SINGAPORE: A lively discussion ensued after a Singaporean noted how difficult it is to book an appointment slot at a polyclinic these days.
The post from u/GlompSpark on r/Singapore got hundreds of comments from fellow platform users, who agreed that the shortage of appointment slots is “just ridiculous nowadays.”
u/GlompSpark wrote that ten years ago, when he got sick at work, he could easily see a polyclinic doctor that same afternoon without needing an appointment. “Now, you have to book the night before, so that means if you are sick on the day itself, you have no chance of seeing a polyclinic doctor,” he added.
He then gave the example of trying to book an appointment for National University Polyclinics only to find out that all slots had already been taken.
“If someone wakes up in the morning, is sick, and needs to see a doctor…they have no chance of getting a slot…. In the past, they also had some slots reserved for emergency walk in cases on the day itself. Now, there is no such thing (they explictly told me there is no such thing), everything has to be booked beforehand, and all slots are taken up the night before.”
“How have things gotten so bad?” he asked, adding that he can’t afford to get his medication from a private General Practitioner as there is no subsidy for it.
“CHAS doesnt cover the cost of medications and CHAS orange only covers $10 out of a typical $50+ consultation fee.”
u/GlompSpark ended his post by writing that “The polyclinic appointment system is just illogical the way it is designed” since no one can predict if they’ll be sick the following day and therefore can’t make an appointment to be seen promptly.
A Reddit user who agreed with the post author told his own story.
Another appeared to believe that Singapore’s aging society is responsible for the issue.
One Reddit user who said she used to be a Patients Service Associate for SingHealthPoly offered helpful advice.
Another pointed out that this is not a new issue.
At least one netizen pointed out that healthcare workers are underpaid and overworked.
/TISG