Wednesday, October 10, 2012

great white

last nite, as i made my last round in the ICU, one of the nurses asked me if i could help insert an intravenous cannula for a patient who was not under my care. she had tried but failed in several attempts. as i checked on the patient's arms, there were several puncture wounds on both hands, evidence of the many unsuccessful attempts. even the patient looked fed-up & asked if the procedure could be deferred. being in ICU meant one was critically ill & hence an intravenous cannula was indispensable for the administration of essential medication.

after i managed to insert one, the patient asked sheepishly if i was going to charge him a fee for it. i returned an equally sheepish smile.

i know the public is generally wary of doctors in private practice with regards to the perceived exorbitant fees that they charge. i admit there are some black sheep in the profession. indeed, there's even a private hospital in ipoh infamously dubbed the great white shark.

so i wonder if the sheepish smile i gave the patient looked anything like this....
**shiver**

14 comments:

kc said...

lol! i remember working on one hospital project years ago. rm100 (or something exorbidant like that) for every time the bell is rung in the ward

wenn said...

the ipoh specialist is indeed a very expensive one..

Reanaclaire said...

Yes, the name still stands in Ipoh... I feel that the shark has even become BIGGER nowadays... so.. it is advisable to invest in some medical card insurance...
Cannot blame the patient's sheepishness..cos anywhere touched by a doctor means charged... hahaha....

stay-at-home mum said...


if you must bill, shouldnt it be to the nurse for not being able to do something which she is supposed to be able to??

I hope you aint no shark!!

ilene ong said...

Isn't it a common thing that every private hospital practices - to account for each and every minute item? Anyway, leaving that aside, I must say, there aren't many nurses who can find the patient's vein easily especially in the elderlies. And worst still, sometimes after setting a line, infection sets in! *sigh*

doc said...

KC,

very possible.

have you also heard horror stories like a panadol tablet that costs rm5? or an admission pack consisting a small face towel, soap, tooth brush & paste, plastic jug & cup costing rm50?

doc said...

Wenn,

is there a reasonably priced private hospital??

doc said...

Claire,

it's all very well to get a medical card, but need to read the details & fine print for exclusion clauses.

doc said...

SAHM,

sometimes with difficult veins that are small, tortuous or hardly visible, the nurses are not able to insert. even when i have similar problems, i go for the jugular, literally!!

i have teeth, but they aren't so sharp!

;)

doc said...

Ilene,

we all encounter problems like that from time to time. there's no medical procedure that doesn't have complications.

The thumb in every pie said...

A smiling shark eh? wah! that is so scary. At night some more. And in ICU ward. LOL

doc said...

Andrea,

looks can be deceiving - i'm toothless most times.

Unknown said...

I'm scared of doctor..lol

doc said...

Alv,

because of the needles or the fees?