This is a personal experience as a first-time parent walkthrough.
Seeing most of my friends delivering in Thomas Medical Center (TMC), and have a great review so we decided to have ours at TMC.
We sign up a package at one of TMC seminars at Raffles City with TCM Herbal Care, Single-Premium, Confinement food since our gynecologist practice at TMC, so why not?
TMC isn't the newest hospital from the car park which is always full to getting around the hospital isn't easy.
Day 1 - 11pm
On the day of admission, during admission, I was informed that renovation work is done at one of the rooms. I wasn't even informed that that room was next to ours. Great information handling there.
I was given a season pass parking ticket. Which was told to use it when exiting to register for my car. The iPad that was at the admission counter, shows an app to register the season parking ticket that was issued so as not need to do the above mentioned, the app was not applicable for Singapore location. I wonder if TMC has even tested it before even provide such information and service.
The HRMS system was not able to process my information twice after asking for my information twice, they end up with paper and pen process. In the world of technology, I am amazed at how TMC has leverage on technology or even at all.
Day 2
My wife was transferred from the observation room followed by the labour ward all this in your delivery suites. The nurses take the turn to come in to check on her every few hours. I was with her throughout the 24 hours of labour. I fell asleep and woke up to discover the pee bag leaks until the whole floor was wet and dirtied our bags and luggage. As a routine, what did your staff came to check every few hours and not see that the pee bag has leaked? If it was a few drops I can understand they missed it. How did it end up the whole floor? When was the last check I wonder? When I walked out of the labour ward, the display of each ward with which gynecologist was filled with MS Window prompt window errors. What a high tech hospital!
After more than 24 hours, my wife delivered, we were moved to her room.
Day 3
Upon reaching the room, realize that the ward has two sections and we are located in the 2nd section where there is only a nurse manning the reception. There are at least 5 wards. The section we are at can be access any time any day unless the other section which will be lock by an entrance door during non-visiting hours.
Isn't that great? Yes, great if your friends keep coming visiting and also allow all the advertisers from baby hand mould to confinement food, to baby photography, etc seller to enter the ward.
The room next to us was having the renovation, there were people walking in and out and talking at the corridor. Follow on there is the Texas Instrument industry-grade air filter clearing the air due to renovation. As my wife is a light sleeper, these have completely ruined her rest throughout the stay.
When in the room, the staff asked my wife to attempt to pee and let them know once she did. After she is done, we informed the staff, they mention they need to check why didn't we inform them when attempting? After this, they place a measurement tray on the toilet bowl and ask my wife to pee into it next time so they can check. What on earth is that? Ain't you suppose to place that when you ask my wife to attempt the first time? Why did this tray come about only now?
My child was sent to NICU. I was told I can make a trip down to view him. I make a trip down to visit him at around 10am. The staff at NICU told me they will be expecting me at 11am for NICU orientation. TMC, am I hearing or seeing things wrongly. Why is such information only passed to me when I am physically present and not mentioned when you told me my child is in NICU. If I wasn't there, so I will miss that orientation or you will ask me back another day (hopefully).
During the NICU orientation, I was told I am able to check the interim cost for NICU at the admission counter. I headed down at around 7PM to ask for the estimated cost. The staff there responded to me after trying to find the paperwork that they were just about to call me. Seriously from 10am to 7pm, you do not want to contact me. So you intend to contact me past 7pm or 12 midnight?
Day 4
From my friend who also signed up the Herbal Care, he was told the TCM practitioner will come to see my wife. We do not know how this going to work so I went to the staff counter at the room, they told me I need to call. So I went down to the registration counter and was told after 10 mins after trying to find out what the TCM Herbal Care I signed up, told me I need to call up TMC TCM at Paragon. Why were we not informed during the signing up of the package? We last check at the registration counter a few weeks ago, the staff told us they have all the details not to worry, yet when we asked, no one knows what is happening? TMC, is your system even integrated. It seems like information is all over the place. I thought this would happen in a community hospital but they do much better in this area than you. As a first-timer, I am completely lost in navigating your hospital disparate system.
We were asked if we wanted to attend a class by your Lactation consultant at 11am. We went and was told we will be given alcohol swaps and cotton cloth for bathing.
Day 5
Discharging day, I told the staff at the ward reception we will be leaving for lunch since the discharge time is between 11-12pm. The staff told us we will receive an SMS for the payment. I left to keep things in our car. My wife was given the tub and the nursing bag upon leaving. My wife has done a C-section. Why when I mention at the counter, things ain't hand to me first and you expect a C-Sect patient to carry all these?
My wife asks the staff regarding the alcohol swap and the cotton cloth and was told, the cotton cloth is not given.
I headed down to the class which was held and asked, was told by the Lactation consultant the cloth is not given. Great job done, I must be hearing things yesterday with the rest of the patients. The cloth is not important its the message been given to different departments is completely inaccurate.
We then have to go to the baby gift shop to process our confinement food after reading the notice at the information counter. We were also not told how to do it.
After this whole experience at TMC, I realize that you do provide me a D.E.L.I.V.E.R brand promise:
Delight - You must be delighted never fail to provide great disappointment without meeting expectations for your customers.
Empathise - the only staff that I remember was May Lee, who with patience and without agitation walk me through my registration regardless of system error and with a customer call who cut her off when she attended one in front of me. And the only staff I remembered by name. She even remembers me the next day when I walked past asking how was my wife. You should instill such staff attitude to all your staff. The other staffs that did a great job are the nurses in NICU angels, the Lactation consultant, the doctors, and TCM practitioner. Anything outside is all disappointment services.
Learn - Learn from other government hospitals how they operate. Does a private hospital such as TMC, be the same or worse off standard than a polyclinic?
Innovate - Your technology to serve your customer are completely old dated and not relevant and you should have an integrated systems not disparate system with wrongly provided information without even testing yourself.
Value-add - Definitely the price I paid for does not justify the service we received. The Value Add lesson from lactation and feeding is appreciated.
Empower - TMC did empower the knowledge gain was your class by a Lactation consultant during the stay and from the NICU staff.
Respect - I hope you respect this feedback and strongly do something about it.
In summary, the class by lactation was well received. The handling briefing upon discharge in feeding and changing the diaper by the NICU staff was great. The staff, May Lee, who handled my admission has a fantastic attitude. Confinement food is excellent.
Any other hospital services did not meet up to expectations.
The person who was very busy during this whole stay was me, not any staff or any people involved. Should TMC pay me for doing all the work myself?
Lasly, I was asked to do a feedback form at NICU and was told that was for NICU. However, the headed was a default TMC feedback form. They were trying to cover up your feedback for NICU for their servicendelivery as a hospital. How scheming is that?
Update 31st Dec 2019
Have you been to a Polyclinic in Singapore? If you do then you know seeing a doctor take hours. This applies the same.if you are seeing any Paediatrician Doctor (PD) at TMC. In fact, do you know in Polyclinic, newborn priority is much faster than you seeing a PD at TMC and at fraction of the cost and even free for mandatory jabs for Singaporeans? Shocking truth.
Update 7th Jan 2020
Is TMC a nursing friendly hospital? With so many mothers and babies in and out we would thought TMC is nursing friendly. Sadly to say, TMC is not. In fact, the whole hospital only have one nursing room at Level 3 and only accessible via one lift lobby. The nursing room can only fit two person at any one time.
