tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post113766210159920181..comments2024-03-05T00:59:35.390+08:00Comments on Angry Doctor: Anatomy of a Complaint Letterangry dochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03132410467147982699noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-84397580436549593912021-11-11T00:50:10.995+08:002021-11-11T00:50:10.995+08:00I am really happy to say it’s an interesting post ...I am really happy to say it’s an interesting post to read. Good work. Keep it up. Get information about <a href="https://therapyhouse.co.uk/" rel="nofollow">ALMA HARMONY XL PRO</a>.Therapy Househttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05807381103117736602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-64044738875816889352012-07-04T01:11:09.436+08:002012-07-04T01:11:09.436+08:00I know site I stopped swallowing http://www.stopfa...I know <a href="http://stopfatgain.com" rel="nofollow">site</a> I stopped swallowing <a href="http://stopfatau.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.stopfatau.com</a> paper clips when I entered medical school – they were just too expensive at the CO-OP.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-85853708885936613212012-07-03T02:26:07.309+08:002012-07-03T02:26:07.309+08:00Dangerous doctor: Hello Once I went to the country...Dangerous doctor: Hello Once I went to the country, Sri Lanka and I fell ill. I was recommended the following doctor Dr Lanka Wijesena of the Australian Medical Centre, 56/3 Horton Place. The doctor neither could figure out what I had no had the humility to accept her inability. She continued to give me more blood results without any avail. I consulted a different doctor who said that I was suffering from dengue and advised me to bed rest. My life could have been at risk due to her incompetency.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1138783835449328012006-02-01T16:50:00.000+08:002006-02-01T16:50:00.000+08:00Argh! xrays...it's worst for alternative medicine ...Argh! xrays...it's worst for alternative medicine as chiropractors aint even properly recognise in Sg and the hassle of loaning the xrays from hospitals are way worst!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1138273314891089792006-01-26T19:01:00.000+08:002006-01-26T19:01:00.000+08:00Feel free to give me your lecture at my blog then....Feel free to give me your lecture at my blog then. It is not a problem to me :)<BR/><BR/>www.drozbloke.blogspot.comDr Oz blokehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00876294124443628182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1138258324921981392006-01-26T14:52:00.000+08:002006-01-26T14:52:00.000+08:00On the contrary, prepared long essay regarding you...On the contrary, prepared long essay regarding your comments. However, it's rude to hijack a medical blog to give you a lecture on HR. So, I kept quiet lorr. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1138243462702430992006-01-26T10:44:00.000+08:002006-01-26T10:44:00.000+08:00Interesting, anonymous from HR had nothing to say ...Interesting, anonymous from HR had nothing to say about my comments.<BR/><BR/>'nuff saidDr Oz blokehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00876294124443628182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137982328568333782006-01-23T10:12:00.000+08:002006-01-23T10:12:00.000+08:00Dear anonymous from the HR department of an MNC,I'...Dear anonymous from the HR department of an MNC,<BR/><BR/>I've spoken to a couple of my classmates who are in various organizations, ranging from MNCs, to civil service, to stat boards to private firms etc<BR/><BR/>Many of them are in positions to influence or dictate the career progression of staff in their organizations.<BR/><BR/>They have frankly admitted that the decisions to promote staff are all based on very subjective opinions.<BR/><BR/>One friend who worked in a very prominent governmental organization said that they did actually try once to rank all the eligibile staff according to points. However at the end of the exercise they all looked at the rankings and felt it wasn't right. The top person based on scores of performance, team work, punctuality etc etc was not what they "felt" the top performer. Hence the whole ranking was torn up and they just went on to discuss/vote/agree Person A number 1? Person B number 2? and so on.<BR/><BR/>Personally I don't believe in HR. Life is all about human relationships and their developments. There is no such thing as equality.<BR/><BR/>HR's job is actually to be there to say such things as "HR's role is to ensure that everyone is treated fairly in the process" to gullible staff who form the majority. This ensures that the truth can never be proven because there is "existence" of the HR department. But in truth and in practicality all the literature written in the HR books are merely guides and evidence to protect the image and facade.<BR/><BR/>Of course as a member of the HR fraternity you would never admit what I have alleged is true or else you guys would lose your jobs.<BR/><BR/>But I KNOW what I have written is true. Personally I had used this knowledge to my advantage far more than once during my time in the hospitals.Dr Oz blokehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00876294124443628182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137931244708659072006-01-22T20:00:00.000+08:002006-01-22T20:00:00.000+08:00"Health care workers certainly lack EQ and their I..."Health care workers certainly lack EQ and their IQ and PQ is certainly not up there either."<BR/><BR/>What exactly is this based on uglybaldie? I'm sorry if this seems to have been your experience so far, but it's an unjustified and offensive generalisation to apply this to all health care workers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137925659213062402006-01-22T18:27:00.000+08:002006-01-22T18:27:00.000+08:00John, you authoritarian paternalist - what's wrong...John, you authoritarian paternalist - what's wrong with a little feedback? :)<BR/><BR/>Let me reply in a long and rambling manner...<BR/><BR/>Offhand I can think of 3 types of complaint against doctors:<BR/><BR/>The first and the most serious one is one filed with the Medical Council.<BR/><BR/>There is actually a system in place to protect doctors against frivolous complaints in that in this case the complainant has to file a statutory declaration before the Medical Council will investigate the case. These are for cases of misconduct, malpractice, and physical or mental 'unfitness' to practice. The committee that does the preliminary investigation is made up of 3 doctors and 1 layman.<BR/><BR/>Then there is the internal system of the medical establishment, being feedback forms, hotlines, and emails. I suppose different organisations have different ways of handling these complaints, but I suspect their priority is to ensure that these do not escalate to a formal complaint to the Medical Council, or into a lawsuit. It is probably not profitable to tell a complainant his or her complaint is frivolous and would be dismissed.<BR/><BR/>Then there is the open letter to the press. This is to me most 'damaging' as the audience has no other source of information on the complaint at the time of receiving the information, and there is no onus on the writer to substatiate his or her statements. I do not know if the press conduct their own investigation to verify the facts.<BR/><BR/>We had a case a while back where a complainant got the dates and even the hospital involved wrong in the letter! No defamation suit was filed in response.<BR/><BR/>In this case the organisation involved will need to write a reply to the press before the matter gets blown up (or blows over, in which case everyone will only remember the bad press and ignore the late reply).<BR/><BR/>These reply letters have their own pattern or anatomy, which I hope to write on when the reply to our current complaint is published in a few days.<BR/><BR/>Personally I think a published reply is also fraught with peril as it runs the risk of breaching patient confidentiality. Discussing the patient's diagnosis in what is essentially an open gossip forum is not a smart legal move, especially if some of the facts contained therein may later become material in a court of law.<BR/><BR/>I suppose there is a cost to all this, although I do not know what it runs to. But as it stands I don't think I will root for the alternative of NOT having an avenue of complaint other than a court of law, or NOT having every complaint looked into and risk having a repeat systemic or human fault escape un-noticed until it blows up in our face (google 'Singapore NKF scandal' for a slightly related topic).<BR/><BR/>Our system is one of co-payment for those who wish to enjoy government subsidies:<BR/><BR/>http://www.moh.gov.sg/corp/financing/overview.do<BR/><BR/>Those who wish for free healthcare may apply for further assistance.angry dochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03132410467147982699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137897994424594952006-01-22T10:46:00.000+08:002006-01-22T10:46:00.000+08:00Dr Oz Bloke,Typically, in a MNC, the HR does not d...Dr Oz Bloke,<BR/><BR/>Typically, in a MNC, the HR does not decide who to promote during performance review time. It is the Line Mgr or Dept Head. HR's role is to ensure that everyone is treated fairly in the process. The Line Mgr has to be prepared with good justification on his recomendation, because he/she is the one who gives feedback to the individual, not HR.<BR/><BR/>(I don't work in a hospital, so don't know the performance mgt system in a hospital setup.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137892897804377152006-01-22T09:21:00.000+08:002006-01-22T09:21:00.000+08:00"As much as I dislike getting them (and angry doc ..."As much as I dislike getting them (and angry doc has received his far share of complaint letters) I think we should keep the system."<BR/><BR/>Way to go, doc. <BR/><BR/>THERE IS NO SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE!<BR/><BR/>If I were the Hospital Administrator, every complaint about ANYONE will be thoroughly investigated. The negligent recalcitrant will be counselled. The rude quack will be sent to courses on "How to win Friends and Influence People", the really incorrigible incompetent nincompoop will be transferred to Changi Hilton to serve in the infirmary.uglybaldiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17183609238273593550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137892533820223892006-01-22T09:15:00.000+08:002006-01-22T09:15:00.000+08:00" Whenever I used to read complaint letters like t..." Whenever I used to read complaint letters like this, my thoughts would go back to the few Thai construction workers I had the privilege to attend to. Very stoic, always smiling and always grateful to whatever treatment given, no matter the amount of pain involved. Made me feel shameful of complaining about lesser things."<BR/><BR/>What naivete?<BR/><BR/>So is the way Singaporeans view doctors circa 40 years ago.<BR/><BR/>So is the way some Banana Republic African nations view doctors before and now.<BR/><BR/>So is the way the people of Indonesia and Timor Leste view doctors before and now.<BR/><BR/>So is the way some isolated and impoverished provinces in China view doctors before and now.<BR/><BR/>Wake up to the new reality. Doctors are just nursing assistants of the Creator, whoever HE is. He says you go, you go. He says you stay, you stay.uglybaldiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17183609238273593550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137860912807469642006-01-22T00:28:00.000+08:002006-01-22T00:28:00.000+08:00One problem that I have with the "system" is that ...One problem that I have with the "system" is that the complaint letters are handled by administrators who may have no experience on the ground and no understanding of the day to day running systems of doctors and health care workers.<BR/><BR/>These admininstrators usually view complaint letters as extra, unwanted work for them created by insensitive and poor performing doctors and health care workers. They would rather be sitting around waiting for complaints that never come because everything is just so perfect and good. No work with salary, what a dream come true. But then the complaint letter comes "Urgh why the doctor like that *shake head*"<BR/><BR/>Very often the doctor or health care worker mentioned in the letter would be viewed negatively by the admin staff and negative feedback would be given to his/her superior and a black mark lodged in his report card.<BR/><BR/>Put it this way, if you were HR and it was promotion exercise time, and there were 2 doctors who were equally performing as well except for one difference : one with 1 complaint letter that year and the other with no complaint letters at all that year. Well even if the complaint letter was "unwarranted" how would you rank the two?<BR/><BR/>It goes to show that most doctors and adminstrators would simply want a ZERO complaint letter year than not. Trust me I'm sure what I've written above is more the reality than what you have suggested.Dr Oz blokehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00876294124443628182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137849891513801172006-01-21T21:24:00.000+08:002006-01-21T21:24:00.000+08:00As much as I dislike getting them (and angry doc h...As much as I dislike getting them (and angry doc has received his far share of complaint letters) I think we should keep the system.<BR/><BR/>To me, having to answer ten 'unwarranted' letters is worthwhile to catch the one 'warranted' letter that will help us improve.<BR/><BR/>I try to put myself on the other side - if I have a genuine wish for the system to change, wouldn't I want a ready and easy system to make my thoughts known? A form, or an email address or a hotline with someone on the other end who will respond with minimal delay?<BR/><BR/>What you need to do is to look at complaint letters un-emotionally and separate the various grouses tagged onto the primary complaint, and see if any wrong had indeed been committed. Not an easy task as the first reaction when complaint against is to lash back.angry dochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03132410467147982699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137849296881456872006-01-21T21:14:00.000+08:002006-01-21T21:14:00.000+08:00'Front-line' workers almost invariably bear the br...'Front-line' workers almost invariably bear the brunt because even when a 'customer' is unhappy with a policy, the more natural reaction is to put a human face to it, and guess whose is the nearest around? :)<BR/><BR/>Children are strange creatures... they think Roald Dahl stories are funny and not scary...angry dochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03132410467147982699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137849082210161432006-01-21T21:11:00.000+08:002006-01-21T21:11:00.000+08:00It's just this mentality of wanting the best servi...It's just this mentality of wanting the best service/treatment while not recognising what truely is happening and that most medical staff are actually trying their best (even when post-call at 5pm) to help them or their relatives.<BR/><BR/>Granted that feedback is necessary but i feel most will just clog up the system and bog down the staff as they have to "answer" to their actions.minimanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04642736184374001200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137821005728877062006-01-21T13:23:00.000+08:002006-01-21T13:23:00.000+08:00I work with kids. One of my students spilled some...I work with kids. One of my students spilled something on his pants and proceeded to have a meltdown. Like screaming hysterically, runny nose, laying across the table.....When I rushed over in "emergency mode" and found out what had happened, I exclaimed loudly- Are you killed?- No, he assured me. I cleaned him up and was TEASING when I asked him again if he was sure he wasn't dead. He was starting to smile and when I asked him if he was sure I didn't have to take him out to the playground and bury him in the sand, he was laughing and teasing back. Unfortunately, a parent from another class heard this exchange, and apparently missed the hugs, pats on the back, and soothing that was ALSO going on, and reported me to the office because HE was disturbed. Now, this is what I would call exaggeration- which teaches a child humour and brevity and the importance of keeping things in perspective. At NO time would I have proceeded with teasing him had I thought he was uncomfortable and afraid. And, these are the kids who during our dinosaur unit all drew me being eaten by a dinosaur- while they bravely saved me. They have imagination and humour and a sense of fun that in a group of mainly boys is quite vivid. I don't think that I acted terribly. Thankfully I was not disciplined, but I do not like strange parents around any more. <BR/><BR/>The parents in the class are the people who tell me that their children adore me- teasing and exaggeration and all. I am the lady who makes ambulance sounds when there is a playground oops.<BR/><BR/>My point is policy and style are two different issues. Get over the style, as no-one is the same as another- and attack fiercely the policy. If someone is being rude or evil talk to them immediately, and don't hide behind a letter or an anonymous complaint. <BR/><BR/>And realize that children are much more resilient than we give them credit for being.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137817664547554852006-01-21T12:27:00.000+08:002006-01-21T12:27:00.000+08:00Whenever I used to read complaint letters like thi...Whenever I used to read complaint letters like this, my thoughts would go back to the few Thai construction workers I had the privilege to attend to. Very stoic, always smiling and always grateful to whatever treatment given, no matter the amount of pain involved. Made me feel shameful of complaining about lesser things.andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14400443130263204788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137773398200412322006-01-21T00:09:00.000+08:002006-01-21T00:09:00.000+08:00I've met such patients more often than I can recal...I've met such patients more often than I can recall. After having read their complaint letters I more often than not drop them into the paper shredder. After having done that, one thought always comes to mind and makes the rest of my day go easier:<BR/><BR/>"Jesus, I'm glad I'm not married to her. At least, I can go home at 4 o'clock."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137772285296826962006-01-20T23:51:00.000+08:002006-01-20T23:51:00.000+08:00Tink the radiologist is trying to calm the worried...Tink the radiologist is trying to calm the worried patient down, but maybe a bad way. hehe<BR/><BR/>i myself encounter some unhappiness with the nurses at the hospital too...<BR/><BR/><BR/>arrghh.. forget it. hahaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137766372555511042006-01-20T22:12:00.000+08:002006-01-20T22:12:00.000+08:00Uglybaldie, i hope u get cancer and die. Yours sin...Uglybaldie, i hope u get cancer and die. Yours sincerely, someone who really wants u to shut up and die.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137751139617623132006-01-20T17:58:00.000+08:002006-01-20T17:58:00.000+08:00It's Dr Dork, thank you. ha haJust kidding.It is a...It's Dr Dork, thank you. ha ha<BR/><BR/>Just kidding.<BR/><BR/>It is a common saying, quintessentially that those who complain the loudest are often attended to more promptly, regardless of the relative merit of their complaint.Dr Dorkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00038767903911860667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137735124836923402006-01-20T13:32:00.000+08:002006-01-20T13:32:00.000+08:00Hey goofy doc,What is the riddle?Can't you speak s...Hey goofy doc,<BR/><BR/>What is the riddle?<BR/><BR/>Can't you speak simple english. Here in Singapore, we are pretty dumb ok?uglybaldiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17183609238273593550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15575652.post-1137729443363994132006-01-20T11:57:00.000+08:002006-01-20T11:57:00.000+08:00Suit yourself.But I still think you're on the edge...Suit yourself.<BR/><BR/>But I still think you're on the edge and around the fringe.<BR/><BR/>Tell you what. Buy a punching bag. Give it a few whacks like Rocky or my idol, Muhamad Ali everytime you feel you are like a mouse climbing up a wheel and getting no where.<BR/><BR/>Muhamad Ali, the Greatest, Man.<BR/><BR/>Dances Like a Butterfly and stings like a Bee. The greatest, forever!uglybaldiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17183609238273593550noreply@blogger.com