The disabled should have easy access to medical help.

THE past couple of weeks have been a particularly trying time for me. I found myself going in and out of the hospital and clinic to atttend to unexpected health problems.

It can be very challenging to seek medical help if you are in a wheelchair. The situation is exacerbated for those of us who live alone. Whilst I am happy to say that I have really good friends who will help me out when I need it, they may not be able to rush to my rescue when assistance is urgently needed.

People with disabilities should have easy access to medical aid but unfortunately, this is not happening in our society. It’s time the authorities woke up to this fact and make the necessary changes.

People with disabilities – who become very vulnerable in such situations – need equal access to medical care. It is important that they get help speedily. Some of them may not have friends or families to help them and may turn up at the emergency ward alone.

I was shocked to find out recently that I was just as vulnerable as the next disabled person when it comes to having proper access to medical help.

My woes started with a slight phlegm in the throat. Within a few hours it had turned into a wheezing nightmare. Fortunately for me – and many disabled people may not be as lucky as I am – a doctor-friend rushed over to my house in Petaling Jaya when he heard I was in trouble.

After examining me, he gave me medication – including antibiotics – to arrest the problem. He monitored my situation closely via the telephone. When things got a little more serious, he insisted that I go to the nearest emergency clinic at the government hospital, which is just five minutes away, for nebuliser treatment twice a day.

A nebuliser is a device used to administer medication in the form of a mist inhaled into the lungs.

Fortunately for me, I managed to get the contact number of the top supervisor at a local hospital, through the Petaling Jaya City Council.

He was a kind and helpful gentleman, and asked his staff to receive me each time I turned up at the hospital.

As much as I appreciated everything they had done for me, I feel all emergency and trauma centres in the country should be trained to handle disabled people in an emergency situation.

There should be parking lots for the disabled next to the entrance. I didn’t see this at the emergency section.

The frontline staff should be trained to look out for handicapped drivers, especially those driving alone, and rush out to them with the hospital’s wheelchair.

This would help to cut down the time needed to take the driver’s wheelchair out of the car boot. Another good practice would be for the attending healthcare giver to introduce themselves immediately to the patients. They should identify who they are, whether they are doctors, nurses or hospital attendants.

That didn’t happen during my visits. I ended up calling irrelevant personnel for what to do next when the nebuliser dosage ran out. Name tags should be big and clear so that patients can easily identify the healthcare staff. Can hospitals make it a rule to attend to disabled patients promptly to cut down the waiting and treatment time?

The reason for this is clear. Many of us have to contend with problems such as weak bladders that require us to go to the toilet every now and then.

Hospitals can take the cue from the National Registry Department. I went to the office in Putrajaya last week and was pleasantly delighted by the reception I received.

I sailed through hundreds of people who were waiting there, and was at the special counter within five minutes. The process took about 15 minutes before I was out of the building and on my way home.

There was no need to visit the loo or worry if it was wheelchair-friendly. It’s great to know that at least some key departments in our country have got their act together.

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