Doctor is The Worse Job in Malaysia. My Experience as A Patient

 

Doctor is the worst job in Malaysia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1wBun6A4bk&list=TLPQMzEwODIwMjSHvq8ehJekyQ&index=2

When I was a small boy, those big brothers far more senior to me in school told me fairy tales that to be a doctor is a very noble profession. I listened to their fairy tales like those Big Pharma Boys telling the doctors about their products that can “cure” any disease.

Those big boys told me to be a doctor is a very noble profession because they not only save lives, but also do a lot of charitable work by giving free treatment, free medicine, free money, free food if you are hungry, free lodging if you have nowhere to stay

They even told me the doctors are so kind and charitable that when you are sick and unable to go to them or to the hospital, they will immediately rush over to your house to give you an injection all for free. There was no need to pay them for that. It was all free and so all their fairy tales they bla, bla, bla into my innocent and ignorant ears.  I listened to all their fairy tales with an open mouth, staring at the ceiling fan rotating round and round till I felt asleep

Then on waking up I thought I should also want to be a doctor because it is such a charitable and noble profession where I could get everything free, with so much money that I could even give away free treatment, free medicine, free consultation. In that case  I will never be hungry or need anything else.

Unfortunately, those big boys’ storytellers did not tell me where the doctors managed to get so much money that they could give out everything for free - free treatment, free medicine, free advice, free food, free clothing, free lodging …bla, bla, bla whoever wanted them. That part they didn’t tell me, and I didn’t even ask as I was so innocent and ignorant as a small boy.  So, now every student also got cheated rushing to study medicine to be a doctor as it is so “lucrative”.

Then 20 years ago long after I retired as a medical researcher,  my former boss Tan Sri Dr M Jega told me, while I were sitting down with him and Toh Puan Dato' Seri Hajjah Dr. Aishah Ong  who was the Chairlady of University Hospital at the University of Malaya in the same table  having dinner together at a function at Lake Club,  that over 800 private clinics in the country were forced to close down as they can no longer maintain them with them competing with each other for patients, plus the  very high cost of running a clinic with so few patients when all the patients prefer to crowd the government clinics and hospitals for free treatment where they get everything free using tax-payers money. 

I was told by Tan Sri Dr Jega, my former boss, that it requires between RM 20,000 to RM 30,000 per month to maintain a clinic so much so that a lot of doctors do not own their own clinic. The clinics are owned by businessmen who employ these doctors to work there either  full time or on locum. 

Now there are also so many private clinics all over the country, especially in Kuala Lumpur that you see 2 to 3 clinics on the same street, sometimes they are just next door to each other that you do not know which one to choose. Then the clinics will compete with each other for patients.

 

Then their fee is so high for a simple ailment like cough and colds in order to maintain the clinic. Unfortunately, the more the doctors charge, the lesser the patients would go to them. They will all go away to crowd the government clinics or hospitals where they get everything free despite the long queue they don't mind. That was 20 years ago. The situation is even far worse now.

Unlike other graduates in other areas who can do any other jobs, doctors are not trained for this. They can only treat sick people. They cannot become an engineer, a lawyer, a judge, a businessman, a surveyor, a pilot, an entrepreneur, an accountant or in any other professions or job. They can’t even become a scientist, an analytical chemist or even a microbiologist working in a laboratory. They are clinicians not scientists. Their only job is just to treat patients, and nothing more they are trained to diversify.

Now many of these students went to study medicine. See what happen to them now when they have no permanent job or income

Many years ago, I read in the Malay Mail newspaper of a British doctor who became a plumber. Ask why he switched job; he said as a plumber in the UK he earned 5 times more as a plumber than a doctor

As I said, those fairy tales tellers told me the doctors were so very kind, noble and charitable that when you are sick and unable to go to them, they will quickly rush over to your house to give you an injection, all for free.

Now let me tell you, my story. I have had this intractable venous stasis leg ulcer for over 10 years now. I underwent two surgeries for this problem they promised could “cure” me, but it didn’t, it became worse instead.

I have to go to Kuala Lumpur Hospital (KLH) twice a week for regular dressing for a non-healing wound. Those vascular surgeons promised me their two operations I underwent would heal my wound. But never did even after the last one over a year ago. In fact, it is worse now after all those two surgeries, wound care and countless kinds of medications they gave.  

Then last week KLH told me to go to the health clinic near my place which is in Jalan Enam, Gombak to get the dressing temporary as they have some workshops on for two weeks after which I go back to them again.

Here's my experience at that health clinic in Gombak. I went there at 8 am last Monday. I waited for 2 (two) hours for the nurse at the counter just to call my name to go to a room to take my blood pressure that has no relevance to my retinue wound dressing. I have to wait for nearly another one hour just to get my blood pressure measured by a nurse in a room. After that they told me to see the doctor in another room.

There I waited for another over one hour just to see that doctor even though this was really unnecessary as I already have a letter from KLH to get my dressing done straight away as a temporary measure at the health clinic in Gombak, just besides the Gombak Police Station. 

When I finally saw the doctor. She just read the referral letter from KLH in less than 5 minutes to ask me to go straight to the dressing room which took me another 30 minutes waiting time. The lady doctor didn’t even bother to look at my wounds. She just asked me to go to the dressing room. 

Finally, the nurse called me in, and it took only less than 10 minutes for the male nurse to clean and bandage up my wound. It was done hurriedly and inefficiently.

Actually, all these red tapes are totally unnecessary. I have already got a referral letter from KL Hospital to go for dressing at a health clinic. All I needed to do was to go straight to the dressing room straight, show the letter to the nurse to get my dressing changed. That should only take 10 minutes. Why make me wait for 5 hours just to change my dressing? This is highly irrational and unacceptable. Why do I need to wait for 2 hours for the counter nurse to ask me to go to a certain room to get my blood pressure measured that has nothing to do with my wound or dressing? Why do I need to wait for another one hour just for them to measure my blood pressure that has no relationship with my change of dressing? This kind of red tape is highly irrelevant.   

By the time I got out from the health clinic it was already nearly 1 pm. I went there at 8 am just to get a very, very simple wound dressing. That was a 5 hour “procedure” for a simple routine change of dressing. I could do this at home far more efficiently within less than 30 minutes. I will never go to them anymore though they gave me the next appointment today, Friday, 5 September. I shall dress my own wound at home tomorrow Saturday morning. The only thing I do not have are all those dressing materials, cotton buds, gauzes, foam pads, bandage and 3M tapes. But I have a pair of dressing forceps, cups and bowels and sterile boiled water. Now KL Hospital supplies these materials to me once a week for me to dress my own wound at home. I requested these. Else, I can buy them from a pharmacy. 

There is clearly something very drastically wrong with our government healthcare services with such a long, long waiting time - 5 hours for a simple treatment like just to change my wound dressing. 

But those big boys told me when I was an innocent small boy that when I am sick and unable to go to the hospital or clinic the doctors would instantly without any delay rush over to my house to give me an injection? But they did not tell me what was that injection for? 

Now that I know medicine, maybe an injection of benzodiazepine like diazepam or Valium to send me to sleep for asking and demanding too much? Ha! ha! ha! 

I think everybody is lying and cheating each other like a medical scam, wasting each other's precious time. 

Now you know why this video tells us doctors’ job is the worse in Malaysia

Have a good read, have fun and a good laugh