Those of you who have been following my blog closely will remember the letter of complaint I composed regarding the poor service we received in the Kuantan Government Hospital (HTAA).
Unfortunately, I didn't receive any reply for 3 months. Last week I decided to email the letter again. I sent it to HTAA, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and to the office of the Prime Minister.
I received an email reply from the office of the Prime Minister a few days later, which looked like this:
Sir/Madam,
LETTER OF COMPLAINT
I hereby refer to your complaint as stated above.
2. First and foremost, Ministry of Health (MOH) would like to express our utmost gratitude for your concern in bringing up this matter.
3. MOH has been looking forward to hearing more of the public insights and opinion especially on matters that would help us to improve our service quality.
4. Therefore, MOH will conduct an immediate inquiries as well as in-depth investigation to find the best way in resolving the issue.
Thank you.
HARTINI HASHIM
Public Relations Officer
Corporate Communication Unit
Ministry of Health Malaysia
It was great to get this reply and to finally see that something was being done. Yesterday I received a phone call from a matron at HTAA, who wanted to set up an appointment with me so that I could present my case to them.
Today four matrons from HTAA arrived at our house at 11am. We had a good discussion about my letter of complaint as I retold the events of those few days we spent at the hospital.
They apologised numerous times for the poor service we endured and they informed me that action has already been taken over the negligent nurse who failed to check my wife's blood pressure. Other problems were openly discussed and shared between us and they will send me the final report on the matter when they return it to the MOH.
I feel a great sense of justice and I'm very happy that action has been taken so that the hospital can make the necessary improvements to change for the better, especially for its patients. We were thanked for sending the letter of complaint to them and Matron Zaida commented this morning, "If you don't tell us, we don't know."
Thank you to matrons Lee, Zaida, Sara and Tan who came to our house in response to my letter of complaint, apologised, and built new friendships with us. Your time and effort to resolve these issues is very much appreciated and accepted!
Hi Duncan.Lovely photo of you all. I'm so glad that you finally got a response to your letter of complaint. Methinks it was obviously your copy letter to the Prime Minister's Office that got thngs moving so quickly! Nevertheless, that was fantastic that FOUR matrons actually came to your home to discuss the matter. I can't imagine that happening here in England!! Good to know that they are listening.
ReplyDeleteDet är likadant här i Sverige.
ReplyDeleteVården är inte vad den har varit. De drar ner på personal och det blir långa köer till operationer och sånt.
Kul att de hörde av sig och bad om ursäkt.
Grattis till dig som fick svar till slut.
Kramizzzz Jättefin bild.
Ni är så gulliga ni fyra.
Congratulations on your second daughter. Hopefully, the hospital will keep following up the condition of your wife. And I think they will just do that on your case. Some of my friends were not so lucky after all.
ReplyDeleteA very nice, by the book, PR letter you received, Duncan! But anyway, at least at the surface they did what they have to do and you got satisfaction. But don't advertise for them too much, because the next unsatisfied patient is sitting on cue already...I am not trusting any organization anymore, since PR has been invented! And trust me, I know what I say, because I'm teaching PR! But this is only my personal opinion:)
ReplyDeleteHey Duncan,
ReplyDeleteWe also found the square ice cream a real novelty. Thanks for your comment.
Nice to read about your complaint being taken seriously-it is refreshing these days when that happens but it is still too rare! I actually train people in customer services and complaint handling skills so if you don't mind I would like to use your experience as a local example of good complaint handling. Cheers for now!
I am glad they came to discuss with us and told us they have taken some actions on that particular nurse! These matrons are lovely people. :D
ReplyDeleteDiane, I couldn't believe it when I opened the door to be greeted by FOUR matrons! haha! It's great that they are taking it seriously and striving for improvements.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lotta, I guess there are struggles with this kind of thing all around the world.
Elijah, thanks, and if you persist, then things will happen for you!
Traveling Hawk, I won't exactly be advertising the hospital, just glad that action is being taken on our awful experience so that others in the future hopefully won't have to go through similar things.
Expat abroad, feel free to use my experience and I hope it comes in handy! Thanks for popping over!
Fidelia, the matrons were very nice and handled the complaint very well. I was pleasantly impressed :)
Duncan, that's the trouble here in Malaysia. If you don't bring a complaint right up to the top, they will just sit on it. So sad, but at least your follow up with the MOH has brought some result. I just wish that all public servants take their job seriously. My, I don't know whether it is the much talked about coming general election that has brought about the swift response. I hope not. But all's well that ends well.
ReplyDeleteordinary malaysian, at least I know where to send emails now that will get noticed! Just really happy that our complaint has been noticed and action taken.
ReplyDeleteHi Duncan,
ReplyDeleteSorry to post this question here but you are my expert on Kuantan!!
What are the winds like at the moment where you are? We want to come up this weekend (November 2011) for a bit of Kite Surfing. Any tips on best beaches and is it windy enough?
Thanks
Love your blog with all the plant photos!!
Take care,
Erika from Expat Abroad.
Expat Abroad, I'm honoured to be your Kuantan expert!
ReplyDeleteRight now we are having monsoon rains almost every day, so it's not perfect time to come. The winds are picking up though. However, the best beach for windsurfing is Balok beach, anywhere behind Swiss Garden Resort & Spa and Duta Village Beach Resort.
Thanks a ton for the info!!
ReplyDeleteHave a great long weekend!!
You are welcome Expat Abroad, hope you had a good one :)
ReplyDelete