KUCHING: The National Service (NS) Training Department has asked for further details from the Putra Sentosa Camp over an incident, where a trainee ended up being hospitalised for five days.

The department said initial investigations revealed the trainee’s sickness was handled according to the NS’s “schedule of compliance”.

Its director-general Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil said in a statement yesterday that procedures were followed, and that the trainee was given appropriate medical care at the camp and at Lundu Hospital.

Abdul Hadi’s statement said the trainee first reported his respiratory discomfort on Feb 9.

“According to the camp, the trainee was attended to by a medical assistant who has 30 over years of experience,” Abdul Hadi said.

“In the early stages, the medical assistant found that the trainee was only displaying normal cough symptoms. He was given cough and sore throat medication. On Feb 12, the trainee was brought to Lundu Hospital after his cough symptoms did not improve. He was given a check up and was not found to be in serious conditions needing to be admitted (to hospital).”

The statement detailed all of the trainee’s hospital visits.

“On the next day (Feb 13), the trainee was again brought to Lundu Hospital because he was still coughing and was given outpatient treatment. On Feb 16, the trainee complained of a slight nose bleed, and the camp’s medical team brought him to the hospital again, where he was treated as an outpatient again.”

Finally, on Feb 22, he was brought to Lundu Hospital again and was given sick leave. His family then brought him to Kuching Specialist Hospital and was given sick leave until March 11.

“The total number of sick leaves was 19 days,” the statement said.

“The department wants to emphasise that the management never takes such medical conditions and safety of trainees lightly. All appropriate actions are always taken to ensure the safety and welfare of trainees.”

The mother of the trainee in question, Stefania Tan, alleged to The Star recently that the camp had displayed health negligence. She said her son’s condition was not properly treated, and doctors at Kuching Specialist Hospital found the trainee to have been suffering from a viral infection, which resulted in fever.

Her son was hospitalised for five days and was placed on seven bottles of antibiotic drips. Tan said her son had a history of asthma, which she made known to the camp.

“It is not like I left things as they were. On the contrary, I even went to the extent of letting them know of the medication and treatment for my son’s conditions — yet they still chose to ignore this until my son’s health deteriorated so badly,” Tan had told The Star.

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