Disgraceful doctor at PoSGH

THE EDITOR: Kindly permit me a space in your daily newspaper to share an experience I encountered at Port-of-Spain General Hospital (PoSGH). It was around 2 am on Carnival Monday morning. I woke up with severe pains in the stomach, chest and back, which scared me tremendously. I started cold sweating, panicking and tossing around on my bed. My fianc?e got a taxi to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. We waited for forty-five minutes before getting any assistance — with which I had no problem. My problem began when the doctor called my name. I think it is important that I mentioned that it was my first visit to that hospital. We entered a tall gate to go to the doctor’s office and as we entered, there was a small room with two guards in dark green uniform, on the corridor between the clerical room and guards’ room. There were two other men in casual attire and the clerk at her desk. The doctor was not there.

One of the men who were casually attired turned to us and asked “Who’s the patient?” My fianc?e answered “She’s the patient.” The guy then answered “then you go have to go outside”. My fianc?e then replied “Why? I prefer to stay with her. Reason being I had a bad experience with a doctor in the past with her”. The guy said inconsiderably and hostilely “watch, just go outside yuh can’t go with her, the doctor won’t see her and that’s final”. At the same time I turned to my fianc?e and said “Don’t worry, wait outside, keep the phone on and I’ll call you if anything should take place”. He turned around and proceeded through the exit. By that time the doctor came and the guards started throwing some nasty comments to the doctor about us like “Doctor, you have a Siamese twin to see you here and it look like they join”. And they kept going on and on and the doctor just laughed. Upon seeing the doctor laughing I turned to the guard and said “It’s not the matter that we’re twins or any of the unpleasant things you’re saying.

You people definitely don’t know about quality service and you certainly need to be more professional whenever dealing with people”, and that was said in a lot of pain. The doctor would then turn to me and call me by the name and in the presence of all the unprofessional people ask me “what’s the problem”. I answered “Doctor, I’d prefer to speak to you privately and not in the presence of these people” and I walked a short distance away from the crowd. The doctor then turned around and said aggressively “Excuse me, me yuh talking to”. I answered “Yes doctor, I would like to speak to you privately thank you”. I was starting to get annoyed. “Look ma’am, wait there for meh please,” he yelled, shot my card on the counter and called for another patient. I was astonished yet really annoyed. I slowly walked back out through the exit, called my fianc?e and we left. The time was 3.25 am.

Editor, to be extremely honest, when those guards started throwing their comments I was disturbed and ashamed for them and the service that they rendered to us. As mentioned before, these men were in uniform representing a company and they did the majority and their best in making me more uncomfortable than I already was. However it did not annoy me as nearly as much as the manner of the doctor who worked that shift on casualty that Carnival Monday morning. Upon excusing my fianc?e from our presence, the doctor had the audacity to ask me my problem in the presence of these same unprofessional workers, and further tried to criticise me for asking for privacy. It’s strange, the world we live in.

They are all unprofessional men in high professions. Their service was poor, poor and extremely poor. I would like to request a message to employers of specific fields. When hiring employees, your selection is of major and utmost importance for both the benefits of your company and society. Attitudes, signs of responsibility, integrity, and respect are just a few qualities to name when hiring employees. Even when employees lose these qualities, do something to right the wrong in them or let them go. Please don’t send them out there to deal with civilians. And to the doctors of various ranks, people’s lives are within your hands. No matter how simple a complaint may seem, be doctors from the heart and not from the books only. Be qualified internally and emotionally, be genuine and professional at all times possible. Always practice the standards of Quality Customer Service. And this goes to all workers of society. For the record I sought help elsewhere and I’m well.

MARISA M MARCANO
Point Fortin