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Saturday, May 24, 2003
by Heng-Cheong Leong

DIED, NOT BECAUSE OF SARS, BUT BECAUSE OF SARS : From Yeo Kok Seng, in a letter published in the Straits Times, a sad tale of perhaps the collateral damage caused by SARS.

"[My friend] was a patient at the National Cancer Centre and was scheduled to have chemotherapy. On the appointed day, instead of being warded to undergo treatment, he was kept in an isolation room because he had fever. For three days, until the fever subsided, he was treated with antibiotics."

"Then, instead of undergoing chemotherapy, he was discharged and put under home quarantine. He was allowed to undergo chemotherapy only after he was found free of Sars 10 days later."

"Critically-ill patients like him need plenty of rest. However, while under home quarantine, the phone rang up to nine times a day. He had to drag himself before the surveillance camera each time. With this torture, his condition deteriorated and he had to be warded in a critical condition a few days later."

"And although he was in a critical condition, none of his family members could visit him, despite many appeals to the hospital management. It was only with the help of a relative working in the hospital that a visitor was allowed. That was seven days later."

"The seven days of isolation without the presence of a loved one proved too much for him. His body deteriorated. On the eighth day, when a family member visited him, he was already unconscious. A few days later, he died."

"How many lives will we lose," asked Yeo Kok Seng, "not to Sars, but to the preventive measures that become a roadblock for those seeking treatment?"

The entire letter can be read here. This link will expire in, I think, 7 days, when Straits Times will hide this web page away from everyone, including Google.

A reply by Singapore's Ministry of Health, published on the same day, answered some of the issues raised.

"Appropriate treatment, including chemotherapy, will be given in a timely manner even if the patient is in an isolation ward or on home quarantine."

"The 'No Visitors' rule was implemented on April 29 to prevent visitors from being infected while in a hospital."

"Nevertheless, we understand that those with loved ones in hospital may find it difficult to accept the need for such a cautious and stringent measure. Thus the Ministry of Health has asked each hospital to be flexible in implementing the rule, and to permit visitors, on a case-by-case basis, for patients who are seriously ill."

"In the absence of a very good laboratory test, if the attending doctor is not able to confidently exclude the presence of Sars, it is prudent for hospitals to take appropriate precautionary measures should such patients die."

The entire reply can be found here, and the link-expiry warning applies too.

ATTENTION DOGS : We should have more of these signs in Singapore.

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