polyclinic queues and dispensaries

Most people would have gone to a polyclinic here in Singapore and most would tell you of their encounters. And some how or another, most people would understand and empathize with it. Here's mine.

On my mother's insistence, I dragged myself to the polyclinic in my neighbourhood to get a queue ticket. Given the terrible plague of H1N1, anyone visiting clinics would have to take their temperature. Interesting how a nurse asked the lass ahead of me in the queue, 'are you sick'?

I waited for a pretty long time to see my doctor just to get a clearance from my mother. I know it was long because I finished reading my book way before my number popped up on the screen and I do not read very quickly.

After the little x-ray, I had to wait another hour for the report to be ready, a real waste of time. In any other given situation, I would have caught some shut eye- afterall, I did wake up at an unearthly hour today. But, I could not. Reason? The radiographer said, 'Oh, it usually takes about an hour, but you should stay around since you're the only patient today.'

I give her kudos because I did not wait the full hour. But what frsutrated me the most was- the collection of medicine.

Now I am aware that the pharmacy is busy. However, I think that the number board, where patients' call numbers are flashed is a horrid creation to be used on a lazy thursday afternoon. Each time the beep sounded, I looked up hungrily, in hope that my longsuffering would pass me as my number flashed on the screen.

Strangely, I did not feel content when my number and name (for subsequent payment) was called some time later. I was just drained and exhausted from spending two hours of my precious life in a place where the H1N1 virus is most likely to be floating around, waiting to pounce on its new victim.