Club 30's "Kill The Boredom Demon" Jive Pad, 73rd Edition

last SG · 2008-01-28T09:31:16+00:00

Ok the fish I want is not cheap too :( I found out that for a 3-4 inch it's around $65 and the larger sizes usually go for between $80 - $100 <!-- / mess...

the Bear SG

I share with you a sentiment that doesn't directly address this issue you brought up, but it might give you a different perspective to the situation.

When I arrived here, and saw how things are, and spoke to lots of foreigners who migrated here like myself, some of whom have travelled to Singapore or have lived and worked there for years, I felt sad.

Sad that our country is not perfect, but has a lot of things going for it. But sadly, it goes mostly unappreciated. In a few aspects, Singapore really ranks up there with the big guns. The only drawback is, we're too small. We are not populous enough to pack a real punch and get ourselves heard on the international arena. It's a sad waste.

We deserve to be known worldwide. To do that, sacrifices have to be made. Unfortunately, we do not have natural resources like land. But we will fast lose our competitive advantage if we don't do something that will help secure our future.

More than you realise, we NEED the foreign talent. We are not numerous enough to survive into the future.

On a micro level, we resent how over-crowded Singapore has become. We resent the presence of FT's. And a few other grouses which have been voiced out loud and clear.

On a macro level, we actually need them to survive. Look at what's happening to all prominent big cities in the world - which city does not import FT?

i guess you bought into it.. we could do with foreign workers and foreigners who WANT to make Singapore their permanent home..

what we do not need is what the gabrament is doing now.. casting the net wide, hoping against hope that one or two brilliant FTs will make Singapore their home..

but thing is, it is done at the expense of home-grown talents..

and throwing away the "chaff" of our citizenry in order to find that local talent is criminal..

let me give you an example.. last week, my neighbours we so stressed out they came to my mom who is helping coach their Pr.3 child in English.. Pr.3 math.. they had a bunch of questions which only Math geniuses who are capable of multi-dimensional thought and calculation can hope to do...

only, they gave it to a whole class of a few hundred Pr.3 children...

lots of parents who don't know about Math like my neighbours were wringing their hands in worry and despair.. worse, the stress on the children was tremendous..

they were looking for the next Carl Gauss.. geniuses which happen maybe one in a generation.. if you are lucky...

we do not need to be No.1.. if we lose our souls, our humanity and our dignity to be "the best", are we really that good?

Vanuatu is still "backward and primitive" yet the people there are happiest in the world.. while we are stressed out and unhappy, yet No.1 in everything material.. who got the raw deal?

Rhonda SG

maybe i learnt something different when i was attached to the hospitals during my medic training...

severe pain = emergency case = priority given

spinal injuries = immobilisation = high priority due to potential further damage

i know when patients come in bleeding to hell or with a heart attack, they would have priority over the guys who aren't..

but i wonder when orthopaedic specialists refuse to walk 5 minutes to look at someone who had to be wheeled into the A&E and check that the patient will not be paralysed or worse..

and i wonder about a healthcare system which touts itself as a medical hub when the normal needs of the general citizenry cannot be met..

that aside, it is unfair of me to put this all to you.. you are trying to be the most qualified nurse around.. that is good.. personally it is wonderful and you know we as friends are supportive and will cheer for you every step of the way towards your goal..

me? i look at my country.. where i live and plan to stay for good.. i am saddened that the medical facilities here are so cutting-edge and fantastic that they can do wonders for the individual.. but are unable to cope with the sheer number who need the mundane and necessary...

and i guess it's just like what i face at work.. no one wants to do the necessary and mundane but everyone pours their resources into spectacular and special things which are pretty to look at, but in the end, doesn't add much except look good.. while us working hacks slog and fight for resources in order to carry out the most essential and mundane of tasks..

sorry for the rant.. just kind of frustrated here at work.. where we see spectacular but ultimately useless projects get a lot of manpower and resources while us doing the mundane work keep getting more and more work piled onto us with this written on top:

there will be no additional manpower provided

it takes a toll on the spirit, even one with a perverse attitude to senior management like mine who will not let the bastards grind me down...

sorry...

I'm right now so frustrated at work that I draaaaag myself to work too. I even vented in the Night Owls Chatterboxes, but nobody listened... Anyways...

To have the type of immaculate and perfect healthcare system you want, be prepared to pay through your nose. Not sure if you realise it, but healthcare in Singapore is VERY cheap, in comparison with other developed countries. The same stuff in Australia cost astronomically more, and don't even think about UK and the US or other European countries!

I realise your case wasn't treated as well as you would have liked it. Indeed it would be tough to please everyone. It doesn't matter how severe one's problem is, the fact that it happens to ME makes it THE most important thing in the world, regardless.

If we could only follow a doctor / nurse for a week as they go about their duties, we'll realise the severity of the shortage and the shortfalls in resources. However, it doesn't matter because as long as the person who's sick or injured is ME, all rational thought goes out the window because we will have our own immediate needs to think of. Reasonable enough.

I'm saying that it's hard to debate this issue because there is the objective, macro view, and the subjective but not to say invalid, micro view. If you measure Singapore's healthcare system by how it has met YOUR needs, it might have failed you miserably. But if you measure it in terms of speediness of response to emergencies, fatality rates, success rate of major operations, etc. stuff that the WHO and the JCI (Joint Commissions International) probably adopts to rank a country's healthcare system, then yes, we are up there.