What the hell?!!

If he thinks public dissatisfaction with healthcare services provided by the government is all down to the amount of time one spent waiting in line, he is indeed one hell of a clueless minister!

From the NaSTy paper today:-

... Datuk Liow Tiong Lai says he will turn what was dubbed the "Ministry of Hell" by his predecessors into a ministry of "love and compassion". (blah blah blah) He said he would focus on improving the efficiency of health services, such as reducing the waiting time at hospitals to 30 minutes from the present 45 minutes. (more blahs ...)

From the MCA mouthpiece today:-

... The Ministry of Health has a reputation of being the “Ministry of Hell,” with several capable ministers coming unstuck. However, newly-appointed Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai would rather it be known as the “Heal-thy Ministry.” “We are all very 'heal-thy' here so I don’t see the ministry that way. We are very compassionate in that we save lives and we care for the people’s health,” he told reporters after former acting Health Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting handed over his duties yesterday. ...

Compassion?

I think this is something the staff from Klinik Ibu Mengandung dan Kanak-Kanak Metro Prima DBKL sorely lacks.

Reported in the Streets section of NaSTy paper today under the headline "No Baby, No Cure - Mothers must show their babies before queue numbers are given at city-run clinic" by Teoh El Sen:-

EARLY in the morning on Tuesday and Wednesday, a long line of women, some pregnant or carrying babies, wait at the door of the government clinic at the Metro Prima commercial centre in Kepong.

Some come as early as 4am to get to the head of the queue.

But the long wait is not their complaint. It is the attitude of some of the nurses.

“Yesterday (Tuesday), they did not allow me to take a queue number as I was not carrying my baby” said 24-year-old Fong Sok Kuan, a salesgirl.

She said it was difficult to bring babies out so early in the morning and they usually queued up for the numbers before bringing their children to the clinic.

“Some women were forced to go home to carry their babies here yesterday.”

Patients were also confused as the clinic had since March 1 started opening on Tuesdays for babies only and Wednesdays for pregnant women. Previously, pregnant women and babies could both be seen on Wednesdays.

Fong said last week she was unaware of the change and was only told to leave after she had waited for at least four hours.

“We were even told that we were stupid for not being able to read the notice they had put up,” she said.

Chin Mei Fang, 39, a housewife, said: “Many of us are poor and uneducated, that’s why we come to the government clinic.

“I don’t know why we were blamed for not being able to read the notice or that we had to be holding our babies to take the numbers” she said.

She said Klinik Ibu Mengandung dan Kanak-kanak Metro Prima DBKL, should be more understanding.

“Once, my husband cycled in the rain with our seven year-old daughter seated at the rear, holding an umbrella, to bring our 14-month baby to me.”

Another patient, 26-year-old Cheong Moi Yoong, said the clinic had very limited staff, who were often very unhelpful.

“There was once when we waited until 9am and were all told to go home without any explanation,” she said.

Compassion? More like arrogance and indifference. But then again, these are government servants, right? People go through hell each day trying to deal with them.