Singapore ― An elderly woman who sought treatment for stomach pains at NUH, went through such a “horrifying experience” that one of her daughters decided to share the story with TISG so that others might be spared a similar ordeal.
The woman’s daughters said that when asked why their mum had been neglected, “Doctors told us nothing will happen if you don’t eat or drink for a day or two”.
They said the hospital had later apologized and waived a portion of the bill and they had let the matter slide until one of her daughters read a TISG report on another woman patient who related the traumatic experience she endured at Changi General Hospital (CGH).
The CGH patient, Ms. Tan, wrote that during her stay, her blood test showed her body was in starvation mode and had a very low blood sugar level. She added: “I would report my heart palpitations to the nurses but they all said I was anxious and overreacting. They ignored my cries for help and even turned off the help button for my bed”. She eventually got herself discharged.
On reading that story earlier this month, Mila* and Shona* (who have asked their real names not be used) decided that they needed to come forward and tell what their own elderly mother had gone through, even though that traumatic episode had happened last year (2020).
TISG interviewed the sisters via email and telephone.
Shona related how her mum, who is 84 and otherwise well, had suffered stomach pains for weeks when she went to the National University Hospital (NUH) with Mila to seek treatment.
According to Mila, the attending doctor at NUH’s Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department had the mother sent to a ward for “observation” and told Mila to go home and wait for a phone call.
Mila said she then tried repeatedly to get the staff at the counter to understand that she needed to be with her mother and reassure her because the old woman is deaf and does not understand English. “How would they know how to communicate with my mum who is not able to hear?” she said.
She added: “The counter staff kept repeating the standard protocol without even understanding the situation.” Finally, Mila said, after she had repeated herself for the umpteenth time, they let her into the ward to speak to her mother.
Once her mum seemed settled, Mila said, she left, but at about 1 pm she called the A&E department to remind them that her mother had not had anything to eat and the last meal she had was at 8 am that morning.
“First, the staff said they have only Milo and bread; then they promised to order porridge for her”, Shona said. At 5 pm, she was informed by telephone that her mum was transferred to an inpatient ward but without a diagnosis or a treatment plan.
Both Mila and Shona went to NUH at around 6 pm, to see their mother. Shona said: “My mother said that they had not given her anything to eat.” By then, it had been eight hours since she arrived at NUH and she was “starving and parched”.
Shona said her mother told her she had begged the nurses for water. The staff told Mila and Shona that it was standard practice not to give patients with stomach issues anything by mouth, in case the patient needed an immediate scan or surgery.
By that time, the mother had a “plug set up in her hand already” and Shona said she asked why an intravenous drip was not set up since they did not allow her mother to eat or drink.
“Is it standard procedure to dehydrate patients before the procedure?” she asked.
“Nine hrs after setting foot in the hospital, my 84-year-old mother was visibly dehydrated and had started to be distressed. Still, no drip set up, no ice chips given for her dry mouth, nor (was she) allowed to drink”, Shona said.
Shona said that when doctors came by at around 7 pm to examine her mum, they commented on the many scars on her abdomen and asked Mila and Shona to advise which scar was from what operation.
“As medical professionals, aren’t they supposed to know which part of the abdomen has which organ and at least gauge which scar is for which operation? If we were not around, how would they have asked an 84-year-old profoundly deaf lady who does not know English?” Shona said.
Mila added: “By now, my mum was starving and sobbing in hunger begging for some food or at least water, having last eaten at 8 am. Yet the doctors insisted they had to do the CT Scan that night and thus had to continue to starve her. One of the attending doctors said, “People can still survive even if they didn’t eat for this long”. She said it seemed a rather insensitive response
At about 9 pm Mila said that both she and Shona were informed that no CT scan had been done, nor had an IV been set up. When we checked with the nurse, she told us that the doctor had not ordered for it”.
“They had planned for the CT Scan which would take another couple more hours”, wrote Mila.
By then, Mila said, their mother was so distressed and emotional that she asked her to “take her away from this place” and added that “They won’t give me back to you alive.”
Mila added: “She was so upset with all the staff who attended to her, calling them ‘merciless towards an old lady’.”
The daughters said they tried to get the hospital to discharge their mother, but they had to wait another hour to see a senior doctor, a woman, who explained the nil-by-mouth protocol.
“But when I questioned her as to why the drip was not set up or ice chips given, she was stunned. She immediately said that the nurse was instructed to set up the drip, but did not”.
Remarking that this was the worst experience they had ever gone through at a hospital, Shona said she was “very deeply disappointed by the NUH team”.
Mila said that later on, the A&E doctor “called me and listened and acknowledged what could have been done better. On the administrative side, they apologized profusely on the phone and waived a portion of the bill and all communications ended there”.
She said that they wanted to speak out about their mother’s situation because “some patients have suffered because of the lack of professionalism and empathy amongst the medical staff’. That, she said, has left “a sore mark in our hearts and mind, leaving us to wonder if we really can trust and leave our loved ones in the full care of the medical staff in hospital”.
Mila continued: “At the same time, it doesn’t go to undermine all the hard work and effort that our medical staff are putting in these few months helping out Covid-19 patients. It’s some unfortunate incidents as a result of some unprofessional doctors and a healthcare system that should be improved.”
Mila said her mother was not diagnosed that night and was later found to have no stomach issues. She still sees other NUH doctors for the treatment of other ailments.
Responding to TISG’s queries, a spokesperson from NUH said:
“Patient care and safety remain our top priority. Treatment plans are prescribed based on clinical assessment of the patient’s condition at the time of consultation.
As the feedback provider has declined to share the patient’s particulars, we are unable to ascertain the identity of the patient and the concerns that were raised with us in 2020.
We take the feedback seriously and strongly encourage the feedback provider to get in touch with our Quality Service Manager at email: qsm@nuhs.edu.sg / Tel: 1800 778 9243 (Monday – Friday except Public Holidays: 8.30am – 5.30pm) if she has further concerns that she would like us to address.” /TISG
*The family wishes to remain anonymous and therefore names have been changed to protect their privacy.