Vicki Yang
Vicki Yang gives a first-person account of her experience in getting tested for the H1N1 virus at Tan Tock Seng hospital.
I was at Butter Factory with some friends on June 17. None of us suspected anything amiss until the 22nd where, thanks to Twitter updates, a friend and I realized that at least 7 out of the 13 of us who had gone to Butter Factory that night had fallen ill.
While I was down with a cough, headache, and body aches, a few of my other friends told me that they were suffering from raspy throats, flu, and fever. Fear struck the heart of one of my sick friends when she discovered that we had possibly been among the same crowd as the 140th H1N1 case that very same Ladies Night at Butter Factory (and where the 96th, 117th, and 118th case had been before).
Cursing our possible fates in quarantine, we pondered our chances of contracting H1N1, and decided that a check-up would be the best course of action. None of us wanted to spread the possible infection to people at our workplaces and more importantly, to ailing members of our respective families. Two friends from that night out were already at TTSH getting tested. This was before the Pandemic Preparedness Clinics were established.
An ambulance took us from one end of Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) to the carpark that had been cordoned off for possible H1N1 suspects to be tested. A male nurse demanded the reason for our arrival and asked if we were there to see the doctor. My confused friend replied with a statement that echoed her genuine sentiment, “I don’t know”. We had no idea how the proceedings of a screening were to take place.
Finally when I told him that the ambulance brought us to the testing area as we had requested for a H1N1 check-up, he growled angrily: “So you’re here for a check-up to see the doctor, then just say you’re here to see the doctor.”
He disappeared back into the testing area, leaving my companion and I slightly taken aback with his attitude.
The holding area looked like a detention class. Classroom tables and uncomfortable white plastic chairs (usually used in funerals and functions in community centre halls) were placed more than two arms’ length apart from each other. A small television with very bad reception sat on one end of the holding area, apparently to provide some form of entertainment for the 4 to 12 hours that H1N1 suspects had to wait, for the outcome of their test results. I sat behind two of my friends who had come earlier, but mingling was apparently disallowed. Our communication was limited to making exaggerated physical gestures across the distances between us, and via text messages on our cell phones.
All H1N1 suspects are supposed to have their blood samples, two swabs of mucus and fluids taken from them to be tested, as well as X-rays. After an hour and a half of waiting, none of my samples had been taken. Another ninety minutes passed before a nurse came to ask me and my friends some health-related questions. For some inexplicable reasons, the nurse insisted that my friend and I were pregnant, despite our assurances that we were not.
“It’s for the X-ray. We have to know whether you’re pregnant,” the nurse said.
“Yes okay, but no I’m not pregnant,” I said.
“Do you want to take a urine test, to make sure?”
“No, it’s okay. I’m pretty sure I’m not pregnant,” I replied, rather amused at the prospect of sudden pregnancy.
My friend was more forthcoming with her replies. “I can’t be pregnant,” she said to the concerned and well-intentioned nurse, “I’m a virgin”.
Shortly later we were called in separately into the testing area for our X-rays to be taken. Half an hour after we returned to our seats, the same determined nurse came along with a small empty container packaged in a plastic bag labelled “Biohazard”.
“I think you better take the urine test to make sure,” she said.
I realized that the delay in the test was inevitable from the seeming lack of communication between the medical staff there. Our X-rays had already been taken, and hence there was no need for the urine test. Yet, the nurse – commendable for her insistent effort – did not know that. This lack of information among the staff regarding which tests each of the patients had or had not gone through, was glaring when it came to the issue of my delayed blood test.
After four hours had passed from the time of my entrance, I informed a nurse that my blood sample was yet to be taken despite an initial effort to do so. The surly male nurse earlier had stopped by to poke around – but failed to take a blood sample thanks to fine veins. He did however promise that “someone else” would come by to do it later. However, after affirming that I had had my swab tests, she proceeded to dismiss the necessity of the blood test. I was still skeptical, citing that the others present at the holding area had had theirs taken, but she assured me the accuracy of her answer. When I asked the same question to a doctor when I finally saw him, the overwhelming priority of the swab tests was once again indicated, and the event of taking a blood sample was dismissed. Yet, at the end of 7 hours of waiting, another nurse informed me that a blood test was necessary, to ensure that I did not have other ailments such as dengue.
I appreciated the “Nestle-like” 3-in-1 strategy in testing for the virus, but I would have appreciated it much more had I not been misinformed and falsely assured earlier. My former suspicious probing had not motivated the medical staff in question to check the proper proceedings of the check-up, leading to another hour’s wait for the outcome of a blood test.
When asked about the misinformation and the seeming lack of consistency in the medical proceedings among the staff, the nurse’s answer was, “I’m really sorry, but I don’t know what they told you or what happened earlier. I only started work at 9 pm”. It was a fair answer and I really could not blame the nurse, but I wondered at the proclaimed high level of preparedness of our medical staff in face of a pandemic announced by the authorities and the media, especially with The New Paper on Saturday 30 May 2009 proclaiming our preparedness as “The Khaw Strategy”, stating that “the ground was well prepared”.
Was there not a methodical system of testing being adhered to? When even the communication between staff and patients, or amongst the staff themselves, did not seem to hold up very strongly, I could not help but discern a slightly messy randomness in the delegation of duties to members of the staff on the job.
My companions were understandably bewildered by the amount of effort they had to take in trying to get the attention of any member of the medical staff. When one of my friends felt giddy after the blood test was taken, she was unable to get any help for a long while as the staff hurried around with no attention paid to the patients in the holding area.
Another patient seated in a wheelchair waved mournfully at passing nurses several times, indicating to his leg that seemed to be giving him a good amount of pain, but he was largely ignored. There was barely anyone attending to the already-ill patients sitting in the holding area. When nurses did pop by intermittently to pursue information from a patient, we were simply told to wait, in response to any of our questions regarding what all this waiting was leading to.
Any possible MOH statement assuring that our doctors were more than prepared would have been refuted, when a doctor’s questioning revealed the lack of updates TTSH was providing its staff during this pandemic.
“So you went to the Butter Factory on the 17th, and there was… one case there.”
“No, there have been four cases so far,” I reminded him.
“Four cases?”
“Yes, four cases.”
“And what were you and your friends outside doing at the Butter Factory? Are you working there?”
“No, I don’t work there.”
“What brand of butter does this factory produce?”
I stared at him, utterly perplexed at the question and unable to react instantly, only managing to croak out a “What?” He asked again.
“It…. it doesn’t produce butter… It’s a club,” I stammered.
“Oh, it’s a club!” he exclaimed, as he scribbled away on some sheet of paper, enlightened.
That was the very moment where it became apparent that the doctors did not seem to know the situation on the ground. One would have expected that TTSH could at least update their medical team regularly on the new cases of H1N1, and some idea of the third infected cluster. Yet, it seemed that barely any updates trickled down to the medical team on the ground, which was supposedly very prepared to combat a pandemic.
Granted, it perhaps may not be fair to come down hard on the medical staff regarding their lack of knowledge of current situations especially when the third infected cluster (Butter Factory) was identified less than 24 hours prior to the time of my screening. In fact, sitting in the testing area, we heard the doctors discussing and checking cases with each other and that possible infected Butter Factory goers were not even supposed to be at TTSH, but at the Communicable Diseases Centre (CDC) situated on the next street! Yet the ambulance had unwittingly brought us from one end of TTSH to another.
What about the management of TTSH then? Was it not necessary to keep abreast of current situations and update the medical team on the ground? What did the lack of coordination among the staff, and lack of information reflect upon Singapore’s readiness to combat H1N1? Perhaps my experience was an exception in the larger scheme of H1N1 testing so far. “The Khaw Strategy” was a myth for the 9 hours I was at TTSH. Yet, the long-asserted conviction that the ground is well-prepared, seems to have fallen through that night.
Read also: The minister who got S’pore prepared – The New Paper.
And also: Gerald Giam’s account of his experience at the CDC.
—-
HELP keep the voice of TOC alive!
If you like this article, please consider a small donation to help theonlinecitizen.com stay alive. Please note that we can only accept donations from Singaporeans. Thank you for your assistance.Do you have a flair for writing? Volunteer with us. Email us your full name and contact details to theonlinecitizen@gmail.com
Hmm… guess they wanted to earn some extra cash from the pregnancy test…
To me, blogs/forums are places for diff. voices. However,it seems some are sounding like from HM/TTSH defending their much vaulted H1N1 prevention procedures. Should take criticism constructively. Not happy, can go to other blogs, what. Call things like b**** for what? (ok, sometimes I use strong words too!)
I do sense however that Vicki may have sensationalize her story a bit, but she will eventually learn to get over the many cock-ups in our systems (like being immuned or zombied). The main point is that this could be another TT Durai & Co. NKF stuff. Better safe than sorry with viruses! To dispute her, someone should go undercover and report on the “real” situation — smiling faces, 3-star hotel but clean & efficient, everyone have shoes, knows about penetrative sex, etc… Again, we should be talking about systems, not people.
To be positive let take a brief & unscientific comparsion on bloggers’ pattern. In Reach, the govt blog, I see an official article “Singapore’s Population Trends” posted 22/6/2009, 6:14 PM. This seems to have same discussion scope like TOC’s article “A Nation of Foreigners in 11 Years”, posted 22 June, 12:49 am; don’t know or care who is following who. To date, Reach = 27 postings / 442 views; TOC = 193 postings / 4327 views. Both sites have a high percentage of whinning, no official solutions, less than 0.5% population readership, some posted more than once, blah, blah,… With due respect to all parties, clearly analyzing what’s happening on the net is not as simple as listening to Kopitiam talk, slipping kopi-O. But, if have to put money, who do you think I will go for?
To be sure, I am definitely not pro-TOC, anti-this or that; anyone commenting in a public space is definitely not a little kid, feeding only on MSM/official info. I will jump ship if the discussions are pure BS. Much like Sporeans are jumping to other countries…
I think a little bit of fairness is necessary here. We musn’t forget that the writer’s experience came at a time when there was a sudden jump in the number of H1N1 cases. I did sounded out before (somewhere here in TOC) supporting MOH’s position in maintaining the Yellow Alert level as opposed to the worldwide higher alert level code. This was so that the people manning the triage areas are not overly exhausted before the real influx of cases – which we are now seeing.
One key point missed out by some is the fact that TTSH has been using temporary staff to man its triage screening counters, and these are very young adults who are exposing themselves to such dangers because jobs are so hard to come by these days. Nurses are not administrators, yet they are doubling up as one, for the simple reason that no one wants to be around the vicinity of TTSH, let alone work here.
We should compliment these nurses instead of slamming them. Should the outbreak gets worse, and admin staff start to leave their jobs under pressure from their families (like the SARS outbreak), then we are going to be left with nurses and doctors to handle all aspects of healthcare. These are the heroes, who see healthcare as a calling, and will not shy away from danger. These are the people we will be depending on. Let us be a little grateful instead of being typical – typical Singaporeans as some have mentioned.
Why take it out on the staff of TTSH instead of those at the nightspot? The staff there should have screened patrons more carefully so that party-goers are protected to the fullest. It sounds real stupid to me for the writer to blame the caregiver instead of the germ-trafficker.
It is so sad ! !
The jobless are desperate to take up employment even when they have to expose themselves to virulent diseases. Their job requirements include good co-ordinations which they lack experiences and their lack of experiences burden the Healthcare(Medical staff) staff causing stress and confusion. Then come the typical demanding Singaporeans who want services that tally with the fees they have to pay. Wow ! Not easy.
The above was the situation when there was only under 400 H1n1 sufferes, I dare not imagine when the figure goes beyond 4000, how and what would it be ? And what if and when mortality rate goes up due to mutation or whatever.
It is baffling why pregnancy got involved with the H1n1 screening, there was absolutely no information regarding the effect(s) of H1N1 on pregnancy and vice-versa. Why the insistence on pregnancy test ?
There were also many who questioned the $214 charged for been socially responsible, would it not be socially responsible for the Health Ministry to publicise what the cost stands for since large scale infection was envisaged ?
I would think that the Health Ministry should publicise the procedures members of the public have to undergo for H1N1 Screenings, so that suspected and infected members will know better when they arrived for screenings and treatments.
It is only fair to say that we have to compromise whenever a sudden outbreak or natural calamity occur due to lack of practical and procedural experiences. Having said this, I would urge the Respective Authority to always inform and educate the people on how to react and respond to measures when unfortunate events happen, by using the Media; television, radio, telephone(sms), Internet and publications etc.
patriot
It has been reported again and again in local newspapers and stated by Health officials, both international and local, that the H1N1 infections are “MILD”. Is this really so?
Read here:
http://wywhoo.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/h1n1-local-cases-reached-599/
@104) gemami on June 29th, 2009 12.27 pm
@105) patriot on June 29th, 2009 1.40 pm
I agree that we have to spare some thoughts for the TTSH staff. I mean, so easy for the Ministers/WHO to press buttons, announce this and that over the news with a smirk look, and expect their staff to dance to different tunes.
If a battle plan require 1000 soldiers & there is only 500, does a general sent half trained/equipped troops into battle just to made up the numbers? Whatever happens on the battlefield then, the general just sit in his comfy office tweaking his thumbs! Are TTSH staff paid extra for the increased workload? Are they properly trained, both technically and in PR matters ranging anywhere from 1-star to 5-star skills? Another poor point about our management system — they seldom compliment the staff on their efforts, thus little motivation. Rather they just say this and that, and balked in the glory if things turned out right.
I always said, you can have the best troops (Gurkhas) guarding MSK in a top-security facility, but yet that “bai-ka” can walk out! Where is the root problem? “An army of asses led by a tiger is superior to an army of tigers led by an ass.” Meritocratic society indeed!
I do not know what strategies is MOH planning or already planned. I will just stay away from more crowded places & the MRT.
looks like H1N1 has a simpler & better strategy- show no mercy, exploit all loopholes, and just go forth & spread!!
what doesn’t kill us (H1N1) makes us stronger!!
:P
107) the forgottongen
Your reply is good. Want we need is a good management. Wherether the full time or part time staff, is work the same. TTSH should learn from this and learn to act fast enough to cope with new cases.
94) inix
Another reason could be the hype that comes before all this…the bigger you blow the balloon, the easier it is to burst and create a loud noise
“Butterfactory was already identified as a H1N1 cluster” – smallvice585 @100
Is this very important info published in the health ministry website? including all other identified places. It seems SG is good at following what others have in hardware or infrastructure but when it comes to using it (where it needs raw brains, cannot be copied from anywhere), it all falls flat.
hi Angelina,
it goes to show there are things 1 can copy, there are things that cannot be copied.
“the prove is in the pudding!”, recipe follow 100% does not prove the results will be the same.
To Apek
If someone is ‘shallow’ it means he or she only see things on the surface and take it for what it is, he or she does not think further about it, not to mention analyse. Easiest eg for me to show you is from your post “Oh btw, I learned that Ladies night is FOC for the ladies” inferring that it has no bearing on business?
Do you really think that Butter Factory is a charitable orgn for ladies to have fun? The Ladies night is for attracting the male PAYING crowd on the quiet weekday. Without any customer, the owner still need to pay rental, staff and other fixed expenses. So this clever idea is to boost buiness.
Do you also not know that business = economy? If everyone is like you, scared to die, stop going to clubs, cinemas, eateries, supermarkets, in fact everwhere including travelling on public tranpsort, won’t the economy stop?
Hi “mice is nice” #113
Not just Govt depts, but a lot of SG private companies do not know how to make use of the 21st century’s best business tool, the Internet. When they have websites, they usually do not update their info, do not care about what info is there, and do not care about presentation. For Govt depts, it is nothing but meeting requirement to have a website, its a waste of internet space!
114) KhawSense
Firstly, I shall assume that “To Apek” refers to KopitiamApek and thus your post is directed at me
For clarity of whom I am replying to, I rather address you in full as KhawSense , not Khaw or Sense or KS or any other abbreviated form.
Thank you for sharing your defination of “shallow” and your kind effort in explaining by using the easiest example for me to comprehend using my own post “Oh btw, I learned that Ladies night is FOC for the ladies” .
You went on to say that my post “Oh btw, I learned that Ladies night is FOC for the ladies” was inferring that it has no bearing on business, and took the trobule to elaborate your point with an entire paragraph. I even can agree what you wrote in that paragraph about the clever biz idea.
I only have one further question.
From a sinle sentence I posted “Oh btw, I learned that Ladies night is FOC for the ladies” .
how did you, in your non shallow ways which I suppose you will see things beyond the surface and take never it for what it is, think a whole deal further about it, and analyse and finally arrive at the conclusion that I was inferring that it has no bearing on business? and thus I am shallow by your defination.
Please share your deep analysis with shallow old me.
And you stated that that was the easiest example, may I infer that there are other non easy examples?
104) gemami
agree with what you posted. a balanced view,
///Why take it out on the staff of TTSH instead of those at the nightspot? The staff there should have screened patrons more carefully so that party-goers are protected to the fullest. It sounds real stupid to me for the writer to blame the caregiver instead of the germ-trafficker.///
the germ trafficker gave the writer a night of fun (at least while it lasted) and it’s FOC on Ladies’ Night; but the care giver gave her a bill. : )
98) smallvice585
///Good points there. I think many Singaporeans are suffering from the helpless complex. Helplessness is what governments use to generate apathy which slightly favour their cause.
By really thinking about oneself as inferior and helpless, the PAP government is already one step ahead in doing in the population to sustain their hegemony. By expecting and depending the PAP government for solution, one is already giving PAP government power over oneself. I hope kopitiamapek can understand this.///
Since I have been mentioned in the very last part of your post, I will post my humble and what some have even branded as “shallow” response.
By really thinking about oneself as inferior and helpless, one will be inferior and helpless PERIOD.
regardless, if it is a PAP gahmen, or whatever gahmen.
Helplessness is also being in a perpectual a victim frame of mind whereby one thinks that everyone out there (the gahmen included of course, and for this subject, the TTSH, but not ButterFactory) is so dung unfair to him./ her and thus justify his miserable stae of life he/she is now.
What one can control in one’sr life (and which is a large proportion) one should take control, after you do that, helplessnwess will desert you, and you will not have the need to blame others for our life’s screw-ups caused by our own victim state of mind.
109) mice is nice !!
///what doesn’t kill us (H1N1) makes us stronger!!///
actually you got a point there.
we get our immunity through exposure.
97) rollingballs
I note your feelings that my criticisms are extremely biased, but agreeing to disagree, your post is also, if I may borrow your words, “extremely biased”.
It is all a matter of how one choose to look at it.
btw, plastic chairs are very where in private GP clinics too.
Would it hurt to tell those TTSH staff upfront what ButterFactory is rather than to kick up a fuss over that? she should conserve her energy while her frail body is trying to recover, not wasting it with anger and resentment.
Hi theforgottongeneration on June 29th, 2009 2.41 pm,
It is true that no one should go into battle unprepared, and that it is all too easy for one or two ministers to press some magic buttons and hope that the battle is immediately won.
This is why I am hoping that such articles take into consideration the sentiments of the ground staff, who are really working their butts off trying to make the magic button work, like the big shot ministers hope it would.
From day one since the news of the outbreak leaked out, we have been implementing one form of measure to another almost on a weekly basis. This past week, the directives coming out from the hospital authorities, based on MOH guidelines, are evolving almost on a daily basis. Many temporary staff have also left their jobs, and with the scenario not about to improve but getting worse, we are beginning to see some staff resigning already.
With all these happening around the healthcare environment, even managers and executives are having to chip in to fill all these gaps left behind by the sudden string of resignations. Yet, on the battle front, we are doing all we can to make it as comfortable as possible for anyone stricken with the H1N1 virus.
One thing the public must not believe is the proclamation that we are well-prepared because of our experience during the SARS crisis. Far from it. This is a new challenge and a totally different one. Where SARS was concerned, there was no margin for error because it was so deadly, so we were more stringent and left no stones unturned. Perhaps, with the H1N1 virus, the level of emphasis is lesser because it is not so deadly. However, one must not question the integrity of the doctors and nurses who battle on at the frontlines.
Hi Patriiot,
It is not an easy job as you have rightly described it. I must add that the biggest concern that weigh heaviest on the shoulders of the front line staff is the fear of contracting the virus while in the line of duty. There is always the concern that the virus might mutate and the new strain becoming more fatal than the current one. Who then would want to be the first to acquire this new strain? If it is a deadly mutated strain, death is a certainty.
This is why I hope the public could be a little kinder to these brave citizens who are there battling it out day after day. Give them encouragement and save your rebukes for whatever deficiency or lack of efficiency. They do not deserve them.
You asked for information regarding the effect H1N1 has on pregnancy. The H1N1 strain of the Swine Flu, is a new strain – and because it is a new strain, no one knows exactly what impact it has on different medical conditions. The only information it can depend is on those that have been recorded where past (closest) similar strains have occurred. And pregnant women is one group that is more susceptible to infection. That’s why the added precautions.
I believe the writer’s account arose from the strict guidelines provided to the frontline staff to ensure that certain ‘compulsory’ questions must be asked. Exercising one’s initiative is not an option in this current situation. And this must be the reason why the nurse had to asked the questions she had asked. Why take offence when she is doing what she must do? She does not have a choice.
As for the $214, I find it quite shocking when it was first revealed. I still find it shocking! No one should be paying one cent for this fight which even the world’s best government could not contain.
Vicki,
When it comes to new diseases, when it comes to outbreaks, your basic human right and choice is secondary to what the hospital is deem necessary to make sure that you are not a carrier.
It is probably standard protocol for them to test for pregnancy, even if you claim to not have had sex before, or for the last 6 months in such situations. Who is the nurse to believe? Your word? What if it turns out that a girl who says, I am a virgin; turns out to be pregnant 1 month later? What if H1N1 caused this pregnant girl to miscarry and puts her life in danger? Will you then drag the nurse out and stone her? ‘She was suppose to do the test no matter what’ you all may cry.
We do not understand the virus fully, and so a blanket series of tests are needed.
However, I believe that your other complains are valid. I do have medical background, I know the importance of training and well documented protocols.
Jin Xian:
If you had read the article properly, you woulf have known that the nurse said that the pregnancy test was needed before taking an x-ray. Foetus exposed to x-ray have higher chances of developing complications, especially if the x-ray is exposed through the abdomen.
Even then: diagnostic x-ray seems to be pretty safe for unborn babies, especially since I would think that this is only a chest x-ray (for lung check).
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/isitsafeto/xrayduringpregexpert/
Nothing to do with N1H1.
Dang.. H1N1 it is. Swine’s easier to get right.
Amused:
Isn’t the X ray part of the battery of tests needed for H1N1? yes, the X ray will cause complications to the foetus too – I assumed everyone would know that. Its H1N1 that most people don’t understand and probably will brush off.
hi KopitiamApek,
post #119
////actually you got a point there.
we get our immunity through exposure.////
i was refering to H1N1 getting stronger…. -.-”
KopitiamApek
Let me refresh your memory.
My post: ////. Its great that the girls went to have a good night out. The economy will collapse if everyone behave kiasi////
Your rebuttal: //If economy depend really on the girls going to the club, we are indeed in deepsh*t.//
- Aren’t you indeed saying that the customers at the Butter Factory has nothing to with business which has nothing to do with the economy?
Another of your rebuttal still to the same issue: //Oh btw, I learned that Ladies night is FOC for the ladies.”//
Aren’t you saying they are not paying customers so have nothing to do with business? BTW, besides drawing the male crowd, the girls have to pay for drinks, I suppose only entrance is waived.
With regards your earier post @45:
my post: /// This girl is ill for goodness sake! Try smiling when you have a fever and the worry of being contaminated.///
your post: //The sequence was in the wrong order. the worrying should have been done before going to Butter Factory not after.//
- Butter Factory might as well close down and the whole MRT system might as well shut because of the infected passenger who travelled by train. Otherwise if you are infected, it means you are asking for it.
my post: ///I thought Spore is filthy rich, and the civil service is gold standard, as the Govt always boasted, so why is it not right for people to expect 5-star hospital service hah? And we pay so much you know! ////
your post: //It chicken and egg isn’t it? want 5 stars standard, complain high price, please select one
- Didn’t you read my last line, “And we pay so much you know!” Pay high price get no star service.
@121) gemami on June 30th, 2009 8.02 am
Yes, it is difficult to be at the frontline, isn’t it? I guess that is why there are many questioning, e.g. about their NS liability. So easy to take in FT/FWs like nothing, then sit back & leave it to the Sporeans to “integrate”/defend these people. Press buttons only what.
Recall, initially I said even a five-year-old can have strategy;-
* Pressing button — “Khaw” strategy
* Implement plans — “TTSH” strategy
* Test effectiveness — “Vicki” strategy
* Brainstorming — “many” strategy (& some are real nasty in their strategies here!)
* Footing the cost — “sotong (aka socially responsible) person” strategy
* If things go wrong — “TTSH” or “Vicki” or “socially irresponsible person” strategy
* If things turn out wonderful — “Khaw” strategy
Simple, right?
Dear Gemami;
appreciates your address very much, knowing that You are a staff in TTSH, me thought You would appear here and You did. Thank You for the informations and hope that You did not miss my call for compromise for sudden large scale and unknown outbreaks. Two of my children are staff in TTSH as well and my spouse has worked in healthcare for 35 years and with my mother warded infrequently at CGH resulting in me visiting so frequently, I am a little aquainted with hospital routine and protocol.
As I have posted above, I would still call upon the Health Ministry to disseminate timely informations and guidelines to members of the public on how they should prepare themselves when infected and affected by contagious diseases. Hope that such informations and guidelines WILL BE FREQUENTLY AND WIDELY PUBLICIZED OVER THE PUBLIC MEDIA. This measure will greatly help in calming the patients and their families which will in turn reduce the burdens of the Medical Staff having to deal with anxious inquiries and queries which could lead to unneccessary misunderstandings.
Once again, I call upon patients and family members to understand that Medical Staff are highly stress and expose to dangers themselves in such challenging times. AS SUCH, LET US GAVE THEM THE GREATEST CO-OPERATIONS AND UNDERSTANDINGS.
CHEERS ALL
patriot
128) KhawSense
Thank you for spelling KopitiamApek in full.
Your post #128 is a rehash of your post #114 with no new substance added. as such provided no answer to the question I posed to you.
Instead it raises an addtionnal question from me on what you wrote in the last line of post #128. …///Didn’t you read my last line, “And we pay so much you know!” Pay high price get no star service.////
There is no mention about any monetary value in this article. So where is the high price you are refering to,may I know?
Hi All;
I like to make a spelling correction to the Word ‘aquaintance’ in my earlier post; it should be acquaintance, my wrong.
Just came from Blogger utopia 8787′s Site; got this information in his Latest Thread (linked to Singapore Daily 30 June 2009) that a foreign based Singaporean, Zaiton Rosie, was given a free(no charge of fee) for a H1N1 Screen. We also learnt that another Singaporean Dapnne was charged #214 for the H1N1 Screening, here.
If Foreign Based Singaporean, Zaiton Rosie, was indeed given free screening for H1N1, then the Singapore Authority owes all Singaporeans an explanation for the discrimination against Singaporeans for charging them fees for H1N1 Screening.
Hope TOC could do all Singaporeans a favour by probing into this information further.
And any parliamentarian and or senior civil servant reading this comment, please be responsible to provide an explanation.
patriot
Like to make one more request that number of cases and locations where cases happened be updated regularly over the Media.
Me watch and listen to radio most time of the day and found that other news other than the H1N1 developments, always hoarded the headlines.
The H1N1 , though of low mortality rate, could mutate without warning and as we seem to be one of the worst hit, it is only commonsense to know that more are infected each day. It is therefore imperative that any preventive measure, including updatings of the last case, be made known as soon as possible, regularly.
Hope the Authority will act seriously.
patriot
132)Patriot
I just came to know there is such a thing call Foreign Based Singaporean,screening also free ?got such priviledge meh?How to apply?
Khaw is a player, he does what his master tells him to do. By taking subsidies away with means testing (good marketing), he is only a profit driven guy. Do you think he really cares if we cant afford? He already said we can consider JB.
Hi theforgottongeneration on June 30th, 2009 6.43 pm,
I like your reasoning. It flows very well and I cannot bring myself to find any fault with your line of argument. Hats off to you.
Hi Patriot,
First of all, I wish your mother well. Hospital visit is truly an unwelcomed chore.
I agree fully that MOH could do better. Me too am finding it hard to get real time updates. People like me are the first to get the most updated news, yet, we are just as ignorant as anyone else. We do get to hear trickles of this and that but most times no one can say for sure if what we hear are true or not.
It is quite chaotic these past two weeks and that’s why you don’t see me posting as regularly as I do. But believe me that we at the front line are doing all we can to assist patients and make their visit as pleasant as we possibly can.
@patriot
I’m not sure who is right or who is wrong, but AFAIK, hospitals does not, and is unable to make a distinction of foreign based / locally based Singaporeans. And I would be uncomfortable as such should they make this distinction.
How are they going to check? Can you please bring your passport?
Hi Inix:
As I have mentioned in the earlier post, I happened to read utopia8787 Latest Posting captioned: ‘Evidence of locals becoming second class citizens’ which is aggregated at The Singapore Daily Website on 30th June 2009. It is in there that I got the information.
May I suggest that readers pay a visit to utopia8787 Site or access it via The Singapore Daily.
patriot
Jin Xian:
From the article:
“All H1N1 suspects are supposed to have their blood samples, two swabs of mucus and fluids taken from them to be tested, as well as X-rays.”
Based on the article alone, I would not be able to tell for sure if a pregnancy test is part of the battery a suspected infected person has to go through as it is not mentioned.
As a layperson, I find the X-ray requirement to be strange though. We can detect flu viruses from X-rays now? And what’s the blood sample test for? I thought the virus is tested from the mucus swabs?
Here is another account (about 1 month old) that I found. It is pretty similar to Vicki’s:
http://www.zdnetasia.com/blogs/bcp/0,3800011228,63011292,00.htm
Patriot
I am really amazed that in ‘high tech’ MOST WIRED Spore, crucial info from the civil service to the population cannot be communicated.
Same for hawker gradings & criteria not found in NEA website. Do hawkers even know what is required of them to get A grading? Me thinks it is hygiene but hawkers think its cleanliness?
Same for immigration policies. Are we allowed dual citizenship or not?
Same for postal customs policies. What is allowed and not allowed?
Same for “help for the needy”. Any clear guidance on how to get help?
Many, many other things.
News is useless without someone making sense out of it.
Otherwise, more news is just more confusion.
There is definitely room for improvement for MOH’s public relation strategy.
Hi Angelina:
just my impression, can’t say if I got it right, the Local System is full of bureaucracy, full of form, but little substance. Everything is so rigid, everyone wait for another to make decision, so in case something goes wrong, the decision maker will be answerable, this is one. Another will be the show of power by superior over subordinate, question like ‘who are you to make decision ?’ when the superior is out to make working life difficult for worker etc.
Free play of commonsense and initiative are normally disallowed, work flow, inter departmental and multi organizational(Different Ministry) co-ordinations are usually poor. Advanced equipments and Modern Information Technological are not able to overcome bureaucracy plus rigid officialism and poor co-ordination/co-operation in Officialdom. This is a fact and glaringly so in local context. Most Singaporeans are likely to have experienced officialism when dealing with Singapore Authorities.
Let us just hope and pray things will change for the better soon.
patriot
@140) Angelina on July 1st, 2009 7.43 pm
Concur with #142) patriot on July 1st, 2009 9.25 pm
Just announced SAF is now much more networked together using hi-tech stuff. Does this means end of all its trademark/copyright cock-ups, Murphy’s Law, S.A.F (Systems All ******)?
Yippe! hope it also mean reservists don’t have to manually re-doublecheck if their service records are correct EVERY year. (But records supposedly computerised years ago, leh, otherwise how they print out sheets for us to check?). Light at end of tunnel… recommend 6 months bonus this year!
Agree with smallvice585 on July 1st, 2009 8.14 pm. We need people who can make sense of the news that are being dished out.
Hi Angelina on July 1st, 2009 7.43 pm,
An interesting point, that we so wired up so much so that we are geting confused by all the wirings. Technology is supposed to make things and make life easier for all. And with the civil service getting on board the online platforms it was meant to be an avenue for all to be better connected and therefore, better informed.
I have carried out some investigations of my own regards the claims by Vicki above and by those who have posted links (Amused on July 1st, 2009 2.11 pm ) to similar cases being reported. I have also checked with my colleagues who have returned from some of the affected countries and who had to go through the H1N1 Swab test.
There is some truth to some of the claims and most certainly, there is a lot of room for improvement to help those who come for the swab test to be better managed. (We have to keep in mind though that most of the assisting staff are temporary or contracted ones).
Some changes have already being implemented, for example, patients can return home while waiting for the test results, and results are produced at a faster rate of between four to five hours. This is in keeping with MOH guidelines issued earlier this week because of the sudden surge in cases.
The key point to note here is, like I have mentioned, the situation is always evolving. What we are doing today may be different to what we will do tomorrow. It all depends on the situation. Should the virus be found to have mutated today, you can bet that another round of confusion will be the order of the day.
We at the front lines will then have to brace ourselves to work around these changes.
@patriot
Just read the article. Indeed the guy didn’t pay, but it did not mean that the hospital gave preference to a Singaporean who lived overseas.utopia8787 simply inferred that the hospital is doing that without any proof.
Sure, the guy went home without paying, but coming from one who just returned from TTSH 2 weeks ago, I did the same thing. I didn’t pay a single thing when my wife was discharged, nor when my wife exited the hospital A&E’s outpatient just 1 week ago.
I just got my bill 2 days ago.
I really don’t know if they have any proper IT automated system in place to handle these situation. Most likely a semi-auto/manual system which is prone to operational hiccups.
I feel that they can be better prepared after the SARS incident many years back.
Hi Inix Post #145:
noted your Comment.
There was probably some misunderstandings in the billing procedures, I am not too sure.
I am confused and had expressed so in a later posting I made at said utopia 8787′s Article. Maybe need to wait for more feedbacks.
Dear Gemami:
I like to thank You sincerely for your wish for my mother’s recovery, she is doing fine now. Also thank You for the informations with regard contingency measures and operational difficulties and hiccups in implementations. Quite as expected though, as some negative human factors are always at play, unavoidable shall I say.
Fortunately, H1N1 has not been/being deadly and let us hope that it will end soon.
Cheers !
patriot
doctorwho #146
No need any proper IT system lah. Just post clear procedures and info of where cases occur in the website, with daily updates. This is the very least expected of a “most wired” nation led by an “A-team”. Moreover Spore is sooooo tiny. How do you think the US or UK can disseminate info to the whole country?
Is the website just another thing for show only? Others have we must oso have.
Khaw should order the info be posted in the website with daily updates, and issue a press release that the info is available in the website, advising the public to check it daily.
The way I see it, these ministers and all are just not sincere in what they want to do. Its not about ignorance or lack of inteligence.
website is for show, there are ah peks & ah mahs who dun even have PC at home.
to err is human, but some are just complacent lah.
Good point, but most of these ah peks & ah mahs have children or grandchildren who can inform them right? I thought every school has computers and every child in SG goes high-tech?
The ah peks & ah mahs who do not have internet access most likely do not go clubbing right? SG is small, word of mouth will reach them & ignorant adults if MORE people are better informed.