10/17/2007
Subsidised patients demand for same standard
A letter by Lee Sze Teck to Today in a way demanded that subsidised patients must received the same standard of treatment. This is how foolish Singaporeans have become. Doesn't he know that a little tipping can get one ahead of a queue? Did he know that you pay for good service and better quality of service?
The case was over sick leave and hospitalisation leave. The former is normally 14 days paid leave and the latter can continued to be paid on sick leave up to 6 months. And the patient wanted the doctor to change the sick leave to hospitalisation leave. The reply by the hospital is less than satisfactory. Either the patient deserved sick leave or hospitalisation must be dependent on the medical condition. To say that a subsidised patient cannot make any request for such a change is distasteful.
But that is a different issue. Subsidised patients cannot expect the same quality of medical care as one who paid more. That is a brutal fact of life that they must accept. What they can expect is decent quality medical care. They are not going to get the most expensive and best doctor to attend to them. They are not going to get the most expensive medicine available for free or at a heavily subsidised price. They are not going to get all the frills and thrills that money can buy.
Subsidised patients are there to be treated just for his/her medical condition with due medical care and attention by a qualified doctor or professional. Yes, they cannot demand or choose who should treat them. They want that, they must pay for it.
They think this is a communist country where all men are equal? Stupid Singaporeans.
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7 comments:
In Singapore, no money = no talk.
Well, this is why the govt is always going to be big and powerful. People demand this and demand that.
What next? Karaoke hostess at his bed side or what?
Someone go and smack this cunt in the mouth. (but use gloves, he probably has bad germs)
what is bad here is that hospital staff seem to have the idea that a subsidized patient better don't ask for anything. that subsidized patients are second rate patients.
we do not want this kind of impression to stick do we. yes, subsidized patients are not expecting to be treated by the best doctors and given the best medicine. but they should be treated as fairly and not as beggars. there must not be any stigma just because one is a subsidized patient.
whilst i will agree that in S'pore—being a meritocracy—opportunities for the individual are more "equal" than in other cuntries—i.e. if you are good, and can do it better than others, you "win", whereas in many other cuntries you are penalised for being "better" than "others".
However—and I don't think it is because of a culture of meritocracy—people DO look down on each other, which shows that there is widespread confidence issues in the society.
In general, I have found that people who are genuinely good at what they do, and succeed, are extremely empathetic to other people who perhaps don't have the level of "skill" these gifted individuals have. A truly confident person with good degree of self-esteem, doesn't require "validation" for his self-worth or "degree of success".
The widespread lack of confidence is, IMO, due to 40 years of nanny-statism...which continues to this very day—S'poreans make HUGE DEMANDS of their government. Many folks in govt keep telling the people "hey, we can't solve everything—you have to be self-reliant"
But do S'poreans listen?
No. And it is unlikely that the majority will.
I used to think, I'm generalising here, people were incredibly RUDE in S'pore—having spent a lot of time in more "friendlier" places, like Thailand. Now I know that many of these folks lack confidence, and I rarely fail to get a smile out of anyone in S'pore, because I always smile, and then greet FIRST.
Sometimes when people complain, you have to look at how they are personally. If you are an "asshole", the world will respond to you in that way.
I have used the public medical system in S'pore—about 10 years ago when I had a painful accident whilst rollerblading. Inasmuch as I am a "private property" guy, who favours "privatisation of the planet", I have nothing but praise for the people working in the public health system—especially in the emergency room.
The system may "suck", but some of those folks working there are ACE.
P.S. That doesn't change my laissez faire world-view.
Universal healthcare, or massive amounts spent on public health is unsustainable in the long run.
When a govt interferes with a market, it "crowds out" legitimate solutions, and worst of all, diverts money resources (tax) which could have been better used by the private sector to be invested more cautiously in solving some "problem".
Even if the public health system was (truly) privatised overnight, these folks would still have jobs. The same goes for the public education system—a private education system will still need teachers.
The only difference in a free market is that those who are "better" at their jobs will probably in the LONG RUN earn more than their colleagues
It is true that you will be treated as second-rated patients when you are on subsidized treatment.
many of the hospital staff are fts. would be interesting for them to tell singaporeans that they don't deserve to be treated equally.
but as long as they received decent and adequate medical attention, they should suffice.
they want something more, just pay lor.
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