I REFER to “No doctors at emergency clinic” (The Star, March 17). On that particular day and time, the specialist and her team were on clinical rounds in the Red Zone (critical area), Yellow Zone (semi-critical area) and Observation Ward.

The patient was registered at 8.35am and put in the Green Zone.

At the same time, there was a serious case in the Red Zone at 8.30am, a victim of a traffic accident. He was in critical state, requiring extensive resuscitation and blood transfusion. In a situation like this, the doctor assigned to the Green Zone (non-critical area) would rush to the Red Zone to assist the team in resuscitating the critically ill patient.

The doctor resumed seeing patients at Green Zone at 9.45am. However, the patient had left the hospital at 9.30am.

It appears that our clerical staff had conveyed the wrong message to the complainant. She must have thought that the doctor was still on clinical rounds, which she referred to as clinical meeting.

On behalf of Sungai Buloh Hospital, I apologise for the miscommunication and the unpleasant experience of the patient.

Dr KHALID IBRAHIM,
Director,
Hospital Sungai Buloh.

Source: The Star – March 25, 2008