any harm to Kristal, the spokesman said.
She added: 'If given earlier, there is a possibility that the vaccination may not raise the level of hepatitisB antibodies in Kristal to as high a level as compared to the vaccination being given according to schedule.
'Nonetheless, the staff members concerned have been counselled and told to be more vigilant when they conduct their duties.'
The spokesman also explained that there was no follow-up call after MrsLim submitted the feedback form (which was forwarded to NHGP's quality department) as the nurse manager had already explained and apologised to Mrs Lim.
NHGP is also looking into refining some of its processes, including automation, so that these types of issues will not occur again as a result of human error.
'We would like to assure Mrs Lim that we strive to continuously improve our care and services,' the spokesman said. -
I like to know, are the nurses and doctors involved LOCALS, or FOREIGN?
Why? -
as usual these organisations only reply when got bad press..
-
We have a right to know.... This call transparency. There is no "Why"I like to know, are the nurses and doctors involved LOCALS, or FOREIGN?[/quote]
[quote]Originally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:Why?
TT Durai got away with it for so long because of the lack of transparency. -
I know we have a right to know.Originally posted by AndrewPKYap:We have a right to know.... This call transparency. There is no "Why"
TT Durai got away with it for so long because of the lack of transparency.
But why is there a need to know whether they are LOCALS or FOREIGNERS? -
Because by the government's insistent believe and faith that Foreign Talents are better than Local Talents, I'd like to know were they FTs who c0cked up at work?Originally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:I know we have a right to know.
But why is there a need to know whether they are LOCALS or FOREIGNERS?
Also, often proclaimed as World Class Hleathcare, Hub this and Hub that, how can such trivial but nonetheless life threatening mistakes, allowed to happen?
Who and or WHERE is the SLACK? -
I can only answer the first part for you. Quite a few nurses here are not locals.Originally posted by ShutterBug:Because by the government's insistent believe and faith that Foreign Talents are better than Local Talents, I'd like to know were they FTs who co0cked up at work?
Also, often proclaimed as World Class Hleathcare, Hub this and Hub that, how can such trivial but nonetheless life threatening mistakes, allowed to happen?
Who and or WHERE is the SLACK? -
I know this incident is likely to be treated as an isolated case by the government, but if the child were to belong to one of the Minister's...
... heads will literally roll... -
Maybe they seek treatment overseas leh?Originally posted by ShutterBug:I know this incident is likely to be treated as an isolated case by the government, but if the child were to belong to one of the Minister's...
... heads will literally roll...
-
they have their own medical centre.Originally posted by charlize:Maybe they seek treatment overseas leh? -
It goes without saying that they will and can afford The Best...Originally posted by charlize:Maybe they seek treatment overseas leh?
They are elites, how can they're children or family members use public healthcare??? It would be demeaning to them...
I'm just saying that SHOULD it HAVE BEEN, a member of any minister's family.. -
The issue should not be of world class healthcare standards but rather how come the health minister get paid millions for allowing the provision of this kind of service?
-
Originally posted by ShutterBug:
And I thought the free NHS public healthcare, which also happens to be the fourth largest employer on the planet, in Britain was bad...
[b]Doctor ticked the wrong box in report
Daughter completes hepatitis B immunisation
But shocked mum gets report later saying girl has the virus
By Tan May Ping
June 21, 2007
WHEN Mrs Kelly Lim took her 10-year-old daughter to get the third and final jab for a hepatitis B immunisation in January, she was told they were a month early.
Kristal, with her mother (right), holding a copy of the polyclinic's mistaken report on her daughter's condition. -- Picture: JONATHAN CHOO
So they returned as scheduled in February.
Then, three months later, MrsLim could not believe her eyes when she read a report from the polyclinic.
It said her daughter is hepatitisB positive. And that she should consult a doctor.
Mrs Lim was scared - and confused.
Didn't her girl just complete the three injections required for hepatitisB vaccination?
Her mind was wracked with worry:
Could Kristal have been so 'suay' (unlucky) as to catch the disease before her last jab? Did she not get enough immunity? Was she a hepatitis B carrier? How bad was the situation?
Mrs Lim, 43, told The New Paper: 'The result said 'Anti-HBc IgM is positive'. I knew something was wrong.
'Hep B is not something to be taken lightly. If she really was a carrier, then we'd have to be very careful.'
The statement did mean that Kristal was a hepatitis B carrier.
But Mrs Lim, an administrative assistant, could not get anyone to clear her doubts.
Hepatitis B is a serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the liver. The virus can cause lifelong infection, cirrhosis (or scarring of the liver), liver cancer, liver failure and death.
Kristal's immunisation and post-immunisation screening were done between August last year and May this year at the Toa Payoh Polyclinic, about a 15-minute walk from their flat.
When Mrs Lim called the polyclinic for an explanation on 30May - the day she received the screening result - she was told to wait for a reply.
A few days passed and nobody called her.
For those few nights, Mrs Lim lay in bed worrying about her daughter.
Anxious for an answer, any answer, she called several hospitals to ask what the result meant.
NO REPLY
But each time, she didn't get to speak to anyone and left voice messages.
Desperate, she also called a private doctor she visited once, but the nurse refused to put her through to the doctor as the screening wasn't done at the clinic.
A week later, on 6 Jun, Mrs Lim returned to the polyclinic again.
There, she showed the report to a nurse.
Looking at it, the nurse told her the tick means Kristal was a carrier.
Mrs Lim could not believe it and pressed the nurse to check.
That was when the nurse found out that the doctor who had evaluated the laboratory results had ticked the wrong box.
He should have ticked the box that read: 'You are immune to HepatitisB. Immunisation is not needed.'
The nurse apologised for the mistake, but Mrs Lim was still upset.
She had spent a week worrying about it. She was told that her daughter was a disease carrier, and all the time, she was the one who had to keep chasing the polyclinic for answers.
She said: 'This is totally unacceptable. Shouldn't the doctor have been more careful?
'What if the screening had been for a more serious illness? Can you imagine the stress it would cause the patient?'
The polyclinic comes under the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics (NHGP), which has apologised for the mistake. (See report, above right).
It has been a series of bad experiences for Mrs Lim.
And it started with how the appointment for the final jab was scheduled earlier than it should have been. In practice, the third injection should be administered six months from the first injection. In this case, only five months had elapsed.
She said: 'I was not happy that they were slipshod in assigning a date. What if the nurse had not spotted the mistake and the injection was given earlier?'
The NHGP has clarified that if Kristal had been given the injection a month earlier, it wouldn't have harmed her.
Mrs Lim added: 'I remember that day very clearly because it was raining heavily and by the time we reached the polyclinic, we were all drenched.'
She was so unhappy that day that she filled up a service quality feedback form on the spot. But she was disappointed when nobody got in touch with her about it.
'What is the point of a feedback form?' she asked.
Including an initial blood test, the appointment mix-up and the trip to clarify the report, Mrs Lim had to go to the polyclinic seven times in about 10 months.
'Most of the visits took more than an hour each time. It's such a waste of my time and effort.
'I hope this doesn't happen to another person. After this experience, I might just go to private doctors next time.'
[/b] -
Isolated? I would beg to differ.Originally posted by ShutterBug:I know this incident is likely to be treated as an isolated case by the government, but if the child were to belong to one of the Minister's...
... heads will literally roll...
Either way, in this kind of environment, if one could work without cracking or making mistakes, they would be very lucky. -
Don't just complain!Do something positive!At least show your support to my topic "Would u support me to be 2nd Health Minister?"
-
well, it might be a one=off case. i mean they have so many patients everyday. admit it they are not machines, mistakes will eventually occur at least once or twice. even machines break down.Originally posted by ShutterBug:I know this incident is likely to be treated as an isolated case by the government, but if the child were to belong to one of the Minister's...
... heads will literally roll...
give enough time and occurances, and even a possibility which has only 10^-99 chance of happening will occur -
Of course there are mistakes.This was one mistake which was reported.There might be many mistakes unreported!Originally posted by hisoka:well, it might be a one=off case. i mean they have so many patients everyday. admit it they are not machines, mistakes will eventually occur at least once or twice. even machines break down.
give enough time and occurances, and even a possibility which has only 10^-99 chance of happening will occur -
mistakes happen...i agree. but when the lady wanted to go and clarify the error, why was it so troublesome?? from reading it, i would expect such a thing to happen in other countries where their healthcare system is not " World Class"...