<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>How to report food poisoning cases?
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->LAST Wednesday night, I suffered severe food poisoning with 12 bouts of diarrhoea and two of vomiting between 10pm and the next morning before I went to get medical attention.
It looked like it was caused by the sushi I had for dinner. Even after an injection and medicine, I still suffered from stomach cramps for the whole of next day, though the diarrhoea eased.
However, my concern is that when I asked the attending doctor at Changi General Hospital's accident and emergency unit if he needed to know the name of the suspected food outlet I patronised, he said it was not necessary unless there were more reported cases.
Nor did he advise me where I could make a report.
I find this strange.
If this is the procedure, and if every doctor gives his patients the same advice, how can the Ministry of Health (MOH) or the National Environment Agency (NEA) collate the day's food poisoning cases and deduce where they originated?
What if many other customers had been poisoned after eating at this outlet? Does it have to be a massive case like that at the Geylang Serai market before it is taken seriously?
Even if only a handful of people are affected at one outlet, it still makes sense that MOH or NEA is at least made aware. If there is a consistent trend at a particular outlet, then action can be taken with more vigilance or frequent inspections.
I urge the authorities to enlighten the public on how to report food poisoning, even if it is an isolated case. Yap Poh Hwa (Ms)
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->LAST Wednesday night, I suffered severe food poisoning with 12 bouts of diarrhoea and two of vomiting between 10pm and the next morning before I went to get medical attention.
It looked like it was caused by the sushi I had for dinner. Even after an injection and medicine, I still suffered from stomach cramps for the whole of next day, though the diarrhoea eased.
However, my concern is that when I asked the attending doctor at Changi General Hospital's accident and emergency unit if he needed to know the name of the suspected food outlet I patronised, he said it was not necessary unless there were more reported cases.
Nor did he advise me where I could make a report.
I find this strange.
If this is the procedure, and if every doctor gives his patients the same advice, how can the Ministry of Health (MOH) or the National Environment Agency (NEA) collate the day's food poisoning cases and deduce where they originated?
What if many other customers had been poisoned after eating at this outlet? Does it have to be a massive case like that at the Geylang Serai market before it is taken seriously?
Even if only a handful of people are affected at one outlet, it still makes sense that MOH or NEA is at least made aware. If there is a consistent trend at a particular outlet, then action can be taken with more vigilance or frequent inspections.
I urge the authorities to enlighten the public on how to report food poisoning, even if it is an isolated case. Yap Poh Hwa (Ms)
