We felt exploited by Singapore General Hospital (SGH) as we had put my father there in good faith but it turned out that the doctors were all junior residents who were incompetent and had used him as a guinea pig for their training/experiments while the senior doctor (Director) had turned a blind eye and refused all contact with us despite numerous request. He simply left my father in the hands of the resident doctors (respiratory dept) and his team. My father was staying in the A1 single room with all expenses fully chargeable and paid by us. His stay was certainly not on charitable grounds.
On 23rd Nov 2023, we were shocked to discover that my father’s left hand had numerous needle holes and looked bruised and swollen. My domestic helper who stayed in the room with him said that she had witnessed how the SGH staff have tried to collect blood by repeatedly inserting and removing the needle into various parts of my father’s hand as if they were figuring out which was the correct spot. This was the cause of all the holes and swell on his hand, apparently. When my sister enquired, the nurse replied that those procedures were administered by the doctor on duty and was not caused by the nurses themselves. They said they’ll check who was the doctor in charge then.
On 2nd Dec 2023, I was dumbfounded when I saw that my father’s right hand was all bruised and swollen. Upon checking with staff nurse, she said that it was the resident doctor who was responsible for the bruises. I then requested to see him immediately.The staff nurse spoke to him and said to wait as he would be available to meet soon after his rounds. 40 mins passed and when the doctor still hasn’t shown up,she ( staff nurse) called again to follow up. To my disbelief, she said that he had already left work as it was a Saturday. It is apparent that the resident doctor could not account for what he did and left the hospital when he knew I had expected an explanation.
How could SGH condone such acts of irresponsibility and incompetence amongst its doctors and nurses, allowing their senior doctors (Directors - Senior Doctor)to turn a blind eye and ignore us completely while their junior doctors were practicing on patients, treating them as guinea pigs. Rich or poor, every patient should be treated with dignity and respect. This unfortunate experience has definitely shattered all confidence we ever had of SGH.
Right hand with multiple insertion wounds : 2nd , 4th, 8th Dec 2023 (Days before his death on 10 Dec 2023)