Unfortunately, I have had the opportunities to experience the service of both Mount Elizabeth Hospital and Raffles Hospital in the short span of three months.

Mount Elizabeth Hospital
I have only been to the private clinics within Mt Elizabeth, but I have used their facilities and each experience has been wonderful.

I first visited Mt Elizabeth to have my wisdom teeth surgery. I paid $3,000 for a top-notch surgeon. While the price is a little steep, my experience was sweet and that justified the money spent.

Recently, I visited Mt Elizabeth to see my neurosurgeon and get a brain MRI. They had no issues rescheduling my appointment and was prompt in processing my paperwork. While I had to wait a little for the previous patient to finish with the MRI, a radiologist came out as scheduled to apologise for the delay and explained everything to me. I was told what to expect. Everything was peachy. I went into the MRI machine, comfortable and confident.

I came out of the machine a tad disoriented but happy. Radiologist gave me his name card and said to call if I have any question at all. I thanked him, got changed, paid and left the building. The scan results were delivered to my neurosurgeon – who runs a private clinic within the hospital – the next day.

Raffles Hospital
I visited Raffles Hospital in November for mandatory immigration medical checkup and was appalled by the lack of service. On my first trip, I was directed to the wrong clinic twice and when I got to the correct clinic, I had to wait 20 minutes at “registration” only to be told the doctor was unable to see me that day.

I returned a week later, at 8:45am (they open at 8:30am), and waited 30 minutes for my turn to register. I was told to fill up a form that clearly printed should be completed before the examining doctor. Despite my resistance, the administrator said that’s how it is done around this pricey hospital. It wasn’t until 10:20am that I was called up to have my height, weight and vision tested. I kept waiting and waiting for what will happen next. Nothing, apparently, as I kept waiting in a holding area that truly resembled a government polyclinic from the 1980s.

(Why 1980s? Because our current government polyclinics are immaculate! With enough seats! Strategically placed television sets and call numbers! i.e. Polyclinic experience was more pleasant than that of the leading private healthcare provider in Singapore – Raffles Hospital.)

By 11am, I was still waiting to be called for a blood test. Following the blood test, I had to wait to see the doctor. Are you tired of the word “waiting” already? Cause I was surely miffed. I see the doctor for five minutes and was told to take all my papers with me, make payment and proceed to get my X-ray done.

I held my medical report in my hands, while carrying all my other barang barangs, make my way to the cashier. Cashier tells me to call the hospital in two days to get the courier tracking number, and that I can go off after my X-ray.

The radiologist made me wait after the X-ray was done to collect my own X-ray film and bring it to the radiology department upstairs. This SHOCKED me. What? Did she just ask me to deliver my own X-ray film and medical report? Am I really in a 1980s government hospital?

At the radiology department, I was told to wait 40 minutes for the X-ray results. WHAT? No way, I told to just drop it and leave. So the lying hospital staff said to give her five minutes to check if I could go off. Five minutes later, wait another 10 minutes. Eventually, I waited 45 minutes for the staff to tell me, “Oh the results are ready, here take this downstairs.” I retaliated. “Nope, why should I be delivering the report myself? I just paid your hospital to deliver the results to the immigration department. And, did I just pay $500 for the liberty to tamper with my own medical report?”

Staff then said she would accompany me downstairs to “make sure” there was nothing else required of me. She wouldn’t believe when I said I was told I could leave as soon as the X-Ray was done. These liars, they are unable to believe anyone, right?

I did not call the hospital two days later. I figured they are a reliable hospital and would deliver as promise. Bad mistake because when I called them a week later – after many failed attempts at getting through the hotline – I was told that no tracking number is available because they have yet to dispatch my medical report. I hit the roof.

“What do you mean it has not yet been dispatched? I was told it would go out latest by last Friday. What day is it today?”

“Oh, this you have to talk to the dispatch person. Hold on, I will ask her to talk to you,” she said.

I was told that the examining doctor had gone on leave and so there was no one to sign off on the blood test results etc, until he returned on Sunday. So the entire report would be dispatched on Thursday (the day after I called).

I asked, “If the report was signed off on Sunday, why wasn’t it dispatched on Monday? If I did not call today, will the report ever be dispatched?”

Ummmm. Crickets.

“Is your hospital going to be responsible for any problems I may experience with immigration?”

“Ummmm. Are you flying off soon?” she asked.

IS THAT ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS? Just get your job done! Turns out, she didn’t know where to send the report to! How professional. Can you be sure that your medical report is safe with this hospital? I can’t. Not anymore.

Eventually, she got the courier company to pick up the package that very afternoon and told me to call the courier company the next day to get a tracking number from them.

I fired off an email to Loo Choon Yong, the co-founder of Raffles Medical Group.

“Perhaps it is my high expectations of the Raffles branding. Unfortunately, at this point, I highly regret my choice of going to Raffles Hospital, and will most unlikely recommend Raffles Medical Group to anyone.

While I may never again step foot inside any of your establishments, by choice, I hope by highlighting my experience to you, as executive chairman of the Raffles Medical Group, you will be able to do something about it and bring value to your shareholders before more and more people get turned away.”

A very nervous man from his customer support team called me back a few days later to say they are looking into the issue. It has been two months and I have not heard from them since.

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My experience with Raffles Hospital demonstrates that the staff are ill-informed. They do not know the procedures themselves. And to top it off, patients are trusted with their own medical reports and have to do their own running around. Waiting time was much like that of a free clinic and really unexpected for a private hospital.

Also, Raffles Hospital was not forthright with the fees chargeable. They only tell you how much you have to pay when you’re at the cashier, giving you no opportunity to back out because you cannot afford it.

At Mt Elizabeth, I was told at registration, how much the MRI would cost and how much additional injections etc will cost. Only after I said “Okay” did she proceed with all the paperwork.

UPDATE, January 26: The hospital called me today and here is what they had to say.