Unfortunately, truly Malaysian...

Salaam. It was only yesterday when I posted my post about not having any idea to write on my blog, and suddenly today, something caught my interest. I feel I just have to jot it down here.
Today I went to the Nephro Clinic at TAR Hospital for my routine kidney checkup. I was on medical leave for 3 days last week due to an injury I had sustained recently.
After about 90 mins of waiting, I finally got to see the doctor, and then I headed off to the dispensary to get my supply of medicine for the next 3 months.
So there I was, at 10.55 am, waiting for my turn to be called - 313. A big poster hangs on the wall with these words written, "You will be served at the latest, within 15 mins" in Malay. I decided to time my wait. And you know what? Whenever I am in my waiting mode, either I keep myself occupied with reading, writing or simply watching. This time I chose to watch. I sat right up front and watched as the lady number 312 sat at counter 3 waiting for her medicines. She looked really unwell, in fact she was resting her head on the desktop of the counter whilst waiting. The dispenser, a young lady, quite pretty, was another thing. She was so distracted, talking with her colleagues, and every now and then she would stand up, look up, scan the room and walk around. As a worker myself, I think that is not being too productive, not focused on the job.
Meanwhile, the ladies in the back who do the packaging of the medicines for the different patients, could be seen through the counter window. I watched as one of them does her chore, looking so sullen as she packed the pills and labeled them, then placed the packets of medicines into a small basket and then literally banged down the basket onto the conveyor outside the window to be collected by the dispenser and then distributed to the patient. Such was the atmosphere and scenario behind the counter as I sat and watched.
Since everyone was preoccupied, nobody but I noticed that a packet of the medicine intended for patient 312 had fallen off the basket when the lady behind the window slammed the green basket down on to the conveyor. Unaware, and in her non focused state,the young dispenser simply took the basket from the conveyor and started distributing the medicines to the sickly lady 312. My God! the amount of different medication she was receiving...my stomach got full just looking and thinking of her gulping down all those pills. The dispenser set out giving instructions, totally unaware of the dropped packet of medicines. The poor sickly lady didn't look as is she was even listening.
And then the patient up and left!
Eh...! what about the dropped package? Didn't the young dispenser know that the supply was insufficient? Then she buzzed 313 - me.
As soon as I came up, I couldn't help pointing this out to her. I told her of the dropped package and pointed it out to her. Initially she thought it was my medicines. But I corrected her and said it was for the previous patient. Her answer was what pressed me to post this blog. She smiled her pretty face at me and said,"O well, when she realises her supply is insufficient, she will come back."
Hello...and when will she realise her supply is insufficient? Surely not before she reaches home, if she realises it all. O come on, she was a really sick lady, and she is expected to return in the near future, prior to her next appointment to get her supply, just because one young dispenser was so unfocused on her job, and another was so grumpy banging medicines all over the conveyor? I stay very near the hospital, but I wouldn't be too eager to go to the hospital just for that reason, I assure you. What if the lady stays far away from the hospital? This blunder was so avoidable...had the workers been more focused on their job. And what is worse, it is the poor sick lady who has to pay the price for their negligence/inattentiveness while on the job.
As I walked back to my car, I told myself this incident I must share with my students in school tomorrow. And I wish to add that when we work to serve the public,we owe it to them to give our best, sincere service, not only because we are paid, but more so our actions will have repercussions on others...
I wonder...what if the grumpy lady behind the window had , in her grumpy mood, given the wrong medicine, and what if the young dispenser, in her diffused,unfocused state of mind had given it to the sick lady who was so sick she looked prepared to try anything anyone gives her?
I shudder at the thought.
One thing though, I left with my package of medicines at 11.10 - within the 15 min waiting time, as promised.