Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, the health authority has done a stellar job in stemming the tide of the outbreak.
For over two years, medical personnel worked around the clock and as a result, we were largely spared from most severe of devastations, compared to other countries.
However, we have now entered endemicity and things are slowly going back to pre-COVID normality. But it hasn’t been the case for healthcare services.
Take for example a recent trip to the accident and emergency department of a public hospital. A child with high fever was brought in by her father. It took a good few hours before they received medical attention.
It is understandable that emergency cases are prioritised, such as those knocking on death’s door. But such a long wait time is also normal on a quiet night.
With flu-like illness spreading like wild fire lately, perhaps it would make sense to dispatch more staff to the emergency unit, to attend to those who are ill, especially young children, as their immune system is not as robust as adults’.
A friend with kidney problems recently visited the emergency room for bleeding and abdominal pain. During triage, the nurse told her to take a urine test, but added sarcastically that she was most likely pregnant.
As much as I try to be sympathetic to the medical staff, especially after having endured two years of heightened stress and extreme exhaustion, it is hard to deal with snarky comments from the very people who are supposed to help you feel better.
I’m sure public hospitals are trying their best in providing healthcare services to the people, and as a citizen, I am grateful for that.
While it can’t often be helped that people have to wait hours before being seen by a nurse or a doctor, perhaps the authority could look into training medical staff to be more courteous, especially when the patients themselves are already suffering from enough discomfort to need medical attention.
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