Taiping Hospital - The diabetes department - my experience

I am a newly confirmed diabetic patient of the Taiping hospital. The hospital had given me the date June 2nd for my blood and urine check-up. Today is that dreaded day. Dreaded day, because I am not proud to admit that I am afraid of any form of needles. This is my second check-up; the first one was done in January. (My glucose level, then, was FBS: 10.3).

Yesterday, at about 7pm, I had rechecked the forms; 2 forms - one for blood and the other for the urine. The date was 2/6/09 all right, but no time for the visit was written. My mother, the poor soul also a diabetic and a regular visitor to the hospital, told me to go before 8am as a lot of people would be coming for their check-up. The forms had also something else scribbled at the side, like ‘paasa 10 ml’. I could not make out the first word, but the others were sure enough ‘10 ml’. I thought, “Oh, so they will be taking 10 milliliters of my blood and urine for the check up.” I was just imagining how much 10 milliliters of blood would look like in the small tube, when it suddenly hit me. No, it was not the amount of blood or urine. It was the time I was supposed to start my pre check-up fast – puasa 10 malam! Ok, I was ready!

Next morning, I arrived at the hospital at about 7.10 am. I thought it was still too early and decided to go in at 7.30am. Once you have entered the hospital you will be looked upon as a patient. I wanted to be just myself just a while longer. I could see the movements of the hospital staff in and out of the main entrance. I sat in the car to while away the time. At 7.30am sharp I was at the reception counter for the blood and urine collection department. Wow! There were already about 30 patients sitting in the chairs in front! I was surprised. “So many early birds…eh?…And I thought I was early!” I mumbled to myself. Well, I knew what to do the next time!

I placed the forms in the plastic tray, as was required. Two staffs – one man and a woman, in their whites - were sitting behind the counter, and were busy attending to the forms, calling out names and giving the forms back, now attached with small plastic like tubes. The forms were also found attached with pieces of papers with numbers. The patients will go into the room nearby when their numbers are announced by the electronic voice system and allow themselves to be extracted for blood samples.

Chairs in the front rows, near the counter, were all occupied, so I sat in a chair at the back, which was unfortunate, due to a TV at the other end on the left was having a singing program broadcasted with sound quite loud for a hospital. A malay lady was singing a pop song. It was quite nice to hear, but I was not in a position to enjoy it at that time. The singer was just giving undue competition to the voice from the lady staff at the counter, calling out names of the patients. Maybe at another time and another place. Both my ears were all up to trying to catch my name being called, which can be at anytime. Remember, the patients were just required to place their forms in the trays and go and get seated in a chair. No numbers were given yet. It was ‘first come, first served’ basis, but of course, at the prerogative of the staff at the counter. A number would have at least told me how long I have to wait, and get myself prepared to make a rush to the counter, before the next name is called. Otherwise, sometimes you will get grumbled upon, you know. With the numbers system, I would have had time to see if any legs were blocking my path to the counter! Anyway, I waited.

I did not have to wait very long, however. My name was called, and I rushed. Fortunately, no legs to trip over! I was given my two forms back; the urine-form intact, but the blood-form with 2 small tubes, with red and blue caps, respectively, in a small plastic bag pinned to it. Also pinned together were 2 pieces of papers with the same call numbers printed on both. The time printed in small prints said 8.03am. I looked at my watch. It said 7.49am. I looked in my hand phone, which I had always trusted not to go wrong, where time is concerned. It showed 7.50am. So the numbers print out machine at the counter is about 10 minutes late! And I also wondered, why two pieces of slips with the same call numbers? It was for coordination or traceability purposes, I thought. Good show!

I am not telling my name or the call number at this time, just in case this is read by any staff of this department and traces this article to me. I just fear that the next time I visit them they will extract out more of my blood than required!

I was required to go to the washroom first, to take my sample of urine. The washroom was at the back, just nearby. Just in front of the washroom there was an express bus ticket-type counter. The aperture in the wall had a small plank attached outside, on which were found small, transparent, numbered plastic bottles. I had been told to take one of these. I did so and ventured inside the washroom.

I was pleased to see the place very clean. I went inside one of the two toilets. However, sad to say, the door of both the toilets had no bolts inside. I had to use one hand, stretched backwards, to keep the door closed to prevent any unwanted visits by anyone, which was fortunate, because I felt someone pushing at the door, then. I let out an artificial cough and continued on with the requirements. So much for a man’s privacy. I wondered whether it was the work of the vandals or whether the hospital authorities had removed them on purpose, for reasons best known to them.

I took the bottle of urine sample, and putting the urine-form on a metallic tray, right at the back of the aperture, I placed the bottle of urine on the form. This is the normal procedure, I was told, by a gent nearby. What if the sample got accidentally placed on the wrong form, I wondered. I consoled myself by accepting that it is just a ‘what if’. Anyway, it would have been safer if someone inside the aperture had immediately written the number of the bottle on to the form, the moment the bottle was placed together with the form. Well, my work with the urine sample had finished.

I, then, went to the front and seated myself in a chair near the blood-sample room, and waited for my number to be announced. When my number came up I went inside the room, quite nervously. Two ladies in light blue uniforms were in the room attending to two other patients and I was told to sit on another chair inside the room. Having dealt with her patient, a lady in the blue requested me to be seated in the chair just vacated. She wanted me to stretch out my hand. I did so timidly, shame on me! Perhaps the lady had noticed my timidity, and tried to have a conversation, “ Where are you from, uncle?” she asked.

“Taman ………” I replied. (I am playing safe here so I won’t be traced!) All the while she was inserting the needle into the vein near the ankle. I felt a short sharp pain and grimaced.

“Is it far from here?” she was slowly dragging out the syringe sucking out blood in the process!

“Not very far,” I said, slowly, searching for the nametag on her, keen to know the name of the person interested in my welfare. There was none. I looked at other lady. She, too, had no nametag. Well, how nice it would have been to know the names of these considerate women.

"That’s all uncle,” the lady attending to me said, “Please come back to the clinic in one week’s time.”

I said a ‘thank you’ and came away from the hospital, much relieved.


My sincere suggestions to the hospital authorities:

Write the time of the visit on the forms.
Write clearly the pre requirements before the check-up, e.g. Puasa 10 malam.
Decrease the volume of the TV.
Give out numbers to those placing the check-up forms in the trays.
Correct the time of the numbers disposing machine.
Fix bolts to the toilet doors.
Let a hospital staff dispense the urine sample bottles. 

Thank you.

1Malaysia – People First.