I went for an emergency treatment at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Unit of the Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong on New Year Eve!
We went to Macau on holiday for a few days. I disembarked from the coach at the Macau Ferry Terminal when returning to Hong Kong. I tried to use my right leg to stand up from my seat and suddenly I had a very sharp pain. I rested for a while until the pain eased, and I managed to come back to Hong Kong afterwards. But the next morning at New Year Eve, it hurt very badly whenever my right leg touched the ground. I was worried that I might have a bone fracture given my age. So I was escorted by my family to the Queen Mary Hospital for an emergency treatment.
After I registered at the reception of the A&E, I was shortly directed to the Triage section for an initial assessment. I was classified as Grade 4 severity (Grade 1 being the most serious which will be given top priority treatment whereas Grade 5 is regarded as non-urgent and will be turned away by A&E), and was asked to wait in the waiting area until called. There were some others in the waiting area who also seemed to be of low severity like me. During the time waiting, we saw other more serious patients urgently brought in by ambulances, and we observed the A&E staff attending to them quickly with due medical care. So we watched and waited willingly and patiently.
I was later called into one of the A&E cubicle to see the doctor. She asked me in detail what happened and how I felt, and examined my right leg. She then directed me to the X-ray section for X-rays. Luckily the X-rays showed no bone fracture but some bony out-growth in my right knee. The doctor said my case looked to be some bone inflammation on the knee, and prescibed me some medications. She felt the bony out-growth in the knee position is quite uncommon and suggested me to make an appointment with the Orthopaedics Department for a follow-up consultation. I said to her that I would only be in Hong Kong for a few more days and might not have enough time for the appointment. She then kindly wrote me a reference letter and reminded me to visit my doctor upon return to Australia. I was charged $100 for the whole visit including consultation, X-rays and medications.
Despite we have heard so much negative reports on public hospital services from the Hong Kong media, my own personal experience above in Queen Mary Hospital has been highly positive. The doctors, nurses and hospital staff were all attentive, caring and professional. The medical procedures were well organized, efficient and effective. The A&E set-up was systematic, neat and well equipped. The fairly low medical charge reflected high level of subsidy by the Hong Kong Government. I have to say the overall service has been extremely impressive by every standards.
While sometimes we should criticize on matters in order to forge on improvements, but over-reporting on negative aspects would be counter-productive. We should look more to the bright side and at times show appropriate and deserved appreciations whenever situations warrant. This will make people feel rewarded, reinforce staff morale and confidence and thus further help to improve the overall performance. In return, we can have a even better hospital service in our community.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
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