At the Eye Clinic

This may be of interest to people of my age. I had an appointment at the Ophthalmology Clinic (another word for Eye Clinic) at Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, HUKM in Jalan Cheras, on 21 March at 8 am. It turned out I overslept and manage to be at the clinic just before 11.

HUKM need to do something about its parking space. The jockeys refused to accept my old jalopy saying that they have been oversubscribed. So Jun had to take over the wheel and drove to the overcrowded car park down the slope while I rushed to the clinic on the 1^st floor. Later Jun told me she went round 3 times before one of the attendants advice her to just leave the car with the hand-brakes and the gear free allowing them to push just in case anyone being blocked would go out. Clever! Fortunately a car was going out and Jun took over its place. Lucky!

The clinic was full to the brim with people – patients with eyes problems accompanied by one or 2 others. Maybe the clinic got to look into adding more seats and space. It looks as if the staff went overtime with overwork. I was called in over 2 hours later at 1.30 pm. Half hour later the examination of my eyes that underwent surgery for removal of cataract sometime back was over. I was given a clean healthy result but advice to be careful as a diabetic patient. Then it was off to the pharmacy for medication. Unfortunately it hasn’t got the “artificial tears” the doctor recommended and I have to buy at the “shop” on the ground floor.

While waiting earlier I took a break to go to the canteen after missing breakfast. It was way out at the back of the hospital near the emergency ward. It took some walking to reach. It was crowded as most of the people who went to the hospital missed their breakfast to avoid the early morning rush hour. I noticed a lot of shortcoming in this area and without specific suggest that the authority look into the health related matter seriously.

HUKM has changed its parking system payment by introducing the central payment opposing the one as you drive out. I think it solved some of their problem of employing people but it was not good for users as there was no cover for rain and sun after a long walk from HUKM building via the steep stairs.

Parking is really a hazardous problem at HUKM. I suggest they look urgently at putting up a multi-storey car park like the one at University Malaya Medical Centre UMMC. They must not forget to install lifts, escalators and roofed walk-away connected to the main building of the hospital for the sake of the aged, handicapped, and the sick and similar people.

I don’t know why the planners and the architects of new government buildings related to public services never look seriously into the matter of vehicles parking. Even the spanking new Putrajaya complex is also facing the same problem. They should take account into the number of vehicles coming in to be parked. The buildings are far away from public transport and people have to use cars to reach there.

I may be deviating from my original purpose of going to the Eye Clinic but being an elderly patient who has to go through all this agony of long distance walking of climbing up and down staircases I feel I have the right to make suggestions.