Sangat Hangen!

Mom had an episode of chest pain today. It was midday but I was still in bed (since wasn't feeling well myself) when dad called out for help. After the 3 GTN tablets given didn't give any relief, we took her to Ampang Puteri Hospital, thinking taking her to my workplace would take forever because of the massive traffic havoc caused by the stupid rally (Why can't you guys do it in a stadium or empty spaces out of the city and spare us the inconveniences??)

As soon as we arrived at the ED, my mom was attended quickly by the nurses and ECG was done in no time. The nurses were helpful and competent (to my standard at least) but it was the attending Medical Officer that I felt like killing! After the staff nurse shown him the ECG results (which by the way was normal) he just came over to my mom, told her that she needs to be admitted and off he went again... He decided to admit my mom WITHOUT any physical examinations or history-taking done. None. He didn't even touch my mom!!

When I questioned the decision through the staff nurse, he came back again and pathetically 'attempted' to listen to my mom's chest in front of me. Hey, I am not a doctor but I do know how a stethoscope should be used and definitely not the way he demonstrated it just now! When I asked him to address the chest pain first (obviously he didn't even ask my mom the nature of the pain, the pain score nor any pain relievers were offered) he came out with all jargons on nitrates and narcotics. If you had attempted to take even a simple history mister, you would have known that mom already had the GTN tablets at home and that her daughter is a pharmacist, hence your attempt to impress her with your pathetic drug knowledge was just.. pathetic! I know time is bad now and patient admission would help rake in more $$$ for the hospital, but please do it ethically ok!

Anyway, before I started to lose my temper and beat the crap out of that pathetic MO (he is by the way a locum), I just walked out of the triage area and made a call to the ever-so-helpful cardiologist in my own hospital. To cut the story short, we took my mom out of APH and she is now resting in my work place for observation. It is only a gomen hospital and not as posh as APH but at least we have more honest, ethical and hardworking doctors. At least I can now get some sleep knowing my mom is now in good hands...my head is still pounding and looks like the temperature is coming back. Hope to rise early tomorrow to check on mom and to write a complaint letter to APH.

No mister, you won't get away with it...

Footnote: All in my family have, over the years, sought treatment through that ED of APH and got admitted to their wards. I even had my appendix removed there. So, even without comparing with my own hospital or any other EDs, I knew the care we received from that MO today was bad, to their own usual standard.