Getting admitted into a hospital is rarely good news, less if it was to receive a new transplant for a failing organ or to witness the birth of a miracle that is a child. If we could avoid heading there, we probably would, because nobody ever expects to fall sick or get injured. However, just as we can’t anticipate windfall, we can’t predict misfortune.
The question is, when one needs to receive treatment for an injury or illness, which would be the better option—government or private? Government hospitals are known to have longer queues as opposed to private hospitals, but the latter is also known to have longer bills as opposed to the former. With this, comes the dilemma of choosing which criteria to prioritise.
In moments of an emergency though, one barely has time to think, and would head to the hospital which is more convenient or close by. As a parent, that would have been the natural instinct anyway, irregardless of whether it’s a government or public practice. When Philip Loh’s son experienced an accident on his left arm which injured his nerves and muscles, the boy was admitted into Hospital Ampang, a government hospital.
Philip wrote on Facebook, “Specialist and surgeon performed an operation on the following day to repair his nerves and muscles and he was treated with cares from the nurses and medical personnels.” What struck netizens and prompted over 3000 shares in the course of 1 day was how much the bill costed.
The father ended his status update with, “And most unbelievable thing is the hospital bills came out only RM31 (it’s about US$7.75 to my US friends and buddies). You will never find another country like Malaysia providing such wonderful medical care for its people!”
Restoring Hope In Government Practices
Government hospitals tend to be cheaper than private practices but the bill which came up to only RM31 was a pleasant surprise not only to Philip, but also to the more than 17,000 people who responded to his post with likes and shocked faces alike.
Where everything from phone bills to electricity bills are skyrocketing by the minute, it’s refreshing to see how government hospitals are protecting Malaysians from exorbitant medical fees. Yes, they have always been on the lower range as compared to private hospitals, but what Philip’s post proves is that it is still an ongoing practice and is not based on race, religion or social class. What this post does is restore a little more faith in our government practices.
Justin Foo said, “I agree with Philip Loh. Our public health care and hospitals are far better besides next to being F.O.C than those whining ignorant folks will ever realize.” Meanwhile, Facebook user, Sheila Omar summed it up nicely with, “So proud working at hospital Ampang as a staff nurse.”