The Ministry of Health has been asked to address long queues and waiting times at MJC Batu Kawa Health Clinic of late.

A 50-year-old patient, who wanted only to be identified as Akiyang, claimed he arrived at the clinic for his monthly prescription around 10.30am yesterday, and as of the time of writing at 3.30pm, his turn was still way off.

Akiyang also alleged that a day earlier, he had taken his mother-in-law to the clinic to see the doctor early in the morning, but she received her prescription only around 4.30pm.

“From my experience in dealing with the clinic over two consecutive days, it seems people are bound to spend the whole day at the clinic even if they went there before the clinic opens,” he said.

“The longest time will be spent waiting to get the medicine, like what happened to my mother-in-law and to me today (yesterday). On average, people have to wait for at least three to four hours.”

He lamented that the counter staff were also facing rising stress levels.

“Over time, the counter staff may burn out,” he said.

“The long waiting time is ‘killing’, especially for senior citizens. I don’t think the fault lies with the staff manning the counter. From what I see, they are as stressed as the patients. Some may even have to skip lunch just to speed up the process.”

He added that because there were too many patients, the counter had to remain open during lunch break.

“I hope the clinic’s management and the authorities concerned will do something to address the current situation as soon as possible.

“I really sympathise with the staff and also the senior citizens, who have to be at the clinic the whole day to see the doctor and wait for their medicine.”

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by Borneo Post

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