'I paid for the consultation fee': Local singer says doctor should have done more

Have standards slipped, or are we asking for more than what healthcare workers can give?

In an Instagram video post on Thursday (May 4), local singer Rao Zijie shared an experience he had with a neighbourhood general practitioner (GP) that left him wondering if he deserved better.

Down with a cough and sore throat, Zijie, 33, went to see the GP for medical assistance at about 8pm.

"The doctor asked me, 'What happened to you?' and I told him, 'I have a sore throat, I think I lost my voice and I'm coughing, especially at night.'

"He didn't give any response and instructed me to sit down and open my mouth, so I did. He shone a light down my mouth and without saying anything else, asked me, 'Do you need MC (medical certificate)?"

Zijie shared that this interaction left him confused and wondering if he was there to see a doctor or to collect an MC.

He added that he had to specifically ask for a diagnosis before the doctor told him what he was down with.

He said in the video: "I feel that as a patient seeing a doctor, regardless of whether we have a serious illness or a light one, we deserve to know what happened to us.

"And because I paid for the consultation fee, there's a need to let me know what exactly happened to my body.

"Even though it's just a sore throat, as a doctor you should give us some assurance so that us patients can feel better… when we're sick, the only ones we can rely on are doctors."

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Comments on Zijie's post sympathised with him, with many sharing their own anecdotes of disappointing encounters with doctors.

Said one: "I've also come across a doctor who asked me what medicine I want to take — should I have asked him to pay for consulting me?"

Another also commented: "The clinic opposite my old house was also like that! The doctor really sits there, says two words then collects money."

However, some users also felt that this wasn't a common occurrence and advised Zijie to look for doctors in other clinics.

Burnout?

Burnout in healthcare workers has become a significant problem, especially amid the Covid-19 crisis since three years ago.

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A study released last year on the pandemic and its effects on healthcare workers stated that about 75 per cent of participants felt exhausted while 79 per cent reported disengagement from their jobs.

Additionally, it was reported that medical professionals who experience burnout are likely to exhibit decreased compassion toward those in their care.

During the Omicron surge last year, the KK Women's and Children's Hospital was overwhelmed by the sheer number of patients showing up at the hospital.

"As you make plans for your happy hour on Friday night, will you remember us? I haven't had a day off in more than three weeks," read the text in a webtoon sympathising with healthcare workers last year.

"Honestly, I have never thought of myself as a hero. I feel like I am just plain, old, tired, me; a person standing at the end of the road," another page in the webtoon stated.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com

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