The Health Clinic at Tanah Putih is unable to cope with the number of patients that it has to attend to. Therefore all patients have to wait in the tent before they can enter the clinic.
Last Thursday on 14 July 2022, I went to the Tanah Putih Health Clinic with my autistic son Jonathan for a blood test. The doctor's appointment will be on 21 July 2022, a week later. When the doctor first mentioned the blood test, I had already informed him that Jonathan will not be cooperative and that he will need to be restrained in order to draw blood from him. I also mentioned that previous attempts to draw blood from Jonathan have not been successful. The doctor duly made a note on the blood test request form.
The appointment for the blood test was 8 am and I arrived about 15 minutes earlier accompanied by my maid. I also brought snacks to distract Jonathan. The Tanah Putih Health Clinic is quite small and the number of patients that seek treatment is way beyond its capacity. There is a big tent with plastic chairs that have been erected outside the clinic. Therefore patients have to wait here for their turn before even being allowed to enter the clinic. We waited at the tent for about an hour before entering the clinic. Once inside the clinic, it took about another hour for registration and more waiting before Jonathan was called.
I must also point out that the clinic is overcrowded and it is operating way beyond its capacity. I am so thankful that Jonathan was able to wait for two hours.
Anyway, when Jonathan's turn was called, I explained my situation to the nurse. The nurse told me that in another room, Room 14. But this room is also crowded with people with wheelchairs and those resting in beds. The back story is that Jonathan has been vaccinated against Covid 19 three times. During these times, he has to be restrained by at least 3 people before the injection can be given. Therefore Jonathan can sense something and refused to enter the room. I tried to bribe with snacks, cajole him, and even spoke in a stern voice, but Jonathan will not budge. This commotion has attracted a lot of stares from people in the clinic.
After exhausting all possibilities, I entered room 14 and informed the nurse that Jonathan will cooperate and requested that she made a note so that I can show it to the doctor. The nurse said that she was unable to do that and that I need to inform the doctor myself. So I brought Jonathan to see the doctor but he was busy attending to his patients.
In the meantime, I managed to coax Jonathan to enter room 14. I asked the nurse whether I could hold Jonathan while he is standing so that the nurse can take the blood. The nurse said this could not be done as she has to think of her own safety. I understand and I managed to get him to sit on the chair. However, each time the nurse approached, Jonathan would struggle and get off the chair. The nurse then suggested getting Jonathan to try to lay on the bed and she can use the restrain on him. However much I coaxed him, Jonathan refused to lay down on the bed.
I think that I had spent at least half an hour in the room. All this while, there were also patients in the room. The commotion with Jonathan has also affected the other nurses and a doctor's ability to attend to other patients. In meantime, Jonathan is getting more scared and agitated. I felt that I had my best and there is no point to prolong this ordeal any longer. As such, I made a second request to the nurse to just made a note to say Jonathan was uncooperative and blood could not be taken. Again she replied that she is just a nurse and she can't write the note, only a doctor has that authority. Since there was a doctor in the room, the nurse requested the doctor to write. Right in front of me, an argument ensued between the nurse and the doctor.
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. All this while I have been keeping my cool and my request for the note is not unreasonable. I lost my temper and shouted at both the nurse and doctor. Upon seeing that, the doctor hurriedly prepared the note and I stormed off the room.
It is very sad to see that the health clinic is very unequipped in terms of facilities and trained manpower to take care of people with disability. But the Association and I have to do a lot of work to advocate for better facilities for people with autism.
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Morning.. sorry to hear about ur ordeal with the small clinic.. It must have been really frustrating to be there. I think the government should expand health facilities to better accommodate everyone.. Sometimes, I think doctors also are overworked and may lose focus ..
Yes, a lot of improvement need to be made. It is in a bad state.
I feel your pain as we have been thru this as well. We have a daughter with a disability, autism spectrum. At least the hospitals here have better trained staff, but it’s still not easy. Best wishes!
It is not an easy journey and we need support where possible. Thank you for your kind comments.
I understand it is very stressful and you are going to make a lot of changes here in the future from these negative experiences.
There is actually a huge amount of people out there blowing and ready to help if you start making steps towards changing this.
It would be a lot more amazing if these health providers could work for you and have the experience knowledge and the specialization.
I understand these situations are very difficult however sometimes you need to let people understand how things are making you feel.
Some people say that conflict is not bad I actually think that conflict can be good depending on how it is approached and resolved.
Hopefully you have an amazing day today.
There is still a lot more work to be done to advocate for better and more services for autistic people. They need all the support that they can get and if we are able to collaborate with the health care services that would be the best option to pursue.
If you have the dream you can build it and see it come true.
Just imagine how many other people are in your shoes that would need something like this....
Thank you for your encouragement. I have already taken the first step by writing to the Director of the Sarawak General Hospital and we see what happens next.
I wish you much success.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Sorry you experienced this, but at the same time you have probably been in very trying situations like this before. I know from pictures your son is not small and not lacking muscle power, so I can imagine if he doesn't want to remain still, only a few people could restrain him if necessary.
This whole process sounds like it could be much better, and geez, even the doctor and nurse arguing......🤦♂️
It is very stressful to encounter such situations. I wish that things can improve.
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I'm really sorry to hear that. I wish things would be better there.
Have a good day.
The whole morning was wasted and Jonathan was not able to take the blood test. Thank you for your good wishes and for stopping by.
As a parent, I can understand your frustration. I wish you all the best.
Thank you for your best wishes. This is not an easy journey.
Yay! 🤗
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