I gave birth in Philippine General Hospital (PGH) last January 8, 2011. I was in the Pay Section. My friends and relatives would ask me why I will give birth in a public/government hospital. Actually, the reason why I chose PGH was because my OB is giving birth in PGH, her clinic is in front of PGH, and she was the one who did the surgery to me three years ago, and she was the one who took care of me so I could have my little angel.
Though PGH is a government hospital, I thought the service for those in pay section would be different from those in ward section…but I was so wrong. I paid Php 80,000++ for giving birth; same as though I gave birth in a nice private hospital isn’t it? But I received a freaking bad service from the staff. Admittedly, the specialists of the hospital are really great, no questions asked, because they’re all graduates of University of the Philippines, and most of them were trained abroad. However, the nurses (not all), nursing aids, and other whoever, should be trained not only for good customer service but for good manners and right conduct. They treat all the patients there as if we were all from ward section/charity. Masusungit as in! As if all the patients don’t have the money to pay them! Duh?!
My husband witnessed a nurse from Nursery ICU pushing a baby’s cart (I don’t know how it’s called) with a baby on it, then there was a monobloc chair at the center of the hallway, guess what this lazy unscrupulous nurse did? Instead of stopping to set aside the chair first so she could pass, she bumped the chair with the baby’s cart even though there’s a baby inside it. The doctors are very strict about the ‘shaken baby syndrome,’ why then can’t they advise their nurses of the right handling of a NEWBORN BABY?!? Grrrr! When my husband saw that, he couldn’t stop worrying about our baby who was sent to the NICU 12 hours after he was roomed-in with me for suspected mild sepsis (blessedly, it was just a suspicion, I have a healthy baby boy!).
On our second day, I went to NICU to visit my baby and try to breastfeed him, I saw a mother waiting outside because she and her baby have already been discharged from the hospital. She seem to be waiting there for quite some time, and I can really feel the mother’s eagerness to have her child in her arms and bring her home but the nurse with a big heart of stone said to the mother, “Are you in a hurry?” The mother was just shocked and was not able to answer back. But if I were the one asked by that stupid nurse with that stupid question, I will definitely answer back. As a mother with a child whose days in the hospital was spent inside the NICU, there’s this certain excitement to hold your baby in your arms and bring him home with you as soon as possible. As a mom, you know he’ll be safe in your arms and not in some untrained nurses’ arms. I don’t know if the mother was in ward section that’s why she was treated that way and let herself be treated that way as well.
On our second day, I went to NICU to visit my baby and try to breastfeed him, I saw a mother waiting outside because she and her baby have already been discharged from the hospital. She seem to be waiting there for quite some time, and I can really feel the mother’s eagerness to have her child in her arms and bring her home but the nurse with a big heart of stone said to the mother, “Are you in a hurry?” The mother was just shocked and was not able to answer back. But if I were the one asked by that stupid nurse with that stupid question, I will definitely answer back. As a mother with a child whose days in the hospital was spent inside the NICU, there’s this certain excitement to hold your baby in your arms and bring him home with you as soon as possible. As a mom, you know he’ll be safe in your arms and not in some untrained nurses’ arms. I don’t know if the mother was in ward section that’s why she was treated that way and let herself be treated that way as well.
Then, my baby had his newborn screening test at 2:00pm on January 10, 2011, and the nurses advised my husband that afterwards my baby will be roomed-in again. With frequent follow-ups from my husband, it took them two hours to do what they have promised. Inefficient nurses!
My husband has a lot more bad experience especially with the processing of my SSS and Philhealth, and only in that sacred hospital have I seen my husband got mad in our entire three-year marriage.
I promised myself in case I get pregnant again, not to give birth in the same hospital; if I need to change my OB for the sake of my baby, I definitely will.
I pity those patients in the charity section of PGH, they receive FREE bad hospital service. Yes, they don’t have the money to pay, but they don’t deserve to be treated as if they don’t have dignity as well. I hope someday the government would pay attention to the kind of service this hospital is providing to our less fortunate fellow citizens.
I've been hearing a lot of negative feedbacks from that Hospital as well, tsk tsk grabe, health officials should do something about it!
ReplyDelete