we cried
my father lying there foaming and having seizures,
with no one to attend to him, has been haunting me since
ST Forum: FULL HOUSE AT HOSPITALS
Worst stroke possible but dad made to wait 6 hours
(18.8.2005)
I CAN empathise fully with (Ms Rodziah Shaari ("Seven hour wait at
SGH for bed for sick dad"; ST, Aug 13).
I had similar encounters in Singapore General Hospital (SGH). My
dad was sent to the A&E department three times in two months
because of stroke and, each time, my family had to wait at least
six hours before he was pushed to a ward.
I can understand that the hospital is short of staff and we have to
wait for every thing. But to make a patient wait hours for a bed is
unforgiveable, especially when the patient is in critical
condition.
The third time my dad was taken to SGH was also his last. When I
drove him to SGH, he was already paralysed and could not speak. The
A&E doctors were quick to attend to him because of the urgency
of his condition.
They ordered an immediate scan to see how badly his brain had been
affected by the stroke, after which he was left unattended in a
corner to await the results.
I could see that my dad was getting weaker as time went by. About
two to three hours later, when the results came out, the doctors
confirmed that he had suffered a stroke I again and had to be
admitted.
It took another hour or two for the admission staff to tell s us
that my dad had to wait as no bed was available in the neurology
ward.
When we checked on him in the observation area, he was in a serious
state. He was having fits and barely conscious, and his mouth was;
foaming. No one attended to him.
It was only when we cried that a patient service officer quickly
picked up my dad's file and called for someone to push him away. .
When my dad finally got to the ward, it was past 2am. And we had
arrived at the A&E department about 7pm; it took more than six
hours before my dad was seen by a neurologist.
If my dad had been taken to the ward earlier and been treated by a
neurologist, his chances of living might be higher.
The neurologist told us that my dad had the worst kind of stroke
anyone could get. He also told my family to quickly consider having
a special injection administered as his condition was deteriorating
by the minute since the onset of stroke at 5.45pm at home.
We took no more than 10 minutes to reach a decision. And to think
that six hours were wasted in the A&E department.
The image of my father lying there foaming and having seizures,
with no one to attend to him, has been haunting me since. Sadly, he
was pronounced brain dead the next day.
I appreciate the doctors in the A&E department for their sense
of urgency, and the doctors in the neurology ward who tried their
best to save my father.
But I did not detect the, same sense of urgency in hospital staff
who were at the front line, doing admission administration and
ferrying of patients. I saw faces filled with weariness and
reluctance rather than urgency and compassion.
I agree with Ms Rodziah that it seemed acceptable to the hospital
for patients to wait hours for a bed - and specialised treatment
and care. If Singapore wants to be a top-notch medical hub, how can
we condone this kind of work attitude, and hours of waiting in the
emergency department?
Tan Tze Yee (Ms)
Copyright @ 2005 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights
reserved.
