Oranges and Lemons

Bonus Bogus Story

Singapore –

Average Hospital will replace the old number-based queue system at its outpatient clinics with a system based on fruits from next month onwards.

Mr Lam Boo Tan, manager of the hospital’s IT department announced this today at a press conference.

‘We received feedback from our clinic staff and clients that the old number-based queue system is a source of stress for both parties. We have displayed prominent signs to inform our clients that queue numbers may not be called in sequence, but oftentimes they will still inquire at registration or enter the consultation room before their number has been called to confirm when they see another number called before theirs. This disrupts clinic function and causes delay for all parties concerned.’

The new system, now under pilot in one of the clinics, uses a sequence of four icons of fruits instead of numerals. The icons are not assigned a specific numerical value, but are assigned in numerical sequence using a patented encoding system to ensure no duplication.

As there is no predictable pattern to the sequence the fruits are displayed in, patients can only know if their turn to see the doctor has come up by matching the fruits displayed on the display screen with those on their chits.

So far the system has received positive feedback from the staff and patients.

‘We have encountered some problems with confusion over oranges and lemons due to their similar appearance, but we will be customising the display to use familiar local fruits like durians and papayas before we implement this system hospital-wide.’ said Mr Lam.