A good government medical doctor - at last!

I accompanied my father to Hospital Selayang for his final checkup before his minor surgery to his blocked urethra (as a result of kidney stones) on 02052008. I will try my best to make a point to follow my mother and father to this hospital because from our experiences (in this hospital and HUKM), the service was so bad - merely because my father is a pensioner and thus, my parents get free treatment at government hospitals.

My mother had 2 minor operations to release her trigger-finger symptoms on her left hand on 2 different occasions. Everytime she visited the clinic, she never got to see the same doctor that saw her the first time. even after the surgery, the doctor who operated her never checked on her fingers. For the first surgery, the stitches were only taken out after 2 months - marking too long a recovery period and after the surgey, instead of one crooked finger, my mother had 3. She cannot bend 3 fingers and that really affected her in holding things. I made a lot of noise complaining to one doctor requesting to see the doctor that operated my mother for i wanted a good explanation why this happened. No doctors dared to come forward. I told the doctor that just because my parents paid nothing, they do not have the rights to cause such discomfort to my mother. Plus, how could the doctor who operated a patient never examined his / her patient post-op? ish pelik la... these people do not fit to be a doctor. After months of physiotherapy, my mother regained improved movements to 2 fingers except the little finger. So, she had to undergo another op to rectify the problem but the problem persist. Now, the Master i.e. senior specialist is looking into her problem and hopefully, she could use back her little finger. You might wonder what a difference it makes if we could not flex our little finger. A lot - trust me.

My father was fortunate. Dr Cyril was a kind hearted, responsible doctor (handsome pula tu) and I pray that my father is in his good hands. He profusely apologised to my father for not using the general anasthetic (GA) when he examined my father (putting camera through my father urethra) and caused my father pains. He told us that in UK, where worked for 10 years, require GA for such examination but he was shocked to be informed by his colleagues in Hospital Selayang, no GA is required for cost cutting purposes. No wonder he is so different. He studied and worked in UK. Not that I want to belittle our local-trained doctors, but I am yet to find one as good as those trained abroad except for my aunt and my schoolmates, Dr. Raha and Dr. Ellyza (these wonderful ladies were trained in USM).

He has eye-contacts with his patients, recognised his patients by face, called them personally to his clinic (nurses were such slow-coaches) and tried to relate to the patients. Knowing my father was an ex-army personnel, he said that "we have something in common then. My father was in the army too". His father was an army doctor.

Dr Cyril, thank you so much. May God bless you and your loved ones always. May God give you strength and courage to continue to be a good doctor to many more. May God protect you.. always!