I REFER to the reply from the Sungai Buloh Hospital director (”Saving lives is the priority” - NST, March 24) in response to my letter “No doctors at emergency clinic” (NST, March 19). I find it difficult to accept his explanation on the following grounds:

Even if the specialist and team of doctors were on their rounds, in the critical area and observation ward, why was there no doctor for one hour in the emergency clinic? Are all emergency clinic doctors required to be present at the same time in the red zone?

What if another equally serious case had been brought in during that time, as a man with a bandaged forehead and blood all over his clothing was seen stretched out on a bench just outside the entrance of the waiting area that morning?

Who decides on the zoning of the emergency arrival? Is it the clerk at the registration, who, in the words of the director, “had conveyed the wrong message”?

If the clerk decides on the zoning of the emergency arrival, then there is something wrong with the system.

One important point the director left out is where he and his deputy were at the time as attempts to contact both of them were futile.

P. PARANTHAMAN, Shah Alam

Source: NST – March 28, 2008