Thursday, February 16, 2006

Very Very Impatient People

Recently one of the issues that came up in the news was how some VVIPs were abusing the medical centers in Putrajaya.
Putrajaya Hospital Being Abused By VIPs, Says Chua

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 (
Bernama) -- Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said today the Putrajaya Hospital is being abused by people claiming to be Very Important Persons (VIPs) and demanding "special treatment" when they seek consultation.He said that based on complaints by the hospital's medical officers, some of the doctors had been receiving four to five VIPs daily, who insisted on being seen by a doctor for outpatient treatment without following the usual procedure."There are people who claim they are VIPs, they cut queue, they don't want to be registered and they want to be seen straightaway. That's the issue. So the issue of VIP should not arise. The issue is that they don't follow the right procedure as a patient," he said.

Though sickening, for some reason I wasn't too surprised to read that. Considering how entitled some so-called VIPs already feel. I was horrified though, to read of Dr. Cheah's story of how specialists were made to leave their patients and drive 30 mins to treat a VIP with a minor rash.
Aside from the sense of entitlement and impatience, another factor, I feel, is their lack of understanding of how the system works, or perhaps they simply don't care. I.e: "I don't care if the healthcare sector is lacking, as long as I get what I want." I think the same applies to traffic... after all, all they need is a police outrider team, so why would they care about congestion in KL?

Anyway. My response, though edited, was printed today in the Letters to the Editor section. So, if I suddenly disappear, will someone please get me a lawyer (piffles... help!) and look me up at ISA detention?