Long wait to see govt specialist

By YENG AI CHUN

IT was a long wait for more than 200 patients at the specialist clinic in the Seberang Jaya Hospital.

Patients who started to queue up as early as 7am found themselves waiting for more than four hours to see a medical specialist.

During a check on Monday, disgruntled marketing executive M. Gopinathan, 33, who was accompanying his father S. Mariasoosay, 62, to see the orthopaedic specialist, said they had been waiting since 7.45am.

“The queue is terrible. The waiting room is packed and people have to wait outside the corridors.

Crowded: The waiting room at the specialist clinic in Seberang Jaya Hospital is packed with patients and their family members.

“Today is especially bad and the doctor only saw my father after 12pm. Usually, it would only take two hours but today, I had to tell my employer that I could not report for work as I had to wait for my father’s medical appointment,” he said when met at the hospital.

Just last month, Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai announced that he hoped to shorten the waiting time at government hospitals to 30 minutes.

Housewife Mehbuba Yusou, 28, said it was normal to wait for a long time to see a doctor.

“Sometimes the doctor sees you on time. Sometimes not, it depends on your luck but many patients cannot wait long as they have to get back to work,” said Mehbuba, who had been waiting since 7.30am.

State health director Dr Teh Lei Choo said there were more patients than usual at the hospital that day.

She said the specialist clinic saw 290 patients that Monday compared to the usual of about 220 to 240.

“We would also like to see a shorter waiting period but it is not easy due to factors like patients arriving late and physical factors such as doctors sharing rooms to see patients,” she said, adding that Mondays were the among the busiest days.

Star, 18th April 2008.