Opinions on local hospitals

[Sardonicus]

In my time here I've primarily been to Gleneagles, Mt. E and Raffles hospitals and clinics.

It's probably not conclusive to judge a hospital by its clinics, more on their A&Es and staff, but they all seem to have some sort of collective vibe.

Unfortunately my work insurance heavily favors Mt. E, and I like that one the least. I've had a couple bad experiences there. Having said that, there are a couple of Mt. E clinics I have used with pretty good docs. We've had much better and consistent service from Raffles, both doctors and the A&E folk.

So I'm starting a conversation to see what your experiences or preferences are.

----------------------------------------------------
Last night was a sleepless one, too long and complicated to post here - it started after midnight and ended this afternoon. In the end nothing super serious but there was clearly the potential for it, and that eventuality had to be sorted before proceeding with something non-trivial that Mrs. S had been scheduled with her ObGyn for today. The ObGyn we never really liked but needed her for her speciality, and the A&E staff this morning made us furious.

Now we gotta find a new ObGyn. But my company clinic will still keep sending us to Mt. E.

[Fat Bob]

I have limited experiences of hospitals here.

NUH: a complete hassle, takes a long time for anything to happen there.

Alexandra: had to visit their A&E on thursday night, it was very slow, arrived with a big lump on my arm that a hockey ball left there: took 2 hours with no one else in the queue in front of me. All I needed was an xray to confirm whether arm was broken or not - that took about an hour to get (mainly due to waiting for the doc) and then an hour to sort out. Actual time seeing and talking to people was less than 15 mins. It could have been cut a lot shorter had the admissions nurse been empowered to send me straight for the xray.

What's the Raffles A&E like?

[baloo]

Having tried most A&Es, Mt E is my preferred.

For operations, also Mt E but really its down to the Specialist you get.

For a general admission, Raffles is the newest and best fitted out.

[Satellite]

I used a recommended gynea that was recommended here and he is good - dr yap lip kee (I think it was Mt. E)

Mainly go to govt hospitals. Changi hospital is bad but do go there due to shorter waiting times and my condition in A&E is always due to vomiting due to high fever. So treatment wise, it is pretty standard in all hospitals.

Tan tock seng = very long waiting .

[Sardonicus]

Well compared to the clown who was at Mt E last night I've always had good experiences with the screening docs at Raffles.

It's also a confidence thing, that guy put a dent in the credibility I had for Mt E. The nurses weren't any better. It's just one experience but that can be enough to never go back.

Interesting to see Baloo's preferences.

What's the Raffles A&E like?

[Addadude]

I've gone to the A&E at Alexandra a couple of times, once for a simple head injury (the significant other panicked) and once for tachycardia (one should NEVER mix non-drowsy formula cold medications). Both times I was seen and treated very promptly and there wasn't much of a queue. The doctors seemed to be on the ball too.

[Duck]

I had the misfortune of having surgery early this year but I couldn't have been more happier with the speed at which I was diagnosed, assessed and treated for my injury at Singapore General Hosp (SGH) I went through numerous departments, all of which served me efficiently and with care, they had great facilities and I can honestly say I would trust them with my health in future! (Fingers crossed I won't need to though)

[slinky]

I think in general it comes down to the doctor you get/have and not the hospital as a whole. I had an awful experience at Gleneagles' radiology dept but my OB is at Gleneagles and I think he's great. My experiences at Mt.E have all been good & Mr. S had surgery there last year and had no complaints.

[Satellite]

Raffles A&E - my elder brother goes there all teh time as his company pays and he says it is great. He even tries to persuade my grandmother to go there.

SGH - A&E ok.

KKH A&E children - ok.

In general, fo rhte govt hospitals as Slinky mentions mostly depends on teh doctor you get. Sometimes you get a good one, sometimes not. After my experience in abu dhabi A&E for my sinus toothache, everything here is good!

I've been to Mt E A&E for baby sate's jaundice when he was born and felt the whole system was a bit weird. Very different from the the govt hospitals. Didn't seem very efficient at all and was surprised that a private hospital offered such unprofessional service. (they needed to take blood samples from baby sate to test for jaundice level but they ran out of the syringe that are used for babies at the A&E section so that we had to go to a different level). This would be virtually unheard of in govt hospitals. I found the whole system very unprofessional. Baby sate's doctor was good but not teh whole A&E system. Very poor. I kept complaining to mr sate the whole time about how poor their service was. It was about the same price as the govt hospitals' A&E as well. Maybe slightly cheaper even.

[Fat Bob]

My idea of a hospital being "good" in the case of A&E is down to how quickly the required diagnostic tests and treatment is given. In my case, it was blatantly obvious that I needed an x-ray for a potential broken arm. It still took an hour to get that x-ray. Why they don't empower the nurse to get such tests organised upon admission seems a bit strange.

Will try Raffles next time.

[sluggo]

We've had good experiences at Raffles A&E or ER as we would say and Clinic. Very fast service and good results. The only other hospital we've been to was Mt. E and we had no complaints but we were not using the A&E or clinics.

[Kooky]

I have extensive experience of both Gleneagles and Mt E and my advice would be "Never share a hospital room with Neo". Oh hang on, that's not what you want is it?

I've been to numerous clinics and had a couple of stays in both of them, IIRC. They seemed much of a muchness to me. Gleneagles Emergency was great the couple of times I took Neo there, the second time being after midnight when he ended up being admitted. (Maybe it's all relative - when you've been to NYC Chinatown ER anywhere seems tranquil.)

However I think what you really need to ask about in this instance is ObGyns; personalities will make a huge difference to Mrs Sardy's experiences so have a convo with HR about changing hospitals, if necessary. Also tell Mrs Sardy to join up to the porum and chat to TLC - we have a couple of expectant ladies at the moment, and many more who have kids.

[slinky]

Yes, if it's a new OB you need, happy to recommend mine and his clinic also specializes in fertility treatment should you need any of that kind of thing. (But he is at Gleneagles - but, aren't both Mt. e and Gleneagles Parkway Health - or whatever? I would think that would make them somewhat inter-changeable.)

[nev]

I took an underwater hockey teammate to Alexandra A&E with a deep, 20cm-long gash that was bleeding all over the floor. One of the nurses gave him some gauze to press on it while waiting. He had to wait 2 hours to see a doctor, despite the A&E being on the quiet side that night. At that point, the gauze had stuck to the wound that was starting to dry. (The dad said) the doctor pulled the gauze off unceremoniously, without warning or any anesthesia. We could hear the boy scream from the waiting room. It took the doctor 15 minutes to stop the (re)bleeding, 15 more minutes to stitch it. Needless to say, we never took anyone to Alexandra A&E again, even though it's the nearest to the pool.

I've taken 2 more injured players with similar injuries to Gleneagles since then. Both were seen to within 15 minutes of arriving, and out within 30 minutes.

[baloo]

We've had specialists at Raffles Hospital tell us to go to Mt E A&E if it's something serious. Likewise Eastshore hospital, but they are part of the same chain.

My main gripe with Raffles is that after my Op, where they went overboard with the sleeping juice and I didn't come to until 10:30pm (from a 10am operation), is I asked for dinner and they said the kitchen was closed so I should order Pizza Hut or McDonalds myself.

Not the sort I thing I could de easily after having my sinuses ripped apart. I ended up texting Crackers and getting her to put the order through for me.

[SunshineAfterRain]

I have never been to the A&E in any of the local hospitals for any forms of treatment, so can't really comment.
Sister-in-law gave birth in SGH, she commented the wait is long but generally, the services rendered and staff are polite and pretty good.
I will be delivering my baby in NUH, the waiting time for scans and tests can be long (e.g.1.5 hrs) but staff are attentive and polite. My gynae was highly recommended by one of my spouse's friend as she specialises in obstetrics. Average waiting time is 30 mins to an hour. She does her private practice in Mt.E.

Totally agreed with the ladies on the forum about O&G, don't think any hospital is particularly good/bad, it depends on which doctor/gynae you have chosen. Good luck in finding your Mrs a good gynae.

[canuck]

have been to A&E at alexander for a swollen eye, meh, we went because the online view of the waiting room was empty, otherwise, N went to Gleneagles with food poisoning once, never again, rubbish waiting time.. kinda grimy

[Tack]

For A&E always used Gleneagles (at least 8 times, with conditions from appendicitis and head injury to tonsillitis). It was always swift and fine. Mr T had reason to use specialists at Mt E twice and it was no different to specialist care in Glen.

[Satellite]

Went to KKH Ob A&E on Sat, not very many people waiting and very fast treatment.

Baloo - can't believe that they asked you to order your own food. Unbelievable for private hospital treatment. (Mgt would definitely hear from me...very particular about everything) Always felt that private hospitals are not as integrated as govt hospitals in overall treatment hence would avoid private hospitals. However, doctors MAY be better.

Are there 2 Mt E? Baby sate's paed was there and when taking the taxi was told that there are more than one Mt. E. The one I was referring to is the one behind Paragon.

[baloo]

There is 1 Mt E Hospital and 1 Mt E Medical Centre where the specialists have their practices. They have a different entrance, but part of the same complex.

[Sardonicus]

Sorry if this is obvious from what you wrote, but are you saying that Raffles specialists implied that Mt. E A&E is better than Raffles A&E?

We've had specialists at Raffles Hospital tell us to go to Mt E A&E if it's something serious. Likewise Eastshore hospital, but they are part of the same chain.

[baloo]

Not as directly as that, but it was certainly strongly hinted that if speed and more than a general GPs diagnosis was needed, Mt E should be our first choice.