Doctor: Bring referral notes

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Friday October 11th, 2013

 By JAMES APA GUMUNO

PATIENTS have been urged to come with referral notes from a doctor at the outpatients or from the officer in-charge of health centres in the districts to see specialists at the special consultation clinic, a doctor says.

A doctor at the Mt Hagen provincial hospital, who did not want to be named, said this yesterday after a patient wrote to The National complaining about being turned away several times from the special consultation clinic.

The doctor said patients going straight to the consultation clinic without a referral note would be turned back to the outpatients department where a doctor needed to see them and decide whether to refer them.

“If a doctor feels that you need to seek further medication or treatment, they will refer you to the clinic with a note so a specialist doctor will come and see you,” the doctor said.

“Otherwise, the doctor at the outpatient ward or clinic will treat you and discharge you.” 

The doctor said specialists in the hospital had their own duty rosters to see their patients at the consultation clinic every week.

He said the special consultation clinic was not like the outpatient ward where patients could just walk in and seek medical care.

This issue was raised after a patient, working with an airline company based at Kagamuga Airport, claimed in his letter that he had been going in and out of the special consultation clinic for three weeks for review and checks but no one was there to see him.

“I come in as early as 6-7am every Wednesday and wait around until the clinic opens at 9am. 

“After some time waiting in  the clinic room, the nurses would make public announcements and say no doctors are around and tell us to come back again next Wednesday,” the patient said.