MCO Entry #3

The complains and stories never cease to amaze me, let's go.

3rd Week of MCO

Extremely quiet with only few patients in sight, like I could literally count them off my fingers.                     Doctors suggested that it's a time for us to take a break and some self-reflecting. So here's what a little bit of mine: 

           My life is a like wasteland, a literal one. You know that I juggle two jobs, one a full-time paying job, another a freelancing job which doesn't pay much or bare minimum. I was keen to take up a friend's offer (He runs a bookshop) but at one point, I was extremely sick (this was two years back by the way). I got diagnosed with a severe case of pneumonia and ended up one week in the hospital for several antibiotics infusion. So the plan was out of the window. I also got another (recently new~) friend whom I've been supporting throughout MCO who runs an ice cream parlour. She's a soft spoken, gentle person from the several times I have frequented to her shop, which serves ice cream to die for, plus I like to write my stories there due to the warm and cozy atmosphere. She's usually on the lookout for part-timers and full-timers, but I'm unable to commit to the work due to having a demanding, full-time job so again, that plan is cross out.

I was, at this time during the MCO period, nearly in tears due to some pessimistic thoughts and how I was never going to make my freelancing job work, but I have close friends who checks up on me, both colleagues and friends who are in the non-medical field. A colleague suggested I take up yoga, emphasizing that it helps to clear your mind off things and makes you relax. During MCO period, gyms are considered a non-essential business so they are unable to open. Truth be told, I tried yoga many years back in a gym and I HATED it. The yoga instructor there forces you to bend, ignoring your pain as you overstrain. I immediately stopped going to that gym, and once I joined my current workplace and found out they have a Zumba class, I leaped on it immediately. I enjoyed it and was a regular until unfortunately, I injured both my ankle (during class and work) and knee (work-related), so again, beyond my control, I was forced to stop all aggressive sports for few years. 

          During the MCO period, I forced myself to keep my weight under control because honest to God, I have seen people posting in social media how they have gained weight due to unable to go to work, so they stayed at home and eat, rest, rinse and repeat. No, no, NO. I can't afford to gain weight because of my injuries. Doctor suggested I do some light exercise so I took up stationary cycling, which I liked, and once my injury became bearable, took up running on the treadmill. For those who say I'm trying to slim down, that's not the main reason. I took it up because I'm trying to keep myself fit during the pandemic and because, as I keep stressing out here, to avoid my injuries from getting worse. 

(After intervention treatment, some physio, a strict, balanced diet and some exercise on my part, my injuries aren't so bad anymore. I rarely felt the pain unless I put too much stress on my ankles and knee, or I overuse them by running too much, jumping or carrying heavy load. The physiotherapist heavily stressed that I could not carry patients ever again, support yes, but no more carrying to avoid further injuries and back pain, which thank God I do not have yet.) 

             Somehow, despite going through a hard time, I managed to complete a novella, despite having several doubts that I could finish it. At that time, I was reading lots of Stephen King, so you can probably imagine my state of mind. When I was done writing, I passed it to my friends for proof-reading as per usual, and this is what most of them said, "It's really dark." (Is that a bad thing? You decide)

                  One man came to see Doctor So-and-So. He was asked to get a Mantoux test (basically a skin test to test for tuberculosis). Few minutes later, he came to our counter and yelled and threw a tantrum. Confused, my colleague and I listened as he told his story:

• He has a son who is admitted in a government hospital due to TB. He was advised to get a Mantoux test to determine whether he has TB or not. (NOTE: If anyone in your family contacts TB, the whole family may even be asked to go for a Mantoux test depending on the doctor, it's not uncommon for us to even do up to TWENTY Mantoux in a row if the people are involved in -- like a tour group.)
• He came through ER with a referral letter, they referred him to the Doctor-on-call. 
• Doctor-on-call advised him to get the Mantoux test done. He went to pharmacy and cashier. Total bill ended up about roughly few figures (You do the maths), and he was NOT HAPPY. He came to us and yelled, "I already told your people down there, I only have few dollars left in my pocket! I have no more job due to the MCO! They sent me for blood tests, scans and now your doctor wants me to buy this medicine for a skin test? I refuse to pay!"
• Doctor already left the hospital so we got the assistant to call him. Explained the situation to him, he then said it's okay. Let's just waive all the bills. 
• Patient still wasn't happy. Refused to pay even a single cent for the other things like blood and diagnostic tests. Said he was going to go every department and tell them the same thing and left.    

You can use your imagination for the conclusion for this story. I'm sorry, I know our government friends are busy fighting COVID, hence why now government hospitals are now congested and a scary place to be, but when you really don't have much funds left, sometimes, you really just need to go to government hospital to get yourself treated. 

                   One lady brought her mother to the hospital during closing hours, as in we are already picking up our bags and about to leave. Here is her story:

• They came in the morning to consult doctor. Doctor said remove catheter and monitor urine output. They left.
• According to the daughter, she had planned to come around 3, but she said since in the website, it says clinics are open till 5.30pm, it means doctor will still be in.
• She didn't call, just came and asked us to insert a catheter for her mom. 
• None of us attended this patient, and as per policy, we need the patient's file and doctor's permission to proceed any intervention procedure. Since it's already after working hours, everywhere is closed, we advised her politely to please go to ER, where there are medical officers who will be able to attend to her mother and contact the doctor. 
• The daughter's face immediately changed. "You're all horrible. Stupid service. I came because I expect to see the doctor and my mother to be attended to. Horrible service. I'm going to tell all my friends never to come here. Horrible service."

Again, you can use your imagination for the conclusion here. Look, everywhere is already closed. And let's just say -- we insert a catheter for your mother without the doctor's orders, without knowing what is her size. We could be charged for negligence, irresponsibility, and the most worrying part, INFECTION TO THE PATIENT. Any intervention procedure, whether it's needle, knife, inserting a catheter, you risk giving the patient infection. This is why you need the patient's file and doctor's orders. You do NOT take matters into your own hands!!!  

                       Regarding the self-reflection, at times I feel like screaming at the amount complains we get from impossible patients. Do I hate my job? I'll be honest here, if I hated my job, I would've left a long time ago. The fact that I'm still working as a nurse means I still love my job, despite the ugly, nasty side of it. As a friend of mine once said, "The hellish part comes with the package, deal with it." Of course it's not all hell, everything is also balanced out with good things. And if I haven't chosen this field, I wouldn't have met my awesome colleagues and doctors, let alone know how to write a crime fiction novel with a medical professional as the protagonist. 

MCO Entry #2

Author's note: I hesitated to publish this, because let me tell you. It brought out the worse  several levels of ridiculousness in people, and because it was a quiet period, I accumulated most of my thoughts, and due to some personal matters, I was severely delayed, not to mention having other works in progress. If I sounded a little off, I deeply apologize.

2nd Week of MCO
Place was quiet again. Came to work early because I was on early duty. Was trying to get the PC working so I was crouching on the floor fiddling with the equipment. Heard someone shouting from a distance. Looked around, didn't see anyone.
        Shouting went on. Turned to my left. Saw one lady shouting and pointing at me from a link bridge to the other end. "Yes, you!"
         Confused, and stuck with the fiddling, I went, "Yes?" Didn't shout. I'm not the type who shouts, but my voice managed to carry.
         "I'm looking for Dr So-and-So. Do you know where he is?" Yes, she's shouting from the other end. Thank God there were only one or two people at that time, so everyone was staring at her.
         Oh for the love of --
         "Go straight and turn right."
         "WHAT?!" (She stood at the bridge, refusing to budge)
         "I said, go straight and turn right." This time I made the gesture with my fingers.
         I'm going to let out my rant here. Social distancing by the government is 1 meter, NOT A WHOLE BRIDGE! (Ridiculousness level: 1)
       
Work started like normal. Was so engrossed in paperwork that I didn't realize someone was directly speaking into my ear. "Hey. I'm looking for Dr So-and-So. Can you tell me how to get there?"
          This irks me. Now see, I don't mind directing you where to go, but you could just say excuse me, not go directly to my ear. SOCIAL DISTANCING PEOPLE! The least you could do is say, "Excuse me" to get my attention. (Ridiculousness level: 2)
           Received a complaint from a co-worker who was overly paranoid. Refused to touch the doorknobs or equipment. Insisted on someone to open the door for them like a butler, said the doorknobs and equipment were contaminated. (Ridiculousness level: 3) What did my lecturer teach us in college, besides my parents --
            "Before and after you touch something, wash your hands."
            I'll make things easy for you. Every time you touch something, wash your hands. Simple. No huss, no fuss.

Minister came live. Didn't really need to see the news to know that MCO was extended. Majority non-healthcare workers groaned. Come on, folks. Our cases at that time were skyrocketing above the roof, don't tell me you were expecting things to go back to normal so soon.

Being quiet means we are somehow closer to our co-workers and doctors (I'm talking about bonding, please don't mistake it for something else), because we are spending majority of our time in the hospital, and with not many patients around, we just go around talking to each other while keeping our senses on alert. Part of the package; you can never be too relaxed. But during that time, we get to unwind a little.
            Bless our Triage friends. They were in full gear and scanning everyone who comes in. A co-worker said there's not much point, because Coronavirus (AKA COVID) is asymptomatic, meaning you and I could have it despite having no symptoms and looking healthy. The only way to be sure is to do a Covid Test, which is really uncomfortable. How so? Ever did an influenza swab? You need to insert a swab all the way up to your nose, which is really uncomfortable, not to mention irritating. 
           A father and his daughter came. Daughter had to do a temperature check. We used those ear-probe type thermometer. Immediately, the father launched several questions at me.

• "It's not hygienic."
• "How often do you clean it?"
• "How many patients had used this before us?"
• "Why do we need to re-check? Downstairs already did it for us."

Look here. We are not dumb or EVIL okay? We changed our ear probe daily, not to mention wiping the whole thing down with alcohol wipes AFTER EVERY PATIENTS. And nowadays, we don't use to old fashioned oral thermometer anymore. Go out to any clinic, most of them used forehead scanners or ear-probe. During my time, do you know what we use? Those old glass thermometer with mercury in them, which you need to shake several times to prep it and ask the patient to hold it under their tongue or armpit for THREE MINUTES. In our current world, people want instant service, like hey presto! 'Cause we still keep those lying around, in case we need to re-check. We tell patients to wait for the beep and they pull a face. "Why so long?"
        Regarding the re-check: It's a must, okay? Supermarkets and clinics are practicing re-checking temperature. I don't set the rules, I just do my job. Father wouldn't let his daughter come near me (Okay, I'll respect that.) but he himself refused to even let me scan him near. Best part, when I want to hand him their temperature reading, he dug out a Dettol wipe, careful not to make contact with my skin as though I had the plague. (Ridiculousness level: 4)
        Complaints came in from our staff: Housekeeping staff came up to us to tell us someone stolen their box of mask. I can't even-- WHY WOULD YOU STEAL SOMETHING OFF THE HOUSEKEEPING TROLLEY? (Ridiculousness level: 5) Nothing we can do about the stolen goods. Advised the staff to lock it in his compartment, rain or shine. Another staff came up to us how one family were really clever. They distracted the staff, while one kept close to the hand sanitizer at the counter. When the staff was distracted, the person swept the bottle of hand sanitizer into the bag they were holding and ran off. (Ridiculousness level: 6) I don't usually curse or swear, but I tell you, on that day, I hope karma rain down on these people.
        The one good thing that came out of this whole pandemic, it really brings out people's true nature.