If you have not had a complain, you have not been working hard enough.
Complains can be as innocuous as a letter to your boss stating that you were rude and unhelpful (most common complain, just means they don't like your face) to as malicious as those sent to the forum of our national paper to condemn the doctors.
Recently, there was one such complain from a family member in the forum which alleged that the doctors in SGH did not do a scan for a patient as it was over the weekend/public holiday. The patient apparently was transferred to a private hospital where a scan was done and his life was hence saved. Later SGH replied to clarify that the hospital involved was not even SGH to begin with. The real hospital involved, TTSH, also replied stating that the date given was wrong, it was not over a weekend/public holiday and a scan was indeed done.
Wah! Like that also can!
So suka suka complain about doctors, then doctors complain to who?? We have no recourse! We cry no tears! Since I am in such a foul mood as I am on call today and my back still hurts from all that stabbing, I also want to complain. I cannot write to the forum because you need to be a real doctor to do that, so I will complain to my own blog!
I'm serious! Prepared envelope, no less!
Recently, there was one such complain from a family member in the forum which alleged that the doctors in SGH did not do a scan for a patient as it was over the weekend/public holiday. The patient apparently was transferred to a private hospital where a scan was done and his life was hence saved. Later SGH replied to clarify that the hospital involved was not even SGH to begin with. The real hospital involved, TTSH, also replied stating that the date given was wrong, it was not over a weekend/public holiday and a scan was indeed done.
Wah! Like that also can!
So suka suka complain about doctors, then doctors complain to who?? We have no recourse! We cry no tears! Since I am in such a foul mood as I am on call today and my back still hurts from all that stabbing, I also want to complain. I cannot write to the forum because you need to be a real doctor to do that, so I will complain to my own blog!
I'm serious! Prepared envelope, no less!Dear Blog,
Re: Complain Letter
This is with regards to the consultation on29/02/2005 in Clinic Z of hospital ABC. I was buzzing for patient Tan Ah Meng the upteemth time but he did not come into the room. When he did turn up, he did so without knocking on my door and in the middle of my consultation with another patient.
When I politely asked him to leave the room, (Can't he see I am attending to another patient???!!!!) he gave me an angry stare! And I swear I heard him cursing loudly outside the consultation room after that!
When I finally saw him, he was most unfriendly. While i tried to engage him, he was angry looking and refused to answer my questions. Since that is so, I again politely asked him to go collect his medicine to which he replied "you mean that is all????"
I want to complain about his bad attitude and unpatiently behaviour!
Re: Complain Letter
This is with regards to the consultation on
When I politely asked him to leave the room, (Can't he see I am attending to another patient???!!!!) he gave me an angry stare! And I swear I heard him cursing loudly outside the consultation room after that!
When I finally saw him, he was most unfriendly. While i tried to engage him, he was angry looking and refused to answer my questions. Since that is so, I again politely asked him to go collect his medicine to which he replied "you mean that is all????"
I want to complain about his bad attitude and unpatiently behaviour!
Since I'm at it I also will like to complain about those "by the way" patients. "By the way" they also have headache, leg pain, ear pain, long zhong tia (everywhere pain) and demand for cough mixture, panadol, flu medicine and vitamins. I often have to spent another 15 minutes examining these from head to toe. Because of their antics, I see the rest of the patients late and get complaints! Specialist clinic are for specific problems needing speciality management, can don't waste time with all those unrelated request?
By the way, I also want to complain about Ward 44 Bed 4. That day I went to take blood from him and he was most uncooperative. He threatened to "break my jaw" if i took blood from him and accused me of selling his blood. How is it possible that I can sell 10mls of blood? How unprofessional of him as a patient to not know that!
I sincerely hope that you look into the matters mentioned above and take appropriate actions!
But since I know you won't be able to do so, let me finish off by saying:
Just because you are sick, depress, angry, anxious or just down right ignorant does not give you the right or priviledge to scold, abuse, defame or undermine me and my profession.
Thank you very much!
Yours sincerely,
BL Og
By the way, I also want to complain about Ward 44 Bed 4. That day I went to take blood from him and he was most uncooperative. He threatened to "break my jaw" if i took blood from him and accused me of selling his blood. How is it possible that I can sell 10mls of blood? How unprofessional of him as a patient to not know that!
I sincerely hope that you look into the matters mentioned above and take appropriate actions!
But since I know you won't be able to do so, let me finish off by saying:
Just because you are sick, depress, angry, anxious or just down right ignorant does not give you the right or priviledge to scold, abuse, defame or undermine me and my profession.
Thank you very much!
Yours sincerely,
BL Og
Sorry man.
ReplyDeleteBut health care professionals are the whipping boys of the professional world.
We are like chihuahuas leashed and tied to a tree. The people can take sticks and beat us, poke at us and all we can do is give whimpy barks. We can never bite back.
The other analogy is that because some doctors claim they are God, then doctors should be expected to behave like Jesus (eg be eternally loving, kind patient, perform miracles, altruistic, if I get slapped I turn the other cheek to get slapped again etc) and treated like Jesus (eg crucified and buried)
I remember a classmate of mine said before "But I don't want to be Jesus leh!"
So can i complain too? Would someone write a letter pt XX to tell him that it was rude of him to spit at me when i tried to take blood from him? and to pt YY to tell him that it was unacceptable to shout and scream vulgarities at me when i sacrifice my sleep at night to set a plug on him to give him meds? and to relatives of pt YY who demanded rudely that they have to speak to me immediately when i was trying to quickly fill my stomach (?lunch) before i have no chance to during 2:30pm? yet how come they can complain when i did not smile to them at 3pm because i have not had breakfast and lunch and look paler than the patien when i forgo my lunch at 2:30pm to speak to them because they threatened to complain?
ReplyDeleteSorry fellas.
ReplyDeleteDoctors form such a small minority and the medical association is so weak....people can murder doctors and get away with it.
Case in point anyone who has dealt with death cases as a SAF MO will know that the relatives can stalk you, send death threats to you and still you have to be nice to them because their poor son died while in NS.
Most patients are nice. But some (aka the black sheep) just sux, period.
ReplyDeleteEspecially those older patients; some are really very sweet but some are simply... u know know wat i mean. Ppl always say: Be patience especially comes to patients..but again.. =X
ReplyDeleteDon't you just hate people sometimes?
ReplyDeletepopped by after your blog was featured in the Sunday Times. must say your entries are really an entertaining read. im going into the healthcare industry (or well, studying to be there) so its quite amusing to read though i must say my patients wld be a different group from yours!
ReplyDelete(: wld be bookmarking this web!
hopefully i can contain all that negativity and not burn out too soon.
ReplyDeletemuahahaha....wish i had an avenue to cry father & mother. reminds me of a hilarious incident where a mentally unstable patient started stripping and screaming at the top of his voice, in the middle of the night. when the reg and myself arrived the patient pointed at him (the reg) and let off a string of hokkien vulgarities that'll make a pirate blush. after the patient was pacified and we got hold of our senses, the reg turned to me and said, "can i repeat what he just said whenever i get calls like that?"
ReplyDeletepriceless...