My Experience in Public Hospital

This is my experience in ITRMC, a public hospital in La Union. After experiencing a 3-4 hours wait in a private clinic in the same province, I decided to try going in a public hospital. Hindi ko inaaasahan na aabutin ako ng buong 8 hours sa pila.

Appointment for Opthalmologist

Through call, 8 days in the future ang schedule appointment na binigay nila sa akin and it may vary kung gaano kadami ang nagpaappointment. Their contact number can be found in their facebook page “ITRMC Online Konsulta”. Kailangan na marunong kang magbrowse to find it. You can send a SMS (text message) to book an appointment.

10:30 am. Nahirapan ako maghanap ng daanan papuntang parking space dahil may building na under construction. Hindi halatado yung sign na "This Way to Parking Lot". Hindi ko alam ang proseso kaya kay manong guard talaga ang unang punta unless may dati ka ng karanasan dun sa mismong hospital. Meron naman instruction sa pader ng proseso which is a good thing. Kinabahan ako kasi baka pumila pa ako sa Triage eh aabutin pa yun ng baka 30 minutes to 2-3 hours, baka ma-late ako sa appointment ko pero hindi naman na pala need pumila dun ng mga naka-appointment. Madaming tao, hindi ko na halos alam kung saan ako pupunta kaya nagtanong na lang din ako sa mga nakikita kong staff.

10:44 am. Hindi ko din sure kung anong gagawin ko kaya sa nurse na staff ako nagtanong. Kinuha yung blood pressure ko, weight, height and nag-fill up ng forms. Hindi ko alam kung pang ilan ako. Madaming tao. Kung alam ko lang na tumatanggap sila ng walk-in, sana maaga na lang ako pumunta at hindi ko na sinunod ang nakatakdang oras na naka-set sa appointment na binigay nila. Merong client na nagwawala at nagvivideo at sinasabing ipopost sa socmedia dahil ang tagal daw niyang maasikaso. Wala daw priorty lane ang matatanda according sa nurse dahil puro matanda naman daw ang nagpapacheckup.

2:16pm. Nalipasan na ako ng gutom. Hindi ako makaalis alis kasi baka kako ako na susunod dahil nakaappointment naman ako. Lo and behold, 3 hours bago ako tinanong ng nurse kung anong problema ng mata ko at chineck ang mata ko gamit ng visual chart. It took 10 minutes. May another pila pa pala kay Doctor.

7:14pm. Bandang 6:50pm ako na chineckup ng doctor after 5 hours of waiting from their last process and a total of 8 hours of waiting for their whole service. Nakailang tanong ako throughout the day kung nasaan yung papel ko or pang ilan ako. 80% of the time, sinasabi na lang na nandoon, nakapila without them trying to look for it. Sobrang gutom at pagkadown ang naramdaman ko sa experience ko magpacheckup sa ITRMC.

Tips for Future Out-Patients

• Bring biscuit and water para hindi ka ma-dehydrate and magka- ulcer kakahintay.
• Fully charge your phone and bring your powerbank.
• In private hospital, get both the phone number and cellphone number of the doctor or their secretary. Make a call to know if your specific doctor is present on the day of your checkup. In private hospital or clinic you can go later kasi wala na silang pasyente nun. Go early or go when they're about to close.
• In public hospital, call to know the availability of the specific department you will be going to. They are only available on limited and specific days. Go as early as 6:30am to 7:00am.
• If gusto mo lang magpacheck-up with a mild case, I do not recommend going to public hospital lalo na sa department na pinipilahan ng sobrang haba pala. Pero if you plan to undego operation, public hospital is cheaper and their doctors give a free or affordable medication than private hospitals.

DISAPPOINTMENTS:

• Akala ko magiging mabilis dahil may appointment. Marami pa din ang walk-in and in-patient.
• There are information inconsistencies sa sumasagot sa main landline nila gaya nung tinanong ko kung may dermatogist, wala daw pero meron naman nung pumunta kami personal.
• Expect to consume your whole day sa public hospital lalo na pag late ka dumating.
• Maaaring sayang ang sahod sa pag-absent sa work, oras ng paghihintay, at still may babayaran pa din naman sa laboratories at gamot. Libre ang checkup.
• May inconsistencies sa pagpili nila kung sino ang susunod sa pila. May walk-in na kinabukasan ay nabigyan naman ng appointment. May kasabayan ako na senior citizen through appointment din na hindi naman inabot ng 7 hours gaya ko, most probably just 3 hours.

OBSERVATIONS:

• Walang disinfection sa mga tools na pinapagamit sa mga pasyente. Dumidikit sa balat ng lahat ng pasyente.
• Parang hindi naman effective ang "by appointment". It's more of crowd control. Nabibigyan ng false hope na pag by appointment eh mas maaga ka or mas mabilis kang maaasikaso kahit naghintay ka na dumating yung araw ng appointment mo. Walang "by appointment" na nakapost sa building.
• Kailangan nila ng maayos na database ng mga pasyente nila para alam nila kung sino ang una nilang aasikasuhin. Dapat may number system silang ginagamit.
• Madaming tao nakakatakot maCOVID.
• Mostly staff ang source of information.
• Walang available feedback forms. Hindi madaling makita at hindi matibay/secured ang feedback box.

PROS:

• May aircon.

SUGGESTIONS:

• Free drinking water lalo pag mahaba pila.
• Magbigay ng number para alam ng pasyente pang ilan sila. Maganda sa pakiramdam pag makikitang organize ang pila. 
• I hope na i-respect nila ang appointment system or tanggalin na lang. Gumawa/mag adopt sila ng strategies and maayos na scheduling system. Mag cut-off sila kung kinakailangan. Else, baka kailangan na nila magdagdag ng doctors.
• Maimprove nila or mapabilis ang waiting time ng pasyente. Huwag nilang paabutin ng 8 hours.
• Maging consistent sila kung paano nila kinacater mga clients nila kung first come first serve ba talaga or by appointment ang sistema nila or by severity of the case pala ang pilahan. If maaari let the patients know kung ilang oras ang waiting time.
• For me, sana ineencourage nila mga pasyente na mag alcohol.

LESSON LEARNED:

Sa private na siguro ako magpapacheckup next time or pupunta ako ng 6:30am sa public hospital. Mas mura ng almost 50% ang laboratories pero parang hindi worth it yung 8 hours spent para ma-avail ang kanilang service. Masama ang loob ko kasi nagkaroon ako ng expectation sa pagbibigay nila ng appointment na maaasikaso ako sa mismong oras na yun. I’ve waited 8 days to get an appointment date and at the hospital I’ve waited 8 hours to avail their service. Hindi siguro sasama ang loob ko kung matagal ako naasikaso dahil late ako as a walk-in at aware ako or nainform ako na inaabot ng 8 hours ang services nila. Importante ang oras and ang oras ay malaking deciding factor if itutuloy ba or hindi or may paglalaanan pang ibang bagay ang pasyente.

DISCLAIMER:

I want to believe na there is nothing wrong in sharing experiences. I do not intend to cause offensive feelings in the people giving health services or their institution. This is just a reality and a first hand experience that may pave way for improvement. If ever there are flaws, it is an opportunity for creating a change for an efficient and faster system. I believe that the power for improvement lies within those who are in the higher positions than the regular employees. If ever nag improve ang system nila and may changes.

Higit sa lahat, I am glad na may libreng checkup sa Pilipinas. Siguro, kailangan ko lang din tanggapin na ganito talaga pag sa public hospital ka compared sa private hospital. Medyo nagulat lang din kasi ako na umaabot pala ng ganito katagal. Public man or private, sa experience ko aabutin ka din talaga ng 3-4 hours kung late ka na dumating at peak hours. I am hoping na there will be improvement, especially sa public hospital. I hope na ang mahal nating Pilipinas will improve and uunlad lalo.

Gayunpaman, get ourselves informed and educated. Do not delay our medical needs because health is wealth. Prevention is better than cure – totoo yan. Agapan, huwag hayaang lumala ang sakit.

Collagen by Watsons +Q10 Hand Cream Review

One way to prevent the sign of aging in our hands is to use a moisturizer whenever the moisture is stripped out from the skin. The Watsons +Q10 Collagen Hand Cream does it purpose of removing the dryness especially from frequent hand washing. It contains anti-ageing Q10, Vitamin E and Shea butter.

Description from the packaging
“Upgraded with Tri-collagen Complex* from Europe, Collagen by Watsons Moisturizing Skincare offers an enhanced 3-tier collagen boosting system to improve skin elasticity, firmness and moisture retentions. Reinforced with Matrixyl Peptide which helps stimulate skin regeneration and restore skin texture; Baobab Tree Fruits Extracts from France which helps form protective water locking layer for long lasting moisturising effects; Pea Extracts from France which helps nourish and tighten skin. This range helps reveal younger, firming looking skin.”

When buying a hand cream, it defeats the purpose when it feels like a body lotion. So far, you will recognize the difference if you use this Watsons cream over a regular lotion. I don’t reapply so it means that hand cream is doing its job.

Experience in Buying in Shopee | Watches (Digital and Analog)

Years after my first failed attempt, I finally purchase from an online store again. The reason why I chose Shopee is because their products are way cheaper than Lazada, there's a lot to choose from and I can avail free shipping fee with a minimum purchase of P500. In this 4 watches, I really only wanted the white analog watch and the pink digital watch for my sister, the rest is picked to reach P500.

Shopee Online Store
The complicated website design of Shopee makes it hard to determine whether the parcel is being sold by a seller abroad.  Good thing is you don’t have to personally deal with customs through Shopee. It takes longer to arrive but it’s worth the wait considering the low price. My order took 21 days to arrive. Payment method is cash on delivery.

Making the Crayon Candle

Some candle making DIYs in YouTube uses crayon in their candles because of its accessibility. It is not proper to use crayons though as its known to clog wicks. Maybe its okay for occasional projects but not for a long term. Besides, a piece of crayon can only color a little amount of wax compared to dyes intended for candles. You need a lot of crayons to have a deep shade while increasing the chance of totally clogging the wick. The flame of your candle will suddenly die if it's clogged. Crayon is believed to be more expensive too.

I'm yet to discover if its real though. To experience is to believe. I want to see if it will really clog the wick and if it's really cheaper to use a dye. The smallest box containing 8 pieces of crayons costs 21.75php. I'm guessing that dye is only cheaper when bought in bulk. I hypothesize too that crayons does clog only if you put a lot.

Failed in Making Whipped Wax

Candle making is known as a therapeutic pastime, but this particular whipped thing/icing candle can be draining during its initial phase. So if you plan to do the same thing, remember to not push yourself too hard and don’t be in a hurry in perfecting to avoid burnout. Listen to your mood and don’t set deadlines.

My goal here is to make icing and sprinkles out of whipped wax. With whipped wax, you won't be just relying to redundant mold to make a unique and interesting design. Whipped wax makes candle more pleasing to the eyes. I was not able to take a lot of picture while doing the whipped wax since I have to be very quick when working with this. Besides, having too much pictures in a blog post is an eyesore.

Let me start with this paraffin slab again since it's one of the things that is usually done first - chopping the paraffin slab into smaller pieces. I find this slab quite deceiving. You will see 2 layers here (but it’s actually 3). The middle of the paraffin slab is opaque while the outer shell layer is translucent. I am wondering how they processed this in the factory and why there is an obvious layer. Again, I prefer a paraffin slab that is purely translucent in color. There are 2 kinds of paraffin; semi-refined and fully-refined slab. Not sure where this slab belongs.