Patients at hospitals and health centres in Brunei Darussalam have reported negative experiences, including encountering rude staff, facing challenges due to the lack of Bru-HIMS cards and dealing with unhelpful staff who are more engrossed in their mobile phones than offering assistance.
Acting Director of Administration and Finance at the Ministry of Health (MoH) Pengiran Hajah Juliyamah binti Pengiran Haji Omar Alli presented these findings from a recent customer service relation survey at the MoH’s Town Hall event yesterday.
The survey, conducted by Epipeople Management and Consultant Sdn Bhd, involved situational analyses at Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital, National Dental Centre and Suri Seri Begawan Hospital.
Interviews with 105 participants revealed issues such as a gynaecologist using a smartphone flashlight during an examination, the difficulty in finding assistance at hospitals, unapproachable and rude registration counter staff, language barriers and mistreatment of foreign workers.
There are also positive encounters with nurses who show professionalism and compassion.
Staff were also commended for their ability to identify illnesses, accommodating the elderly, children and patients with autism and providing clear explanation for the patients’ ailments.
Quantitative findings revealed an average score of 85 per cent (27.38 out of 32) across five categories: professionalism, communication, environment, customer service and overall experience.
The survey also identified areas for improvement, including having more approachable customer-facing staff and having a need for an information counter to provide instructions and guidance.
Pengiran Hajah Juliyamah called for identified issues to be addressed, adding that the findings will be used as case studies for future customer service training. – James Kon
