Pages

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

National Service Medical Examination


Now NS trainees have to undergo a compulsory medical examination. This, according to the Director General of the National Service Training Programme is to prevent medical mishaps among trainees.

The logic involved in the medical service is mind boggling. Assumed there are 140,000 trainees divide into 87 camps, each camp will hold average 1600 trainees. The question arises to its effectiveness in the medical screening, since screening is done in the camp by the medical officers. A cursory medical examination will not detect any medical condition in the trainees. The quality on effectiveness comes into question.

Death due to mishaps including accidents and medical conditions will occur in a big batch of trainees. Now will a medical examination by a medical officer in the camp detect any conditions and hence prevent any unfortunate casualty?

The answer, I am afraid is unlikely. Often such medical conditions can often be picked up in the medical questionnaires if it is answered truthfully.

If we analyze death among the trainees, due to medical conditions while undergoing training, about 10 death out of 300,000 trainees (if memory do not fail me). This is become obvious the whole exercise of medical screening need a relook.

Death among the trainees should be prevented at all costs. It is traumatic to the trainees and family members when it’s occurred. Medical examination in the camp is not the best method to pick up the potential candidates. It is the answers they provide in the medical form that will provide the biggest clue, not a physical medical examination by the doctor in the camp.

Trainees must be truthful in answering the question in the health declaration form. They should not think the medical screening will pick up all the medical conditions. If they do so, I am afraid they may be more medical mishaps, despite the medical screening and is provide more ammunition for an outcry.


国民服务计划强制体检

根据国民服务训练计划总监的说法,现在强制每位国民服务计划學员体检,是为了避免受训过程发生医疗事故。这在逻辑上是不通的。

假设14万名學员,分配在87个营地,每个营地平均有1600名學员。问题就在进行体检的效率,尤其是这项工作是由营地的医疗官负责。粗略草率的体检是无法查驗出受训學员的身体状況,因此体检的品质就是一个问题了。

包括意外和医疗不足在內的死亡事故有可能发生在大批學员身上,如今负责体检的营地医疗官是否做好準备应付和避免任何不幸事故发生?

答案是,恐怕是不太可能。通常这一类的体检只是在表格上做医疗选择题,而且预设的情况是人人都据实作答。

如果我们从學员死亡事故來分析,30万名學员约有10人因受训过程因医疗不足死亡(如果我沒记错),显然整个训练的医疗照顧都需要检讨了。

我们要不惜一切代价避免學员死亡,当不幸发生了对其他學员及家属都是伤害。营地执行体检不是挑出有病因学员的最佳方法,反之学员在体检表格上提供的答案是重要线索,而不是营地医生进行的体检。

學员必须据实填写健康申报表。他们不应以为医疗检查将能快速掌握自己的体格状況。如果他们真的这么想,尽管有了体检,但我担心会有更多医疗事故,并让反对者有更多反对的理由。

13 comments:

Zashnain said...

National Service is a failed experiment. Rather than allocating more money to improve the programme, the Govt should shut it down.

NS does not teach young people the importance of acceptance, national unity and community collaboration.

Instead it puts them at risks with the NS’s army tactics, contradictory lectures of racial harmony, bad food, and others.

Close it down!

南洋閩學網誌 said...

Dear drchua9

Your comment on issues that are relevant to all RAKYAT is very much welcomed.
But would you continue to do this if you were appointed as minister

VERY IMPRESSED BY THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT
"Death among the trainees should be prevented at all costs. It is traumatic to the trainees and family members when it’s occurred. Medical examination in the camp is not the best method to pick up the potential candidates. It is the answers they provide in the medical form that will provide the biggest clue, not a physical medical examination by the doctor in the camp."

I swear said...

Why can't some people accept that people do not want NS? Is this medical thingie another way of making more money by contracting out purchase of supplies and services?

I hope the powers remember oil and palm oil revenue will be down significantly in 2009. Taxpayers are already being milked dry by tax authorities and govt is still keen to waste so much money.

Mercedes said...

Dear Dr. Chua,

First, I am not going to argue with you regarding your view on the medical examination, I agree that you are the best person to comment on that, as some had said.

A "womanly person" should not be allowed into national service, because it may be difficult for him to stand the test.

So you must look out for "womanly" people before it is too late. How to do so?

First, he likes to label someone as having an "obsession", while forgetting that his womanlike behaviour was actually the one that was causing all the trouble.

There are other behaviour which will be classified as "womanly behaviour":

i. scolding someone but not revealing the name, pointing to this and that. But reference to that person is clear;

ii. when that person is trying to argue to clear his name, he would smile (or laugh) and said: "I didn't say it was you, hahaha! siapa makan chili dia yang rasa pedas... hahaha!"

iii. would not forgive (never!) when a man has an affair, doesn't matter what reason that man may have. It is the womanly nature in these people that they can't stand man flirting with girls... doesn't matter whether that "man" belongs to them or not;

iv. thinks that he is only accountable to himself. Party gives him power, he says " I simply exercise my power, I don't have to tell you why." Sadly, there are others who would argue for him, too. So, when party gives him money, can he also spend it like it was given to him alone and doesn't have to tell you why?

v. once being poked upon he would cry out loud: whether you had revealled classified information to others, whether you have a PR in a foreign country, whether you have hundreds of millions, etc.. But one thing for sure he would keep his mouth shut when it involves seaport.

This type of people is very bad. I wouldn't want to be his member, because I would not dare to let him know of my secrets.

It is also my nature as a man that I like to flirt with women. I used to think that was ok until I see so many "womanly" men around me.

These "womanly" men don't care what is right and what is wrong. They don't care if the MCA members had voted Dr. Chua not so much because he was a victim of a crime, but because they cannot help the criminals to kill Dr. Chua.

Instead, these "womanly" men are truly obsessed with the love-making scene that has kept replaying in their diseased mind and wouldn't let go even a bit. And they must keep replaying it with their mouth.

So, Dr. Chua, tell the authority to beware of these "womanly" men. They simply are not fit to serve this beautiful country.

yintaoshu said...

I believe National Service is one of the most successful programme that is created by the government. Malaysian should be proud that government is willing to spend so much to groom the leaders of future.

Working in HR line had make me realise that most of today's graduates are unable to stand on their own feets. And I believe going through this National Service will be one of the way of preparing them for the real world.

I am one of those who think that National Service have more pros than cons. Also read a few comments by some of these trainees who commented on how much they have gained through this programme at The Star.

Unknown said...

how long u studied ur MBBS Dato.....it looks like iit take nearly 10 years for completion of ur studies....y is it so?

Unknown said...

how long u studied ur MBBS Dato.....it looks like iit take nearly 10 years for completion of ur studies....y is it so?

dranony said...

instead of having 7 doctors for a fortnight (two weeks or 14 days) at each of the 87 camps,
i think it's better to have seven doctors on rotation for a fortnight each (total 14 weeks) at each of the 87 camps,
to tend to the needs of those who need to seek medical help.
Do note that the training duration is only three months, which is 13 weeks, shorter than 14 weeks.

Having a doctor at a camp, would enable the proper and accurate triage of those really sick who need to seek urgent treatment at a hospital, or those who can be kept in the sick bay at the camps.

NS history has shown that those untrained, cannot distinguish between obstipation and constipation.
The untrained think that absence of a wheeze rules out asthma.
The untrained think that a trainee with high fever and is obtunded, is merely sleepy and simply requires more rest and be left alone.

Having said the above, I do agree with Zashnain that NS is a failed experiment.
It is unnecessary, and its aims are not fulfilled.
Has any study been conducted to assess if the aims of fostering unity etc, has been achieved?

NEIL said...

National Service is a programme to enrich the cronies of Najis.All the contracts are given to the defence personnel.Millions are wasted and this programme have failed to achieve its objectives.The children that went to do this NS have come out only darker but their mentality are all the same as before they went in.Shut it down as our country are facing the financial crises and in this trying times,the money can be use for other purposes.

dragonfly said...

Why not a national referendum to decide the fate of NS. The parents of school going children has the right to participate in making choices for their children.
In times of economic difficulties, the NS should stop temporarily inorder to divert funds to create jobs....not to enrich a few.

JinChrist said...

Do we really need National service which goes against the Biro TaTaNegara ?.
It looks like the government is a double heades snake. Preach hate and unity the same time.
How could that be. It will go back to square one. Might as well scrap the programme.

Anonymous said...

In Malaysia, the government's health sector is overworked. Where do the doctors and other health professionals go to if there is a medicine course for the doctors year after year or there is a training system year after year for other health allies ? Then even the private health sector is chipping in to help the nation out. Yet few common words like short of staff can be heard over and over again. In the out patients' departments and in the clinics, there are so many people waiting for the Medical Assistant and the doctor to see them. In a day, there is over 100 people. How much time is given to see one patient ? 5 minutes ? 10 minutes the most ? No wonder some of these people prefer to go to the private doctors. For more than RM 50, they can get to see the doctor after waiting for maximum 15 minutes. Time is money. May be the trainees should be allowed to see a private doctor too for his check up instead of having to see a government doctor just because the government wants it that way. What sort of a finding will the M.A. or the doctor tells the patient ? Or for these supposed to be healthy national service trainees, most probably and assumably, each trainee is given just 5 minutes. Looking healthy is different from being truely healthy. Some people do not know how to describe their physical state to the doctor and because they have been feeling that way for so many years, they think it is normal and so do not tell the doctor. So if they have very fast heart beat and outside there are so many other patients, the doctor would not want to listen to the heart, not even for a few seconds just to know if may be the person is having some heart problem. There should be a doctor available at all times, for 24 hours, for the national service trainees. But of course the best thing is to examine the trainee first and if the trainee is not fit, then the doctor should help the trainee to exempt from the national service. Other countries are managing their national service smoothly. Why can't Malaysia ?

Nitrile Gloves said...

Medical services run nationally has to maintain a blue print. Each year the planning change a bit with time considering the needs and situation.

wetwipes

Welcome to my Blog

As a concerned MCA member, I am trying my best to help in the process of rebuilding and repositioning of the party.

Therefore, I welcome party members and members of public to post your constructive suggestions and opinions on my blog on how to rebuild and reform the party, eventually enabling MCA to regain support from all party members and the community.


Thank you for your suggestions.