New care

I have since transferred to Tanglin Hospital near Bukit Aman after the last episode of drama I encountered in University Malaya Medical Centre. 

The nurses and doctor there are so much nicer and friendlier compared to UMMC. Plus, it's just a 5 minutes drive away from my workplace. Hence "straying" wasn't much of a problem. 

I had my consultation done a fortnight ago and was scheduled for blood sampling this morning. My appointment was scheduled for 8am. My physician actually called up the hospital and I overheard some of the conversation noting that she has scheduled me for blood taking this morning. 

The nurses then scrambled around the waiting area looking for a Chinese man, and when they spot me, I guess they know I was already there. The other patients don't really fit into the descriptions of sorts. Then they ushered me into the assistant's room and the formalities were done.

Then they gave me the lab papers and got me to the lab at the next block. From here, it was a good half an hour waiting time since other people have arrived and went ahead of me, despite having an appointment. 

Tanglin Hospital or rather a clinic, is small but it's always crowded, I guess it's attributed to the friendliness and polite staff they have there. 

Instead of paying RM900 for a private hospital to take my tests (used to be RM500 at Safe Clinic), my visit and tests at Tanglin is completely free. All the tests are paid for by the Government, of course it is only free to citizens. But they discouraged against measuring the VL (viral load) if not on med as it is costly - which I am fine. 

My CD4 counts remains high, hopefully, still is, which should put me off meds for now. Sex remains minimal as I really ensure my partner does not put himself at risk, to the extent of refusing wet kisses if I have ulcers in my mouth. Can't take any risk, can I? 

If you guys have followed my writings, I wrote about how I spent quite a bit when I was first diagnosed with HIV and coincidently, chlamydia too. The initial treatments and test practically wiped out my savings. With a referral and recommendation, I am thankful to be able to continue my healthcare needs taken care off in a government hospital whereby costs no longer are my worries. 

I also noted first-line meds for citizens are given free. On the same par, Singaporeans pay as much as SGD1K per month for the ARV (correct me if I am wrong?) and Americans pay as much as USD3k? That's way over any average Malaysian can afford. 

For once I am really thankful to the Government of Malaysia for taking care of its citizens. 

Comments

  1. Unknown3 October 2012 at 06:46

    The last paragraph intrigues me; is that indicative of what's gonna happen come the next general election...? Just being cheeky... :P

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous6 November 2012 at 23:44

    I don't know but access to basic healthcare is a human rights, regardless of govt.

    ReplyDelete

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