One 64-year-old Ah Ma has been seeking treatment at the Singapore General Hospital for the past 15 years, and says she has always been satisfied with the service there.
But a recent clash with a specialist doctor that she says “refused to treat her” has left her fuming mad.
Mdm Ai Na fell and hurt her hand in April, and endured the pain for a month before deciding to seek treatment at a polyclinic.
The doctor there performed an X-Ray for her, and told her that she needed surgery on 2 fingers on her left hand.
Mdm Ai Na then requested that she could be attended to at SGH.
While waiting for her appointment with the hospital, the pain became unbearable, and she sought help at the Accident and Emergency department of SGH.
The A&E Dept bandaged her hand and referred her to a specialist.
Mdm Ai Na says:
“The specialist undid the bandages on my hand and took a look at my injury. He then told me to go home and move my hand more, and fixed an appointment to see me in 6 weeks time. He didn’t even give me any medicine. I felt so foolish. I begged him to help me, but he just said there was nothing he could do to help.”
Mdm Ai Na says her hand grew more swollen by the day, and went to see her MP for help. She says her MP managed to get her treated at a private clinic, and her hand recovered shortly after that.
Angry that she had to endure even more pain after being rejected treatment by the SGH specialist doctor, she made a complaint to SGH.
She said,
“I don’t trust this doctor anymore. Seeing him again would just make me even more angry.”
SGH has apologised over the incident.
A hospital spokesman said that the doctor found no fracture in Mdm Ai Na’s hand, and therefore recommended she continued taking painkillers which she had obtained previously from the polyclinic and do a check-up in a month’s time.
The hospital says that there was nothing wrong with the doctor’s handling of Mdm Ai Na’s case.
Francis
July 13, 2015 at 12:36 pm
Polyclinic doctor say one thing, A&E doctor say another.