A patient at Sengkang General Hospital (SKH) shared on TikTok that he ordered painkillers from Foodpanda after waiting for nearly two hours at the hospital.
After the video went viral, SKH drafted a response on its Facebook page.
The hospital said it was aware of a TikTok video posted by the patient, Hamid Osman, also known as Jombadok, who claimed that he could not get Panadol from a “first-world hospital,” saying that the ordeal was “really ridiculous.”
@jombadok Cannot get Panadol at Sengkang Hospital #viraltiktok #viraltiktoksg #sgtiktok #fypシ #fyp #viral ♬ original sound – Jom Badok Nation
“Can you imagine… (I’m) asking for Panadol and I cannot get the medicine from a first-world hospital… it is really ridiculous,” he says in the video.
“No point. I might as well (stay) at home. I have my painkillers at home… (the hospital) is a let-down.”
SKH said that it had provided the patient with the appropriate care based on his condition and that it was committed to attending to every patient in a timely manner.
However, it also explained that patients with less acute conditions may sometimes experience longer waiting times compared with those who are being treated for serious urgent and life-threatening emergencies.
Hamid, 55, who was admitted for gangrene and an ulcer on his right heel on Sept. 11, said he felt a sharp pain on his heel at about 8pm and asked for painkillers but the nurses were very busy, he told Straits Times.
He then decided to order Panadol through Foodpanda and filmed himself receiving his painkillers from a delivery rider at the hospital lobby.
He also said he was going to discharge himself from the hospital against medical advice the next day because he saw no point staying there if he could not get medication.
However, he later changed his mind and stayed until Sept. 15 when he was discharged.
He said he realized that he had to undergo some more medical tests and that the nurses had been very helpful and explained to him that he could not take medicine from outside the hospital without the doctor’s approval.
He will be going for his gangrene operation on Friday to amputate a toe.
SKH said they were sorry that the patient felt that he did not have a comfortable experience and that they had to follow certain procedures for new admissions.
“All medications must be approved by the doctor for patient safety and ordered through the system for record purposes,” the hospital said.
