Our healthcare experience in Malaysia (part 1)

Our recent trip to Malaysia was different in so many ways. One of it was to do with healthcare. Before 'going back' to Malaysia, I've had doubts about the healthcare system there. Even though we've not used the healthcare in the UK that much but I can assure you when we do, it's always up to our satisfaction. People say cheap things have no quality, I'd beg to differ because the healthcare in UK is free (yeah we are being taxed but that's still a small amount) and still we get really good service from the healthcare people.

As most of you already know, I was contemplating on whether to give birth in Malaysia or UK this time round so, I've been asking (blogging) people about their birth experience. Alhamdulillah, I got a few feedbacks about giving birth in Malaysia. Little did I know, we got the 'chance' to experience the healthcare system in Malaysia, unfortunate event but I'm glad Alhamdulillah we experienced it first hand. No doubt I should not judge our experience to the one of giving birth as I'm sure the services are different when giving birth.

So, what did we experience? A few weeks after we arrived Malaysia, Khairaldin wasn't feeling too well. He had stomachache and was purging one whole morning. It was only 3-4 nappy change that he suffered the stomach bug but because he wasn't his active self, both Iskandar and I were worried. We then brought him to the nearest private clinic. We didn't give much thought about where we were bringing him as we thought any DR/GP will deliver the same quality, yes?..... So anyway, we were prescribed with 3 different medications- 1) fever medication (he didn't even have any fever), 2) salt drink for his dehydration (good enough), 3) medication for his tummy (we thought, great! Just what we needed).

We got home, gave him his medication for tummy and salt water thingie. He then slept straight after. Iskandar and I were pleased as we needed the break too. About an hour later, he woke up and vomited everything he had in the morning. Alright! medication's kicking in, so we thought. About an hour later, he vomited again! And it's not a small amount of vomit, it's almost as big as his size. Yes, it was a huge amount of vomit!!!! We didn't feel good so we brought him to Damansara Specialist Hospital for further check up. Waited for our turn to be seen and Khairaldin was so lethargic by then. When we saw the DR, she told us that he was really weak and need to be admitted on drips. We were expecting that anyway because he didn't want to drink or eat anything. So he was admitted. I was asked who his paediatrician was but we said we are here on holiday hence we don't have any paediatrician here in DSH/Malaysia. The DR then said ok, I'll give you the on-call paediatrician to look after him. Ok, as long as Khairaldin's in good hands (Doctors and nurses), we were fine with it. Khairaldin was put on drips and he didn't bother fighting with the nurses when they were poking him with needles etc. He was too weak by now.

Later on, the paediatrician came to see and examine him. He was sleeping at this time so she didn't want to disturb him. The paed asked us his medical history and what happened to him. She also asked us for the medication that was given by the clinic we visited in the morning. We showed her the medications and she was ok with all except one medication. It was the one supposedly for his tummyache. She told us that the medication was for older children and not for his age group. The paed made sure that we threw the medication and not to give it to him ever again. So we threw it away. We were quite upset at this point because we thought the GP was helping us to cure him!!! Alhamdulillah we only gave him once and his body reacted straight away. Otherwise we could have made situation even worse. Nauzubillahiminzalik... The paed also requested for his urine to see if he was suffering from Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). We managed to give them the urine sample around midnight since Khairaldin didn't have anything to drink except for the drips.

So, day 1 at hospital went smoothly. Khairaldin had his rest, antibiotics and paediatrician visit. Alhamdulillah we are in good hands........

 

 

Having said that, day 2 came along. The paed came in the morning to see him. She asked if everything was ok. She saw that Khairaldin was still weak so told us she'll be coming back in the evening to see if he could be discharged later in the evening or if he needs anymore medication. Even though she seemed helpful, I had to keep asking her what is wrong with Khairaldin. I also had to ask if his urine sample came back OK. After asking only she explained to me that they couldn't test his urine because it was left outside the lab for quite a while so the urine wasn't "as fresh". She then said that she needed another sample and will ask the nurse to get it from us once it's ready. I thought fine, the hospital did seem rather busy so the urine could easily be faulty. We then waited for Khairaldin to wee again and called the nurse as soon as we had the sample. We made sure that the urine was fresh enough for them. We waited for evening to come as the paediatrician promised to see us again. By 5pm we asked the nurse where the DR was, she then said "Oh! Today is actually her day off so she won't be coming in to do her evening rounds. Just mornings." Iskandar and I both thought.... "Whattttttt? Isn't there like a replacement DR? I mean, she's dealing with a child here how could she not attend to patients? At least pass the case on to a different paediatrician....right????! Well, isn't that how it's soupposed to work???" We were so furious but we didn't want to take it on the nurses. Khairaldin definitely felt much better as he can talk, sit and eat as normal. But we are stuck for another day just because it's the doctor's day off!

Day 3........ To be continued. Insha'Allah.