i don't think they check thoroughly enough during the
pre-enlistment checkup. it was kind of sloppily carried out,
checking for only common medical conditions.
for many people, that is their first "full body checkup", and
they might not know of any medical condition they might have. i
have a friend who lived normally for many years, even doing napfa
tests, and finding out that he got 3 holes in the heart.
i'm not saying the ecg does not check out heart condition, only
pointing out that many parts of the body are "neglected" in the med
check.
like yamizi had mentioned, there can be problems with a person's
kidneys, liver, intestines, brains etc. any of these problems can
become a serious medical condition when triggered, leading to
diabetes, kidney failure, etc.
also, i don't think they check for allergy during med check. 1
syringe of blood certainly ain't enough to test for so many
things.
about bones and joints problem. do they take xrays during the
med check? no. yes, they do have a chest xray, but is that enough
to sieve out all problems? no. a slipped or protruding disc may
most likely be left out during the checkup. when it comes to route
march, a protruding disc may actually detiorate into slipped disc,
which is like "ouch". one of my seniors actually suffered from
slipped disc during his route march, *he got downgraded after
that)
but do you want to do something about it only when the problem
has alr occur, and the damage irreversible (yeah, cos this concerns
health, ur spinal disc isn't something you can change down and
then). or do you want to do smth abt it before the problem
occur?
my cousin was unaware of his kneejoint problem (the joint was
wearing thin). he failed his ippt and was made to do rt,
where he ran and ran and ran. it was only after he felt pain in his
knees during one of his runs, that he found that his knee joint had
been worn out. he now only has knee surgery to look forward to
(knee joint replacement).
how do you monitor ur conditions when you don't even know about
them in the first place? yes, you know that you should probably
stop when ur felt chest pain, but that's a bit too late, if it is
the start of a heart attack. if you have knowledge of any medical
condition you might have, it is easier to monitor and control ur
condition. e.g. you know u got irregular heartbeat, and you can do
smth abt it, like jog at a slower pace etc.
so, i think that full med check should be conducted by private
enterprise, when they really check for everything.otherwise, saf
should step up the extensiveness of its med check procedure.
if that's the case, then downsize cmpb mcc medical checkup
department. thereafter, transfer all pre-enlistees to
full checkup medical examination at govt public
hospitals' "super premium platinum gold" full body checkup
package. total cost to be fully absorbed by govt.
the chest x-ray is just to check any lung abnormality and any lung
lesions seen.
in addition, we all know that the general standard FFI form
(the same form as the SISPEC/OCS and ORD FFI form...) how
detailed can that be?
standard checkup in the FFI (any course) form (3 pages):
1st page: self-declared questionaire.
2nd page:
medic will do:
Height;
Weight;
BMI;
BP;
Eyesight;
Urine (only test 3 basic components: albumin, glucose and
blood);
blood test: HIV ( only when pre-enlist, ORD, n post overseas
ex);
ECG (only if needed)
Audiogram (only if needed)
CXR: chest x-ray (only if needed), otherwise, use result from
pre-enlist x-ray...
dental officer will check teeth at
saf dental centres (usually only ORD FFI)
doctor will check:
Lungs;
Heart using sethoscope,
any other conditions: usually is self-declared,
3rd page: else MO will just cleared u fit for instruction for
course or usually 1 year.
