2 short hours at a government clinic

Lining up to get in

A line of patients had just formed when I and my wife walked into the compound of the Seri Kembangan government clinic at 7.30am for my medical appointment.

At 7.30am the clinic staff had already opened its door for patients to take their numbers though officially the clinic is supposed to open only at 8.00 am. I reckon some people were already standing in the line from as early as 7.00 am.

My number was 6006 and my wife's 1034. Like everyone else we sat down on a row of fibre-glass seats in the waiting area to wait for our numbers to flash on the LED screen counter. Unlike private sector institutions eg banks the numbers are not flashed in accordance to sequence, but in a random fashion. Thus if your number is 6006 and you see the number 6005 being announced in the electronic board don't assume that the next number will be yours. Likewise don't assume that the clinic has called your number when you see the number 6210 in the electronic counter. I suspect this situation is because the person responsible for collecting the numbers delivers the numbers to the registration clerk in random batches.

Although my wife took her number a few persons after me hers was electronically called ahead of mine. In contrast I finished my blood tests before she was summoned into the doctor's examination room.

By the time both of us finished our business two hours have lapsed. Considering that the clinic has to attend to hundreds of patients a day, the two hours that we had to spend inside the clinic in relative comfort is acceptable. Some times in the more established private clinics where there are many patients you may have to wait up to one hour to see the doctor and get a medical prescription.

For a nominal fee of RM2 per person for medical consultation and medication(senior citizens 60 years and above get free treatment) you get all the basic medical treatment that you need for a steal. Even the medicines are prescribed in large quantities, at least a month's supply I guess. In my case during the previous visit the clinic prescribed me two months supply of medicine. I guess they do this to space out the frequency of repeat visits for each patient.

In contrast, in a private clinic the general practitioner will charge you at least RM40 for treatment of simple ailments like sore throat and give you at the most 1 week's supply of medicine only. If you see a medical specialist be prepare to cough out at least RM100 for consultation, and extra for medicine.