Understand they are considering taking legal action against Independent.sg ; looks like the site is really in deep shit.
From the Desk of the Director-General of Health Malaysia
The Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia takes note of the reporting by online news portal The Independent SG (theindependent.sg) on the 31st August 2017 regarding a Singaporean man who died following injury sustained from a Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) in Johor Bahru. Condolence to the family and friends of the deceased for the demise of this young gentlemen. However, the MOH would like to stress that there were no delay or demand for payment before treatment of this gentleman by Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) Johor Bahru.
In their article, theindependent.sg claimed that the deceased, a 25-year old Singaporean sustained critical injuries following that MVA, and alleged that there was a slow respond time by the ambulance from HSA up to 30 minutes. From the ambulance service records, it was noted that the emergency call was made at 2:57 AM on the 25th August 2017. The ambulance left HSA at 2:59 AM, arrived at the scene at 3:10 AM and departed from the scene with the patient at 3:15 AM. Kudos to the ambulance call services for a very timely response, with despatch time of two (2) minutes and response time of 13 minutes.
In view of his critical condition, the Singaporean man was admitted to the Red Zone upon arrival at the Emergency Department. Immediately, the emergency treatment as per the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) protocol was continued, which was already initiated by the ambulance team earlier. The Emergency Department team also initiated the necessary imaging (primary survey X-rays, CT-scan of brain, cervical and thorax), treatment (including intubation) and referral to the relevant team in a very timely and professional manner, without asking for any deposit since this is an emergency case. This is in line with the MOH policy as per the MOH Secretary General circular dated 4th March 2015 regarding deposit payment for foreigners in MOH hospitals.
In view of the injury to his brain, the patient was referred to Neurosurgery team, and urgent decompressive craniectomy plus removal of clot and intracranial pressure monitoring was planned without demand for any deposit payment. Subsequent to this, the family members arrived, and only then they were requested to make deposit payment as per protocol for foreigner patient; but it is important to note that the emergency imaging and treatments required were not withheld or delayed. However the family members opted for discharge at own risk (AOR discharge) and arranged for admission to a hospital in Singapore after understanding the risk involved of further delaying the surgery.
The MOH urges all relevant parties to be responsible in reporting and further commenting, as releasing inaccurate information and baseless statement can lead to misunderstanding and disrupt the harmony. The MOH has always valued life and does it utmost best to treat any patient, regardless of their background or nationality. This is in line with MOH’s ethos and corporate culture of “Caring,
Professionalism and Teamwork”.
“We’re Ready to Help”
DATUK DR. NOOR HISHAM ABDULLAH
DIRECTOR GENERAL OF HEALTH MALAYSIA
1st September 2017
https://kpkesihatan.com/2017/09/01/press-statement-dg-of-health-1st-september-2017-no-delay-or-demand-for-payment-before-treatment-by-sultanah-aminah-hospital-johor-bahru/
S’pore website theindependent.sg publishes apology for “anguish and distress” in fatal JB accident
It stopped short, however, of acknowledging any missteps it took in failing to verify the claims made by De Rozario or his friend Ernest Lee — serious accusations that included:
That the Sultanah Aminah Hospital took half an hour to deploy an ambulance to send the late Tan for treatment,
That it refused to start initial scans on Tan until they made payment in cash,
That it took four hours to perform these scans,
And that it was not equipped to carry out the surgery, and it was going to be done by a medical officer instead of a surgeon or consultant.
One website claimed that The Independent Singapore‘s publisher, Kumaran Pillai, received death threats from Malaysians online after their article was targeted by Malaysia’s Ministry of Health, whose director-general spoke out to debunk the claims made in a statement on Saturday.
https://mothership.sg/2017/09/spore-website-theindependent-sg-publishes-apology-for-anguish-and-distress-in-fatal-jb-accident/
Clearly Malaysia is severely pissed off:
Malaysia to file formal complaint with Singapore over reports of youth's treatment at JB hospital
KUALA LUMPUR ― Malaysia’s Health Ministry intends to file a formal complaint with Singapore to express its unhappiness over allegations in some online reports that a Johor hospital had demanded payment before treating two Singaporean youths injured in an accident. One of them, Mr Justinian Tan, died earlier this week.
Dr S. Subramanian, the Malaysian health minister, was quoted saying on Saturday (Sept 2) that his ministry would also be consulting its lawyers on possible legal action, as the allegations had hurt the country’s image as well as the reputation of its healthcare workers.
“The letter will be submitted to the Singapore High Commissioner in Malaysia soonest possible. We will wait for Singapore’s response and at the same time discuss with the ministry’s lawyers for the next course of action,” Malay daily Berita Harian quoted the minister as telling reporters in Kluang, Johor.
He added: “This matter has gone overboard. It not only gives a negative impact on us but also demoralises and demotivates public healthcare staff who work hard and are dedicated in saving lives."
The accident at Jalan Dato Abdullah Tahir took place on Aug 25, when Mr Tan, a 25-year-old Singaporean undergraduate, was with five childhood friends on one of their regular trips to Johor for supper. A car swerved towards them that night, and hit Mr Tan and Mr Brandon Yeo.
According to one of those in the group, Mr Joshua De Rozario, Mr Tan was flung “15 to 20 metres” while Mr Yeo broke his femur. They were subsequently taken to Johor’s largest hospital, the Sultanah Aminah Hospital.
An account published by The Independent, a Singapore website, cited Mr De Rozario saying that they were asked to pay RM2,700 (S$860) first before the medical crew would conduct scans on the two men. The friends were told of the duo’s prognosis about four hours later.
The hospital then requested another RM1,350, as Tan needed an operation because he had severe bleeding and a blood clot in the left side of his brain.
However, when they were told that the brain operation would be conducted by a “medical officer” instead of a surgeon, the family asked for Mr Tan to be transferred to Singapore General Hospital (SGH), said Ms Jaslene Tan, 29, one of his three siblings.
Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, director general of Health Malaysia, has refuted the allegations.
In a statement on Friday, he said a team at the hospital’s emergency department initiated the necessary X-rays and scans, as well as treatment such as intubation, “in a very timely and professional manner, without asking for any deposit since this is an emergency case”.
He added that Mr Tan, who sustained brain injuries, also underwent “urgent decompressive craniectomy plus removal of clot and intracranial pressure monitoring ... without demand for deposit”.
Dr Hisham said it was only when Mr Tan’s family members reached the hospital that they were asked to pay RM2,575 for the imaging. “However the family members opted for discharge at on risk (AOR discharge) and arranged for admission to a hospital in Singapore after understanding the risk involved of further delaying the surgery.”
One of Mr Tan’s friend subsequently clarified that they had the impression they had to pay first, and acknowledged that there could have been a miscommunication.
In his statement on Friday, Dr Hisham also disputed allegations by Mr Tan's friends that ambulances were slow to get to the scene of the traffic accident.
Tan, a student at Kaplan Singapore, was pronounced brain dead at SGH on Monday, and taken off life support early on Wednesday.
MALAY MAIL ONLINE
Haha The Independent SG can't take the heat and shaming by Malaysians, backs down by deleting article completely. Not acting so smug anymore:
Singapore website apologises for ‘anguish’ caused by article on JB hospital negligence
SINGAPORE — Local socio-political news site The Independent Singapore on Sunday (Sept 3) took down an article claiming that a Singaporean had died after a Malaysian hospital demanded payment before treating him, and apologised "for the anguish and distress this incident has caused".'
Thanking all Malaysians who "supported and (stood) tall" with his ministry in a Facebook post on Sunday, director-general of Malaysia's Ministry of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah said "our prompt response debunking fallacies (has) resulted in an otherwise arrogant Singaporean portal" retracting its post. He also said The Independent had initially defended its article and had blocked Malaysian IPs from accessing it.
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-news-site-apologises-after-report-youths-treatment-jb-hospital
Yeah Bolehland should sue them till their pants drop!
Highly unreliable news websites IMO: TR Emeritus, All Singapore Stuff, The Online Citizen, Independent SG, Mothership SG and States Times Review
Didn't this just happen days ago to another piece of local cyber trash?
Mothership.sg chided by MOE for publishing fake story
The Ministry of Education (MOE) has lashed out at alternative news website Mothership.sg for publishing a factually false story, in which it blindly reproduced excerpts from an article published in the August edition of the Australian Teacher Magazine without proper verification of the events that actually transpired.
In the article titled: "The PISA fallacy in Singapore: insights from the NIE" , MOE Director-General of Education Wong Siew Hoong allegedly informed an audience of 1,500 delegates that Singapore's education system has been "winning the wrong race". He also attributed Singapore's excellent showing in the most recent edition of PISA to standardized test drilling procedures and a culture of compliance, pointing out that Singapore is "building compliant students just as the jobs that are building compliance are beginning to disappear."
Mr Wong's set of comments was initially attributed to Singapore Education Minister (Schools) Ng Chee Meng in its print edition, before being amended to reflect Mr Wong made those comments instead on the EducationHQ Australia website, which publishes the Australian Teacher Magazine.
MOE subsequently furnished video footage and a full transcript of Mr Wong's presentation to demonstrate those remarks were clearly never made.
More at http://www.domainofexperts.com/2017/08/mothershipsg-chided-by-moe-for.html