Call to scrap unfair BN-era rule at QEH1
Published on: Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: The management of Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH1) has defended its new queue numbering system for patients at the Specialist Clinic in which the disabled and elderly no longer get priority but must wait like everyone else for their turn. A normal patient who was waiting for her turn in that clinic sympathised over the long wait senior citizens and the disabled had to endure, as previously those in this category were served much earlier. "I pity them, especially those in wheelchairs as they have no choice but to wait like everybody else in the waiting area. Some had been fasting for 12 hours in preparation for the blood test.
ADVERTISEMENT
Because they had to wait, they had no choice but to eat something."What puzzled me is that there are usually only few senior citizens and wheelchair bound patients. Why can't they just let these people see the doctor first?" asked Stella, a concerned patient, urging the new Pakatan Harapan-led government to rescind the directive issued under the previous Umno-led Barisan Nasional Government, especially since Sabah now also has a Minister for Health. Apart from that, she also lamented that certain expensive medicines were always said to be out of stock at the hospital and are asked to source them from pharmacies outside.
ADVERTISEMENT
"It's time for the new government to seriously look into these matters, particularly on the frequent unavailability of high-priced medicines that cost up to RM200," she added. A spokesman for the hospital, when contacted, said patients are treated on a "first come, first service" basis under the new queue system.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We have studied this for three months and we found that the existing system we are using is more practical and advanced compared to the old one," he said, adding that based on their observations, usually the hospital would receive more patients after a public holiday. He, however, said to reduce congestion its blood collection centre is also operating on Saturdays and Sundays from 7.30am to 1pm but closed on public holidays. As for the Computed Tomography (CT Scanning machine) which was claimed to be prone to breakdown, he said its officials are investigating the matter. Daily Express has received complaints that the CT scan is "forever rosak (always broken down)" so much so that those with stage one cancer are already at the final stage by the time it is repaired."We are supposed to be in Malaysia. Not some African country. So much money was being spent on mega projects by the previous government that we in Sabah have to suffer," one of the complainants, said. "All the expensive handbags belonging to the wife of the former Prime Minister and cash that was found in their homes by the MACC were said to have amounted to half a billion ringgit.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
