<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Widow dismayed by polyclinic's decision on fee waiver
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I AM a 71-year-old widow who is anaemic, diabetic and suffers from hypertension.
I have endured two brain tumours, two hip replacement operations and a stroke.
When I visited the polyclinic in January, a doctor advised me to seek full financial help on my next visit. This came after I told him that my only son had been jobless since last August.
My daughter, a divorcee, supports me as well as herself and her two mentally challenged daughters on an income of $1,500.
But I was shocked when the clinic's financial counsellor, who interviewed my son and me during my latest visit, informed us that there were far more extreme hardship cases.
She said this to justify why I did not deserve a full waiver, but only a 50 per cent waiver for a maximum of six months.
I was not only dismayed by her decision but also by the manner in which the interview was conducted. It was the first time I had experienced such a negative attitude in my visits to the polyclinic.
Pouline Fernandez (Mdm) <!-- end of for each --><!-- Current Ratings : start --><!-- Current Ratings : end --><!-- vbbintegration : start -->
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I AM a 71-year-old widow who is anaemic, diabetic and suffers from hypertension.
I have endured two brain tumours, two hip replacement operations and a stroke.
When I visited the polyclinic in January, a doctor advised me to seek full financial help on my next visit. This came after I told him that my only son had been jobless since last August.
My daughter, a divorcee, supports me as well as herself and her two mentally challenged daughters on an income of $1,500.
But I was shocked when the clinic's financial counsellor, who interviewed my son and me during my latest visit, informed us that there were far more extreme hardship cases.
She said this to justify why I did not deserve a full waiver, but only a 50 per cent waiver for a maximum of six months.
I was not only dismayed by her decision but also by the manner in which the interview was conducted. It was the first time I had experienced such a negative attitude in my visits to the polyclinic.
Pouline Fernandez (Mdm) <!-- end of for each --><!-- Current Ratings : start --><!-- Current Ratings : end --><!-- vbbintegration : start -->