KKH Reviewing Feedback On 'Hidden' A&E Entrance After Viral Post By S'pore Mother Who Lost 11-year-old Son

Following a Singapore mum’s post slamming KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH)’s A&E entrance for being blocked by a tentage, and for her 11-year-old son later passing away, a KKH spokesperson has responded saying they are reviewing ways to improve their directional signage. 

“We deeply appreciate Ms Goh’s feedback. KKH is taking a review to enhance our directional signage leading into the hospital and around the Children’s Emergency (CE) to further facilitate way-finding,” said Mr Alson Goh, Chief Operating Officer of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in a statement shared with theAsianparent.

The spokesperson added that KKH has been in touch with Goh and her family to address their concerns and “continue to remain contactable to render further support to her and her family”.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the spokesperson said that heightened measures were put in place for the safe management of patients and visitors and that all measures—including the visitation policy—are in line with existing COVID-19 guidelines.

In transferring Goh’s son from the Urgent O&G Centre to the KKH Children’s Emergency (CE), the KKH spokesperson said that the boy was “given immediate medical attention, including the subsequent admission to Children’s ICU (CICU)”.

“While we had made exceptional provisions to CICU visitation in light of the condition of Ms Goh’s son, we do acknowledge that our communication can be improved,” said the KKH spokesperson.

“Simply No EMPATHY”

According to Juliana Goh in a Facebook post (16 Sep), she describes the entire customer experience at KKH A&E as “horrendous and painful” and that there “was simply no EMPATHY”.

It all started when she had to bring her unconscious son to the hospital after he lost consciousness in the middle of the night on Monday (24 Aug). 

However, because it was dark, the family was unable to locate the A&E entrance and stopped at the Urgent Obstetrics and Gynaecology Centre (UOGC) as it had “the most prominent lighted entrance”. 

Image source: Facebook/Juliana Goh

While a nurse from the Urgent O&G Centre attended to her son immediately when they arrived, and “was running as fast as she could” to reach the KKH A&E, it took about one or two minutes.

It was time lost from not being able to find the A&E entrance, according to Goh, who later found out that the KKH A&E entrance was blocked by a security barrier. And beyond that, a tentage was also placed in front of the Children A&E which caused it to appear ‘hidden’. 

Image source: Facebook/Juliana Goh

Urges KKH To Make Improvements To Better Assist Patients

Goh said when they arrived at the A&E, her son’s pulse could not be located and he had to be resuscitated. 

“Visibility of the entrance is critical,” she emphasised. Apart from that, Goh highlighted further problems after her son entered the ICU.

Goh said the ICU doctor called them back at 2.40 am on 2 September 2020, more than a week following her son’s hospitalisation in the ICU.

However, despite rushing back, both parents found themselves unable to enter the ICU at the same time, even though they were registered as caregivers. The security guard used his own access for one of their entries, she added. 

According to her, the system is such that “when one is in the ICU, the other one requires a manual override of the system to allow entry.”

This caused frustration as the waiting process was extended. Goh claimed she had to wait for 10 minutes at times. 

Goh’s son was said to have passed away later that evening. 

Highlighting that “every second count[s]”, Goh wrote: “I do not wish for other caregivers to encounter similar painful experiences while they are already worried about their loved ones.”

“The least we as caregivers could ask for is EMPATHY.”

Image source: Google Maps, Facebook/Juliana Goh

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Singapore Mum Whose 11-year-old Son Passed Away Urges KKH To Make Improvements To Better Assist Patients