Wednesday, January 13, 2010

A Day at Paranaque Doctors Hospital





Have you ever been in a crappy hotel suite? Where the facilities and services sucked big time and you felt like you've wasted a good amount of time and money because of it. It's just like that here at Paranaque Doctors Hospital at Dona Soledad Paranaque. Good thing that you're actually paying to be treated by the doctors and not the accommodation alone.

This morning was good if not for my nephew being rushed here due to some infection that caused severe vomiting. This has been a good choice since it is a fairly new hospital compared to the other one along Sucat road and it's only a tryk ride away but it seemed like this hospital has been here since the beginning of time. A seven story Hospital with two(thanks for the correction) high speeds elevators (I wish) servicing each floor. So you can imagine how long you have to wait along with patients in wheel chairs and gourneys. Poorly designed and even rubishly managed.

Plus the nurses at the stations are always busy not with their patients but with their stories. Amusing each other while my nephews IV is starting to bleed. I could only guess what could be more interesting than doing your job that pays your bills. They're warm and pleasant though, I have to give them that. But the rest really sucked.

There's no sadder feeling for a parent seeing his child suffer from disease but imagine how grandparents feel seeing their daughters child in agony cause of his health. Isn't this feeling bad enough for such aggrevation?

If I have to put it in the words that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson used to say. I got seven words for these people "Know your role and shut your mouth!"

Update:

My nephew was scheduled for a CBC test this afternoon(4PM) but since he just slept (he was awake the whole night) when the tech arrived. We asked her to just come back around 4:30. She said it was fine. Gabo woke up around 5PM a male tech took his blood sample. The tech was polite and all. He seemed very confident on what he's doing. Just like that It was over but gabo crying is totally inevitable. Around 7PM another tech (this time a female)came in. Verified the name of the patient and then said that she was again gong to take some blood sample for the CBC. What?! If I was the patient it was probably fine but Gabo is only a 10 month old baby for god sake. How much blood do you need? She was already prepping Gabos arm and looking for the vein where to pop the needle when we objected. Then she said it was for Sodium and Potassium churva. What?! Clueless as we are about these procedure we just watched as she drew another tube of blood from our poor boy.



42 comments:

  1. There are actually 2 elevators. the other one is located somewhere in the inner part of the hospital. (Turn right after the staircase and go straight.)

    But yeah, this hospital is not that good. But staff are really friendly though. Haha.

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  2. Got it. Thanks for that Info. It was just really frustrating. Nag cclog kasi dun sa first elevator ung mga patients, visitors and staff eh kaya lalong parang masikip.

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  3. hmm... yeah this story is frustrating but i have to disagree with some of you comments... first of all, the nurses there are friendly thinking that their only wage is 150 per day(thats what my from HR friend said).imagine studying and spending lots of money for 4 years, thats what you will only get for the hard works. secondly, it is not uncommon that your nephew's IV site is starting to bleed, since he is just 10 month old he probably pull it by accident or his mom did. remember, the only part of cannula that is left inside ur nephew's site is a small plastic catheter. and for the third, about the medtech, yeah i agree that they are inconsiderate but u also have to consider that this is not their choice... the doctors are the one making the orders. and if they did not follow it the doctor will get mad... and this kind of test should be done as soon as the doctor order it... REMEMBER! we are in the Philippines, what doctor said other should follow...

    Im not in their side, infact i do also have a bad experience in that hospital... not all the staffs there are bad... there are few who doesnt. and i pity them coz the management SUCKS!

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  4. The sad part was when we were about to check out. The Doctor cleared us for discharge. I went to the billing department to get the bill and upon reviewing it. My mom noticed that we were charged twice for the sodium and potassium test. So I cleared it up with the nurse station, confirmed if there were really two orders. They all agreed that on our room only one test was required. So I went to the laboratory to clear this up with them. I was waiting in line patiently and when it was my turn I told what happened to the one tech on the front desk who's slim, small, fair and a bit bitchy. After consulting with the people on the back all she could tell me is that I come back tomorrow cause the one who's in charge already left. I said this is the final bill for discharge. You know what she recommended? Pay the entire bill and just come back the following day to clear it up with them. If I'm lucky I'll get a refund. By this point I'm all ready to burst. I said Is this how you usually do things around here? By the look on her face it was as if she was taunting me while I make my point clear. " she kept saying "oh ano?" I asked for a more tenured tech and i recognized her. She was the one who drew out my nephews blood the night before for the test. Surprisingly after I retold her my dilema she was able to help me. Verified everything and even accompanied me to the billing department.

    Imagine the resolution provided by the 1st tech. I believe her name was Tatch or Thatch. She refused to give me her last name.

    Imagine the bill went from 8.3k to 7.2k.

    One of other patient relative was complaining that time. I dunno what she really wanted to happen but I believe her case was like this. His brother was the one confined and two techs went up to collect some samples. I believe blood. And all of them got frustrated when one tech blurted out that he/she doesn't know how to do it. In her words. "Ikaw na! Ikaw na! Di ko alam to!" Imagine what her brother must have felt at that time.

    To the one who just shared his/her comment. Im not arguing whether they're working there for free or what. And I have no knowledge of how the IV work. SO pardon me for feeling that way when I saw blood gushing out of my nephews arm. Think of it this way. We bring our family to the hospital and expect to get the treatment equal to the room rate we are paying. If it was free we wouldn't dare ask a question.

    On the other hand, I appreciate your time a comment. Good day to you.

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  5. I work at PDH. I'm really concerned about your experience. Were you able to fill up an evaluation form for the hospital before your nephew was discharged? I hope you did... We will look into your case, so we can serve you better next time. We apologize for all the inconvenience and confusion that our system caused you.

    Just to answer or clear some issues that i read from the comments above (these are the only ones i can tackle for now), the salary of nurses is not 150. Actually the 150pesos/day is what PDH give to the volunteer nurses. Most of the hospitals i know DON'T get paid or they(the nurses) even pay the hospital for volunteering. After their volunteership (maximum 5 months), they get to be evaluated, and if they meet certain standards, they may be hired as contractual (6months) and as regular staff after. We try our best to have a friendly and accomodating atmosphere. The blood extraction and fees issue, THAT, we still have to look into it. I hope you can give me your nephew's name, so that we can look into your case, and hopefully prevent these kind of cases to happen again.

    Good day! :)
    --ICN

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  6. Blame it on your management ICN. Employees are overworked and underpaid. What performance would you expect from these poor employees working overtime almost everyday without OT pay? The management is so abusive of their volunteers because they know these nurses work harder than the regular employees. Regular employees are not that dedicated to their job because they know they are not paid fairly. The management is pretending to be blind. Overworked, tired employees equals poor performance.

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  7. @ ICN My nephews name is Gabriel Louie Olegario. I think he was registered there as Gabrielle Louie. It was just a very bad experience and I just can't help but tell the world about it.

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  8. Sir eLLe, and Mr/Ms Anonymous, thank you for the info. We value your comments and suggestions. Thank you for raising your concerns. I'm sure PDH management will look into this seriously, as soon as I tell them this monday. I'm not the official spokesperson. I just came across your blog while browsing for old PDH pics.But, I care about people we serve, that's why I felt communicating with you. God bless! -ICN

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  9. ... and we're supposed to be getting PDH shares. Hindi kaya sayang lang ang investment sana sa LPDH na lang.

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  10. I went to the ER of that hospital a few months back due to food poisoning. They asked me for a stool sample. And lo and behold, NONE of the CR's in the ER area had water, soap or tissue. WTF?! This is a hospital and hygiene should be the priority. I asked the nurses and all they can tell me was that I can buy outside the soap. Kung hindi lang accessible yan eh. leche!

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  11. yeah that sucks. Considering that it is a private hospital.

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  12. OMG!!!! I really don't know if I'll continue my application here as volunteer nurse... any advice?

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  13. Well, don't take our word for it Ms. Anonymous. Go ahead and see for yourself... If you can't see it anymore, the better.

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  14. lack of staff = lack of quality care, hence patient suffers, pls spread the word not to go to this crappy hospital, ive seen this hospital operate. Where in the world can you find a hospital wherin for 15 patient only 2 nurses caters to them, what more could you expect, those nurses are not super human's, but i have to give it to them nurses, they still can manage to sort things out despite everything else, yun nga lang dont expect to much

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  15. tama!! lack of staff = lack of quality care, so dont expect too MUCH!

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  16. i had this experience with them..

    for me, i have nothing to say sa mga nurses. actually they are friendly and approachable.. even though i was upset they still smile, the only thing is the management sucks!! my brother was admitted in PDH and he lives at QC and we checked out after 5pm. I was asking for the medical certificate and they said "hindi na makukuha ngayon kasi close na yun office kasi till 5pm lang sila, at bakit ngayon lang kayo nagrequest?"

    actually, nagrequest kami nung 6-2 shift pa.. maybe hindi naforward.. so i have no choice but to come back... i asked the nurse what time can i come back tomorrow? and she said after 5 days! dang! 5 days for medical certificate!? and she said ganun daw ang policy nila.. i did not argue with the nurse, what can she do? nothing!

    the point is, its just a piece of paper and he needs it at work.. he lives at QC.. ganon ba katagal.. im working in a hospital but they are not like that, it wont take 5 days just to get that.. and its there responsibility too! i told them earlier..

    and as i read you comments your right... lack of staff is lack of quality... i feel so sad para sa mga volunteer nurses.. they get 150/day while hindi nauubosan ng tao ang hospitals and patients pay more.. they take advantage of them! its doesnt go for PDH only.. para sa lahat ng hospitals.. yun iba pa kahit allowance wala pa. how can they practice their field if the havent got a chance?

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  17. I live nearby the hospital, and i want to have a check-up soon. I was thinking of going there because it's very accessible to me, but after reading this, I might not push through with what I wanna do.

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  18. well, i will just bring this to the management for them to do actions and evaluation of the hospital operation. thanks for the inputs.

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  19. I can surely sympathize with the experience of anonymous because I have been a patient and accompanied emergency patients at PDH for a couple of times and had varied experiences, good and bad.

    However, as a professional person,there are plenty of ways to deal with the situation calmly and decently. Because effective patients get effective services and panicky or silent patients get panicky services as well. First, your concerns at that time should have directed to your attending doctor. Second, everytime a nurse enters the room for whatever reason, ask what she needs to do and why and look for the service/ lab request before s/he touches the patient. If in doubt, always ask to speak to your doctor before the lab/service/med is served or done. In short, be pro-active.

    Third, always tell the nurses/ staff what you want them to do and not just wait for them to act. They can't read your mind.

    Fourth, always fill up evaluations for as completely and honestly as you can because these were designed to give the upper management the feedback mechanism for changes/ improvements, devaluation and promotion of staff.

    Fifth, as a blogger, sweeping statements as well as hear say ( chismis) should not be posted in blogs or comments. If you cant prove it, then it is a lie and rumor only. Legally, you can be sued for libel and oral defamation and other civil/criminal charges..oh yes they can track your IP addresses.

    Sixth, it is not fair for the thousands of employees of Paranaque Doctors to be labelled as bad if it is the fault of a few persons. There are lots of qualified, professional, warm and prompt staff/doctor/ nurses there.

    seventh, the elevators there are of course being utilized by other patients..what the heck, you are not the only patient to be serviced by that elevator. If you need to go the doctor's clinic use the inner elevator, for patient's room is the outer elevator. You just have to know where you are going.

    Be a smart patient, you should first and foremost know your responsibilities..remember you point 1 finger at a person but 4 fingers point at you.

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  20. To sum it all it's a bad hospital! Awfully disappointed, disgusted. Mukang Pera, mahilig mag-overcharge, kung ano-ano ang gustong i-charge,nagiimbento ng mga charges at sakit para mapunta ang patient sa ICU. E mas mahal pa sa Makati Med at Asian Hospital! Kaloka! Kaya ifever maconfined kayo don bantayan nyo bills nyo gawin nyong parang restaurant na per order slip basis. Swapang! Makarma sana!

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  21. If PDH is crappy, LPDH is crappier. I worked there, and the management and the people, UGLY. Don't buy shares there, you'll be wasting your money for nothing,

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  22. actually if you point your 1 finger to another person...only 3 fingers left pointing at you...the remaining 1 finger is still pointing to the person your pointing at:) try it LOL :)

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  23. http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=755429&publicationSubCategoryId=64

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  24. definetely, pag sa hospital kayo, expect that there would be not just a one time blood extraction. kahit 10 month old lang yan, kung order ng order nmn ung doctor ninyo for blood tests, wlang mggwa ung tech dyan, but to extract. swerte nga kayo dahil pumayag pa ang medtech na balikan patient ninyo. hindi lang nmn kasi kayo ang patient for extraction dyan. per shift, only one medtech caters to all blood extraction. ER, out patient and in patient. so you could just imagine how stressful sa tech yan.

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  25. basahin mo nga ulit PDH medtech yung comment mo? We should be thankful? saka basahin mo kayang mabuti yung post para maintindihan mo kung ano talagang prublema. Hirap kasi puro kayo dada hindi nyo ayusin yang trabaho nyo. mediocre people working for a mediocre hospital! Boohoo!

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  26. For me, PDH is just a hospital you'll go to if you do not have other choices especially if it's midnight. PDH is inside our village so it's very convenient to go back and forth for checkups only for minor illnesses. But if you're really sick, please don't stay there. Facilities are incomplete, some of the nurses seem not to know what they are doing, etc. I can say this because I really had bad experiences which just happened last year. Don't want to go into details because it's big time trauma for me.

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  27. i was confined twice in this hospital, last November saka ngayong month lang. i should say, mabait yung mga nurses and mga medtechs, pero hindi na ako babalik ulit. Here are the reasons:

    *those two times na naconfine ako, i stayed for another 1 day para lang hintayin maground yung doctors/specialists nila which means additional earnings para sa kanila, buti nalang may healthcard ako. Sabi naman nung nurse pag tinatanong ko mya mya, sabi daw nung doctor pupunta naman daw ngayon, the next day na ko pinuntahan.
    *ang tagal din magprocess ng HMO office nila pag healthcard gamit mo, expect 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
    *wala ding tissue sa CRs, tsk. Tsk. Ospital pa naman sila.
    *ang tagal maghintay ng elevators, halo lang sa mga pasyente ang mga visitors and staffs, panu kung may sakit yung pasyente, kahit naman di nakakahawang sakit, parang for the sake of being a hygienic hospital man lang minsan pa naman may mga bata kasabay ng nakawheel chair na pasyente.
    *ang tagal din ng billing process, around 11 am nagsign na doctor ko ng clearance for discharge, 6 pm na natapos yung bill ko, every 30 minutes yata pinafollow up namin.
    *dalawang beses nagkamali yung nurse na mag-iinsert ng IV ko, nung una ayoko pang magalit, kasi i'm trying to be mabait kahit masakit na, pero nung tutusok na naman sya the 3rd time, sabi ko tawagin nlang niya senior nurse niya. Once cguro pde pang magkamali, pero twice? Ano ba?
    * After my x-ray, I waited for almost an hour na nakaupo sa wheelchair ko para lang ibalik ako ng orderly sa kwarto. The next day, ultrasound naman, isang oras na naman akong naghintay para maihatid pabalik sa room. The next day, CT scan naman, another hour of waiting na naman. Kung hindi lang ako nakadextrose and all, naglakad na lang cguro ako.. mas matagal pa yung paghihintay ko sa mga orderly kesa dun sa mismong xray,ultrasound mismo…

    Hindi na ko babalik ulit sa PDH (ParaƱaque Dollars Hospital, sabi ng mga kapitbahay ko).

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  28. Pag mga minor lang ang sakit pwedeng talbujam ang pdh napalalapit lng kasi pero pagga grabe wag na wag nyo itatakbo ang parient jan kung ayaw nyo mamatay.. Namatay father ko jan tetanus infection ang daming test ang ginawa ct scan chuva ek huli na nila nalaman king kelan kumalat na peperahan lang kayo pati ipapa advise na i ICU yun pla para lang dagdag sa bill useless!

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  29. My lola's confined today here at PDH. Sucks big time considering our family shares a stock here. Di uubra kahit stock holder ka. Walang special treatment or anything dahil, wala ka talagang aasahang warm service sa kanila.

    The staff naman are friendly except for few minor cases. Medyo yung mga nurses sa ER seem to be incompetent. We waitedfor an hour sa observation bed, BP pa lang nagagawa (This is after evaluation dun sa harap ah). Basta ang bagal gumalaw nung mga nurse, daldalan kasi ng daldalan.

    Tsaka may concern ako sa HYGIENE. Nung naadmit na lola ko, pinapalitan namin yung mat kasi marumi na. 12 hours bago nila pinalitan, kasi di pa raw natutuyo yung mat. Ano un, 1 room, isang mat? Mas maganda pa ata sa govt hospital dito. Tsaka kadiri ung housekeeping nila, mop alng ang ginagawa, di man lang nagwawalis. CR, hindi nililinis. At naglilinis lang sila, pag tinawagan mo! Di regular at consistent ang rounds ng housekeeping. Also, pagkadala sa lola ko sa kwarto nya (kakaadmit pa lang), halatang di nilinis yung room. may mga used tissue pa sa ilalim ng bed.

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  30. Also experienced incorrect billing dito sa hospital na to. Yung meds ng kid ko when she had amoebiasis. I would list down kc the number of times na binibigyan sya ng meds, what kind, intake ng water, times na magpoop sya, etc. I made my own chart to track these things para pag tinanung ng doctor, I would be able to answer her accurately. Nung discharge na, I checked the bill and saw na yung ibang meds nya sobra ng one or two dosages. I asked the nurses' station kung meron pa natira so I could take it home (sometimes kc narequest na nila from the pharmacy so they have it at their station pero di pa lang nabibigay syo). Sbi nila wala na daw. I told them about the incorrect number of meds charged on our bill. sbi nung isang nurse nila it will take a while daw para macheck records para maconfirm kung sobra nga. I just wanted to get my daughter home and kesa matagalan pa, we just paid for it since di naman gnun kalaki yung amount. Pero sana ma address nila tong gnitong issue nila.

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  31. My daughter was admitted to this hospital, she is only 1 month old. The bed got ants, the room - cockroaches (So I had her crib brought and I didn't sleep to watch out for insects)! Yung Pedia na JCO was a bitch, yung male nurse na up to 6AM shift smelled he just smoked cigarette when he checked on my daughter at 4AM. Nung natanggal ang swero ng daughter ko, they want to redo it again. I cannot take it anymore, I decided that if it is necessary to redo yung swero, it rather be on a better hospital! So nagrequest na lang ako sa pedia ng daughter ko to transfer her na lang. Nung binigay nung same Pedia na JCO yung admission slip para sa SLMC QC hospital, aba, bumait bait.

    Ang masaklap pa nito, when we are in SLMC na, the pedia we consulted there said no need to admit sa hospital since OK naman si baby. We were just given home meds! Kaloka!!!

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  32. I was shocked to see all the comments and yes i am one of the Many that has a bad experience with this PDHospital, but too late my Father died because of doctors who did not even give a damn on how to do routine checks and check the meds given to the patient.what happened to my father is traumatic and i will say also DO NOT GO TO THIS HOSPITAL EVEN IF EMERGENCY-because YOU WILL END UP DEAD.

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  35. i've been hospitalized 3 times during the last 4 months at PDH. the only reason why we choose the place is convenience as it's the nearest one to our house.

    most of the nurses are kind and caring and that's all i can say. the management doesn't treat the hospital as a public service but rather as a business that they can maximize their profit. lahat ata ng doctor doon ay shareholder eh, he h ehe

    sa ibang hospitals, the PF of doctors depend on the room type you are in. so, on the first confinement, from a private room i asked to be transferred to a ward instead. di pala ganun kalakaran doon. pag referred ka ng doctor, kahit sa bodega ka pa naka check in, ung PF ganun pa rin.

    i wish there are other private hospitals near that place.

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  36. Uh oh.. may improvement kaya? Dito kasi si OB accredited which is also accessible from my place. This will be my first born pero sa nabasa ko.. Ill insist na sa MMC na lang to give birth.

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  37. May changes na kya?! Lapit na ko manganak. Dito pa nman accredited ob ko.

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  38. It's so sad reading bad comments about PDH. But i think it's better to tell PDH directly all these comments rather than post it in social media if after all we want them to improve their services. Just my 2 cents.

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  39. It's so sad reading bad comments about PDH. But i think it's better to tell PDH directly all these comments rather than post it in social media if after all we want them to improve their services. Just my 2 cents.

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  42. My fiance died at pdh hospital, before that I called the doctor who's attending him that he was suffering from pain. Doctor told me without even checking up on him that he was acting up. 2 hours after, he's dead !!!

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