Rilek1Corner

Tag: Ministry of Health

  • Khoo Teck Puat Hospital: Sister Is Not Family, Get Out Of A&E Room

    Khoo Teck Puat Hospital: Sister Is Not Family, Get Out Of A&E Room

    Dear A.S.S. Editors

    Here’s the story about my terrible experience at KTPH. My Brother was rushed to the A&E at KTPH due to high fever, severe vomiting and chest pains. We arrived at the Hospital at 4am. While waiting, my Father asked the nurse “around what time can my Son see the doctor?” And the nurse simply glared at him and walked away.

    My Brother was still vomiting non stop and had hyperpehia due to severe pains. Did X-ray and blood test. Doctors couldn’t diagnose the problem and suspect that it is food poisoning and said that maybe can be discharged at 4pm.

    At 9am, my Brother was finally warded to the EDTU and put on IV drip. My brother’s right hands were ice cold so we asked the nurse, and the nurse said “you touch my hand, my hand also very cold.” laughed and left. So we had no idea what was going on and we waited patiently for the results.

    Finally at around 5pm, results came out. Doctor say it might be food poisoning but it cannot be confirmed. What? Then, proceeded to say that his white blood count is too high and have to do blood test again. Cannot be discharged and have to stay until tomorrow morning for further observation.

    At around 8pm the doctor said that the test results are out, the blood count has been reduced slightly but not enough to be discharged. And the x-ray shows that my Brother’s left shoulder is dislocated and have to do second x-ray. What?

    Brother was then wheeled to do the second x-ray and then the x-ray was cancelled because another doctor said it wasn’t necessary because it is just “flexible joints” and my Brother can be discharged. And that we had to wait 1 hour to get the MC and the discharge summary.

    While waiting, A&E patient relation associate Mohd Yusof came in and suddenly asked my Mother if she’s the parent. Then he asked me “who are you?” I said I’m the Sister. He said “Sister is not family, you get out” So I said “huh? Sister is family. We are waiting for him to be discharged, he will be discharged soon.” And he said “no, Sister is not family, you get out. doctor can just talk to the Mother”

    So I had to wait outside because apparently “Sister is not family” at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. Absolutely ridiculous. Terrible terrible experience at KTPH and will never go back again.

    Upset Family Member
    A.S.S. Contributor

     

    Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

  • Diabetes: The Rice You Eat Is Worse Than Sugary Drinks

    Diabetes: The Rice You Eat Is Worse Than Sugary Drinks

    The health authorities have identified one of their top concerns as they wage war on diabetes: white rice. It is even more potent than sweet soda drinks in causing the disease.

    Sharing his battle plan to reduce the risk of diabetes, Health Promotion Board chief executive Zee Yoong Kang said that obesity and sugary drinks are the major causes of the condition in the West.

    But Asians are more predisposed to diabetes than Caucasians, so people do not have to be obese to be at risk. Starchy white rice can overload their bodies with blood sugar and heighten their risk of diabetes.

    Mr Zee is armed with data. A meta- analysis of four major studies, involving more than 350,000 people followed for four to 20 years, by the Harvard School of Public Health – published in the British Medical Journal – threw up some sobering findings.

    One, it showed each plate of white rice eaten in a day – on a regular basis – raises the risk of diabetes by 11 per cent in the overall population.

    Two, it showed that while Asians, like the Chinese, had four servings a day of cooked rice, Americans and Australians ate just five a week.

    But Mr Zee does not plan to ask Singaporeans to stop eating rice, a popular feature of meals here. What he would like is to see more people turn to healthier varieties.

    Long grain white rice is also better than short grain when it comes to how it spikes blood sugar – a rise in sugar levels causes the pancreas to produce more insulin, and frequent spikes can lead to diabetes.

    He would also like people to try adding 20 per cent of brown rice to their white rice. This amount is enough to reduce their risk of diabetes by 16 per cent.”There is no need to fully replace what they now eat. Just increase the quantity of whole grain and brown rice.”

    Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said last month that this disease is already costing the country more than $1 billion a year. Diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputations in Singapore.

    Dr Stanley Liew, a diabetes expert at Raffles Hospital, advised people to eat less rice. He added that most junk food and sodas are just as bad and should be discouraged.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • MOH: No Link Found Between GBS And Sashimi Consumption

    MOH: No Link Found Between GBS And Sashimi Consumption

    The Ministry of Health (MOH) has not found any link between the Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection and consumption of sashimi-style raw fish, it said yesterday (Aug 26).

    It posted a clarification on Facebook, stating that its investigations have only found an association between GBS infections and the consumption of “yusheng” — a raw fish dish. It had earlier detected traces of the bacteria on samples of Toman fish and Song fish.

    MOH’s Facebook note comes after was alerted to a rumour being circulated via WhatsApp and SMS. The message claims one person died from a bacterial infection after eating sashimi over the Jubilee weekend and that a professor was critically ill from consuming salmon sashimi two months ago.


    Screenshot of a message circulating via WhatsApp. Photo: Channel NewsAsia

    Last month, the ministry noticed a spike in GBS cases and advised food stall holders to temporarily stop the sales of raw fish dishes using Song fish and Toman fish. A few GBS patients told Channel NewsAsia that they had painful swelling of the joints and some had to have surgery.

    The health ministry yesterday reiterated that there has been a downtrend in the number of GBS cases since mid-July, after the sale of yusheng was halted.

    “MOH would like to reiterate that GBS is a common bacterium that colonises the human gut and urinary tract. While GBS does not usually cause disease in healthy individuals, it may occasionally cause infections of the bloodstream, skin and soft tissue, joints, lungs and brain. The risk factors for GBS infection include underlying chronic or co-morbid conditions,” it said.

    “As a general precaution, vulnerable groups of people, especially young children, pregnant women, elderly persons, or people with chronic illness such as diabetes, should continue to exercise caution by avoiding raw ready-to-eat food.”

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Woman Told To Cover-Up Before Allowed To Enter Hospital Premises

    Woman Told To Cover-Up Before Allowed To Enter Hospital Premises

    PETALING JAYA: A third “sarong” incident has been making waves on the internet.

    This time, a woman had to don a towel around her waist in order to enter a public hospital.

    The woman was reportedly stopped by security at Sungai Buloh hospital visitor’s gate on June 16 for wearing shorts.

    The woman’s father then borrowed a patient’s towel from one of the hospital wards and brought it back outside for the woman to wrap around herself.

    The woman was allowed into the compound only after covering her knees with the borrowed towel. It is believed that when questioned, the guards answered that the ruling was an instruction from the Health Ministry.

    Hospital Dress Code

    Among the images circulated was one of the woman wearing a yellow towel standing in front of a sign which listed the hospital dress code. Among the prohibited items of clothing are sleeveless tank tops, short shorts or short skirts. Long pants are allowed. The dress codes for both men and women are also available on the hospital’s website.

    On Monday, two women, a journalist and Selangor resident, were forced to wear sarongs to enter the Selangor State Secretariat building.

    In another incident on June 8, a woman was denied entry into the Gombak Road Transport Department (JPJ) office for wearing a skirt above her knee and was asked to wear a sarong for service.

     

    Source: www.thestar.com.my

  • Supermarket Chain Pledge No Tobacco Sales Today

    Supermarket Chain Pledge No Tobacco Sales Today

    Supermarket chains Cold Storage, Jasons, Market Place, NTUC FairPrice, Prime Supermarket and Sheng Siong have joined in the fight against tobacco use in support of World No Tobacco Day this year by voluntarily not selling tobacco products on Sunday (May 31).

    This year, HPB launched its annual National Tobacco Control campaign, I Quit, at a walkathon event on Saturday, which saw approximately 300 participants pledging to lead a smoke-free life to mark World No Tobacco Day.

    Participants were joined by Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Parliamentary Secretary for Health, who flagged off the event, held at West Coast Park on Saturday afternoon.

    I Quit, a national anti-smoking social movement was introduced by HPB in 2011. HPB said in 2014, I Quit garnered increasing interest, with 10,000 smokers signing up for the “I Quit 28-Day Countdown”, a 570 per cent increase from the inaugural I Quit 2011 edition. Fifty-seven per cent of those who participated in 2014 now smoke less or have successfully quit smoking.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com