Hospitalism

Dad is doing better now, a big thanks to all the wellwishers. Took 2 days of Emergency Leave so that I was able to help my mom out with either stuff at home or stuff at the hospital.

My family could probably qualify for a medical frequent flyer miles or something. My dad has been hospitalized several times for his heart condition, including a valve replacement surgery in 2003. Mom was hospitalized when she was preggers with Anis back in 2000/2001 due to complications. Anis herself was kept at the hospital after birth because she was born prematurely (due to the previous complication). Iffah was hospitalized due to pneumonia when she was a baby. Kimi had his stay when he went for tonsil removal surgery. I had mine for dengue fever in 2007. Pija? She's studying to be a doctor, she BELONGS in a hospital.

My hospital stay was not really unpleasant actually. I got dengue fever, but detected early enough so I wasn't kept for long. Only three days, though I wish I can stay for a few days more since I was lethargic for a further 2 weeks. But of course, the bank would be crazy to pay the bill as I was staying in a private room at Gleneagles. Yeah, we do have good medical benefits here :)

It was unpleasant mainly for the fact that I was woken up every morning at 5am for the vampires nurses to suck take my blood. But they are nice and was good at it though, I only feel a slight sting each time. And of course the thingy where they connect your hand to the IV drip. That thing is a nuisance, especially when I wanna shower or go to the toilet. It's either I have to take the whole IV stand along or call a nurse to unhook me for a while.

The food was alright, considering that it costs a bomb to stay at the private rooms there I wasn't surprised. I mean I had nasi lemak, pancakes and fruits for breakfast and then chicken chop, salad and some other stuff for lunch and things like that. And I get to choose what I want to eat the next day from a menu. Doesn't sound much like a hospital stay, does it? Of course, the food was very much tasteless as hospital food are wont to be. I would've wolfed it down anyway if not for the lack of appetite and a bitter taste in my throat.

Though indirectly, I have experienced the condition of our public hospitals many times. The wards look ok enough but the toilets are not fit for a hospital I feel. I did not see any handrails nor anti slip mats. There's only like 3-4 toilets and same number of showers per ward which can hold around 30 people or so, and they have to share it with relatives who are taking care of the patients too. Plus you'll get people haning their laundry in the toilets too, isn't there anyway to better handle this?. Cleanliness is alright, thank God.

My mom told me about how hard it is to go through all the red tape just to get discharged from the hospital. The different offices that she needed to go to are all located in different places, and sometimes waiting for hours only to be told she was at the wrong place. I'm sure something can be done about this, process improvement anyone?

Still, I am thankful for all the good these hospitals have given my family and myself. Just perhaps some improvement will make the experience easier to bear for the patients and family.