Peeing into the toilet bowl

Specialist Clinics at Putrajaya Hospital

The sign sticking out of the wall above the entrance depicting a stylised male figure was unmistakable. It is clear as broad daylight to the general public that the room behind the door and the signage is the male toilet. It is my habit before entering a toilet to always double check so that I don't enter a female toilet by mistake.

After stepping inside I was surprised to see wash basins and four toilet cubicles arranged side by side, but no urinals. How is it possible that urinals are not provided in a male toilet?

Thinking that I might have stepped into a female toilet by mistake I exited the room to check out the toilet sign for the third time. The signage shows clearly a male figure. Not satisfied I zoomed my vision in on the toilet sign of the adjacent room. That sign which depicts a stylised human figure wearing a dress tells me that that particular room is a female toilet and I was indeed in the men's toilet and not trespassing into a women's toilet.

What can I say? It seems to me that in the haste to draw up and complete the plans for construction of the hospital the architect and his team inncluding the hospital administrators have forgotten about the provision of urinals in the toilets for men. Hence except for the signage the male toilets are of the same design as the female toilets.

Stiff shoulder treatment

Patients waiting for their names to be called
at the registering counter

The Physiotherapy Department, Serdang Hospital.

Because I and my wife reached the hospital early at 8 am we were able to find parking inside the outdoor parking lot. On previous visits we had to park our car by the roadside and walk a distance to the entrance. Once inside the hospital we quickly made our way to the main entrance. As we are regular visitors we now know the ground floor layout of the hospital by heart.

A showcase of prosthetic limbs greet
the patient at the waiting area

The small entrance to the physiotherapy department opens up to a spacious waiting area. There are at least 6 rows of seats for patients to sit down while waiting for their names to be called. Once seated you can't help but view a glass showcase exhibiting a range of prosthetic limbs. After sitting down for about 15 minutes the nurse then called my wife to go to Room F6.

The small entrance opens up to a
spacious waiting area

There are separate rooms for different types of therapy and Room F6 is for patients with general pain ailments, considered as low frequency treatment. My wife who is suffering from pain due to a stiff shoulder probably belongs to this category of patients.


As I am not a patient I was not allowed to accompany my wife into the room. Looking in from the outside I saw some beds with curtains drawn and the inside appears to be clean and airy.

Room F6 where my wife underwent
therapy for pains in her left shoulder

After my wife was ushered into the room I took the break to walk along the aisle. I noticed many different types of rooms for different types of trauma treatment. Some rooms appear to be equipped with gymn type equipment. One room even has hydrotherapy facility.


While my wife was inside the room I chatted with a 60 year old man and later a middle aged woman.

The old man was there to seek treatment for his painful neck and shoulders. He told me that he had taken a lot of medication prescribed by doctors and consulted healers but all their treatments did not resolve his health problems except for physiotherapy which is giving him much relief. That is why he is repeating his regular visits to the clinic.

As for the middle aged woman she was here to look for relief for her painful spinal problem. However before I could find out more of her condition my wife was discharged from the room.

Asking about her treatment my wife told her a medical therapist demonstrated specific exercises to stretch and relax her shoulder and back muscles. The therapist asked her to do the specific exercises three times a day by her self and gave her a drawing illustrating the different types of exercises that she should do.

The next follow up appointment is in three weeks time.