Update: Alternative news outlet Wake Up Singapore has been issued a correction direction under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) for publishing the woman’s claims on its social media accounts.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a media release on Mar 27 that Wake Up Singapore published further posts on its Facebook and Instagram pages on Mar 25, stating they had been informed by the patient that her recollection was false.
Wake Up Singapore said it “may have been fed lies at every turn” and apologised for publishing the claims.
Following a pregnant woman’s claim that she lost her baby after waiting for four hours to be treated at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), the hospital announced there was “no such scenario”.
“KKH would like to clarify that the online report on the incident at the Urgent Obstetrics and Gynaecology Centre (UOGC) is incorrect,” said Professor Alex Sia, chief executive officer of KKH, on Friday (Mar 25).
Prof Sia said there were discrepancies between the woman’s story and the bill information that circulated online.
“We can definitively say that there is no such scenario. We have since made a police report,” he said in a Straits Times report.
The woman’s story has been widely shared on social media.
After arriving at KKH sometime in February at 2 pm for treatment, the woman claimed she started to bleed after three hours of waiting at the drop-off area because no one attended to her.
When she eventually met with a doctor another hour later, she was told she had lost the baby.
KKH also posted an update on its Facebook page on Friday, noting it was aware of the woman’s claims.
“Despite our best efforts, we are still unable to identify the patient based on the scenario reported,” said KKH.
“There appears to be discrepancies between the story and the bill information shared online. Preliminary investigations indicate that there is no such case at the hospital on the date indicated in the report.”
In a follow-up post on Friday afternoon, KKH confirmed that the incident had been found to be false.
“There are various aspects of the story reported that are incorrect, and we can definitively say that the scenario described did not take place,” said the hospital.
“We thank the public for their support, and allowing us time to investigate the incident. This is a crucial time for everyone in healthcare, and we will continue to do our utmost to take care of our patients.”
“Every feedback is an opportunity to do better, and we take it seriously, but when there are falsehoods, we must also address them transparently,” it added. /TISG