Planets Apart
Do we all agree that medical fee for services rendered by specialist medical centers could be between two towns apart but NOT two planets apart???
In a case in Singapore involving Pengiran Anak Hajah Damit (Brunei Queen’s sister) who was diagnosed with breast cancer and has died since, the bill came up to SD24.8mill!!! (before GST). Even the Brunei government has to ask for ‘discount’ from Singapore government. Eventually the bill reduced to SD12.1mill!!!
The Doc is facing a disciplinary action but she is trying to fight it in the court saying that its mutual agreement between the patient and her that the fees could range from SD100k to SD200k per day. Story…..
I say if the patient is from Brunei royals or such just ‘suck them dry’! And if the patients are like me just hope they will get the treatment from government hospitals provided that there is not a LONG queue and one of their children is a civil servant.
Just recently the mother of my friend was having some health problems and the children brought her to a private doctor who referred them to another specialist. The specialist gave the daughter a shock when he told her that the mother probably having liver cancer and she could die if there was no surgery carried out in next 5 days. Also refer them to another specialist (his friend) for further treatment and or surgery. At this stage the bill estimation is already RM 30 to 50k. Luckily even in the distressed mind status the children after talking to few friends including those from medical background managed to get second and third opinion and finally brought her to GH. The idea is to have the surgery between the 5 days period given by the earlier doctor. Also they were able to jump queue and find an available doctor to carry out the surgery.
BUT it was already more than 5 days and the mother is still alive and stable. Eventually it came to know that it was not liver cancer or something and there was no need for a surgery at all. There was not much they have spent in the GH but try imagine if my friend has just followed whatever the private doctor has said without asking for 2nd or 3rd opinion. Now the point I try to make is the feeling of fear most of the private practitioners try to instill in us knowing most of us will just accept whatever they tell us and go for any sort of treatment they suggest at any cost.
Not long time ago my son was having asthma attack. This time knowing the normal practice of the specialist centre we used to bring our children me and my wife decided that we wouldn’t want to admit the boy in ward. That exactly was insisted by the MO who attended us during the night and made a big fuss about it with the attending doctor later. I even had the feelings that she was purposely trying to delay in giving my son the urgent treatment needed for any asthma patient. My boy was 4yrs old at that time and was struggling to breath. Anyone out there wants to say I should have admitted the boy…. Yes maybe I should have BUT it’s time for me to say no to this so called ‘doctors’ and specialist centers who wants to make money out of other’s sufferings. My boy turns out to be okay after the outpatient treatment which cost me in cash up to RM500 that really made me think I should have admitted him after all. Haha! Anyway I made up my mind not to attend that specialist centre anymore.
Have you all faced a situation where even after a few days and after you feel that you or your siblings are okay and can be discharged from the medical centers but the doctors keep saying ‘no and maybe tomorrow ‘and we never get any kinds of confirmation. And if we insisted still, the cruelest response that we can get is “yes you can go back if you want but if anything happens or anything goes wrong you don’t blame us”!!! Aiyo what kind of doctors are they! This happened to me when I admitted my mom in a specialist centre in Ipoh.
Recently my friend sent her son to do medicine in Russia. The expenses for the whole 6 yrs study will be around RM300K, cheaper than in India! Nevertheless the father has to take all kinds of loans and withdraw his EPF to pay his son’s initial cost before any scholarship is approved. Only hope I have for all these young doctors who probably will go into private practice at least once in their whole career that ‘they will never forget the human value in their lives’. Or at least get a client like the late Brunei Pengiran Anak Hajah Damit, Brunei Queen’s sister!
Hmmmmmm…. Sigh!
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