Caring for the dignity of patients

RECENTLY, while waiting for my blood test at the Blood Collection Centre in Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, I witnessed a scene that truly saddened me.

Many patients had been instructed to provide urine samples as part of their medical examinations. Naturally, they made their way to the toilets provided nearby.

But there was a problem.

There were only two toilets for women and two for men serving patients in that area. Unfortunately for the women, only one was usable. The other toilet had a notice pasted on the door bearing a single word, “Rosak” (damaged).

As a result, a long queue formed outside the women’s single functioning toilet. Those waiting were mostly elderly women. Some were in wheelchairs. Some looked like they could hardly stand. Yet they had no choice but to wait patiently.

Imagine their discomfort.

These are not visitors or passers-by. They are patients who came to the hospital seeking medical attention and had to use the toilets to produce the samples they had been instructed to give. Yet the very basic facility they needed was unavailable.

The elderly ladies were grumbling and complaining, but no one came forward to address the situation, at least not in all the time I was there.

Where is the sense of urgency? Where is the accountability and responsibility of those entrusted to care for these patients?

A broken toilet may appear to be a small issue to some. But to an elderly person with a weak bladder, limited mobility, or underlying health conditions, it can become an agonising ordeal.

Can the hospital authorities please have a heart for elderly folks? A simple sign saying “Rosak” is not enough. Prompt action should be taken to repair essential facilities, especially in areas serving patients who are already vulnerable and unwell.

This post is not meant to condemn, but to awaken sleeping authorities to the realities faced by ordinary patients every single day.

Sometimes, the dignity of patients is measured not by sophisticated medical equipment, but by how promptly we attend to their most basic human needs.

Can we do better? I sincerely believe we can.

ROBERT TAN

Subang Jaya, Selangor