• IP addresses are NOT logged in this forum so there's no point asking. Please note that this forum is full of homophobes, racists, lunatics, schizophrenics & absolute nut jobs with a smattering of geniuses, Chinese chauvinists, Moderate Muslims and last but not least a couple of "know-it-alls" constantly sprouting their dubious wisdom. If you believe that content generated by unsavory characters might cause you offense PLEASE LEAVE NOW! Sammyboy Admin and Staff are not responsible for your hurt feelings should you choose to read any of the content here.

    The OTHER forum is HERE so please stop asking.

Chitchat Healthway No Doctors No Drugs - SMC Diam Diam

Pinkieslut

Alfrescian
Loyal
Salaries unpaid, medicine supply depleting as Healthway stays in the red

SINGAPORE — Some clinics under the beleaguered Healthway Medical Corp (HMC) are starting to run out of medication, as the private clinic chain remains mired in debt obligations and unpaid salaries.

Patients at these clinics have been asked to take their prescriptions to pharmacies because the firm had not been able to place orders fast enough, several doctors and clinic assistants working with the chain said yesterday.

For non-urgent cases, patients have been asked to return another day to collect their medicine.

“Either we don’t give out a lot, or we tell the patients to come another day … Usually the suppliers will give a credit of 60 to 75 days, but because of our financial situation, we are still not able to order fast enough to meet demand,” said a 31-year-old doctor who wanted to remain anonymous.

Earlier, The Straits Times reported that its checks showed that no doctors turned up for work at several of its family clinics on Monday last week, because certain anchor doctors fell ill and no locum ones could be found to take their place.

When TODAY visited several of Healthway’s clinics yesterday afternoon, the problem persisted: At a clinic at Block 201D Tampines Street 21, for example, there was no doctor available after its full-time doctor had to take urgent leave in the afternoon. At another clinic at Holland Village, notices were put up to inform patients that there would be no doctors around during certain periods.

The doctor who did not want to be named said: “(Healthway) did not pay the replacement doctors fast enough, so they were not confident of coming back to cover us.”

He added that employees were told, in a memo about two weeks ago, that they will be owed a month’s salary until May. While “a handful” of doctors have indicated their intention to leave the group, most are still waiting for an update from the management next week.

“Boardroom deals are ongoing and the management had promised an update on the situation at the end of the month. So most of us will decide on our next moves after that,” he said.

Speaking to TODAY, a locum doctor who last worked at one of the Healthway clinics in March said he is owed about S$5,000 for two months’ work.

Questionable loans have led to HMC’s current predicament. On Monday, the company said in a Singapore Exchange filing that it has received non-binding terms for proposed interim financing from Lippo China Resources, a unit of Indonesia’s Lippo Group, which holds a 21.9 per cent stake in HMC. Its board is reviewing the terms for a S$10 million loan from Lippo for 12 months to pay doctors and nurses only.

The company is also reviewing an alternative proposal received earlier from Cayman-based private equity fund Gateway Partners.

Another full-time Healthway doctor, who also requested anonymity and did not want his clinic identified, said that employees were “very concerned” since they were unsure which deal the company would settle for.

He received about 30 per cent of his February wages last week and is still awaiting the rest, which he hopes would be paid by the end of this month.

“I feel that it’s a pity. Some of us worked hard (and) the outcome is not what we wanted,” he said.

At the Silver Cross Family Clinic at Holland Village, a clinic assistant said her salary was paid on time. She added that there were instances when the clinic ran out of antibiotics, and patients were asked to buy the medicine at pharmacies using a prescription from the clinic’s doctors.

The clinic assistant, who has been working there for almost eight years, said she is uncertain whether she would be able to hold on to her job. “Who isn’t worried? I still have a family to feed,” she said.

Patients were generally unperturbed about the situation, although they had been inconvenienced.

A construction engineer who wanted to be known only as Mr Mal, turned up at the Tampines Street 21 clinic yesterday for his annual medical check-up, but was turned away. The 48-year-old, who lives across the street, said he rang the clinic on Monday.

He was told that there was no doctor around then and was asked to drop in yesterday — only to find that the doctor was on urgent leave. He was directed to the nearest Healthway clinic at Tampines Central, a short bus ride away.

“Do I have a choice? I’ve to go because (Healthway is) my company doctor,” he said.

HMC runs Singapore’s largest network of private medical centres and clinics. Organisations which work with HMC said the impact of any fallout would be limited, since they partner several healthcare providers.

Mr Pavan Virmani, director of Group Business at Aviva Singapore, said: “We currently have over 450 general practitioner clinics islandwide. If any clinics were to leave our panel, we would try to ensure there are alternative clinics available in the vicinity as soon as possible.” ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY TAN WEIZHEN AND KELLY NG
 

Cottonmouth

Alfrescian
Loyal
Singapore is going down the pits under this fucking imbecile.

attachment.php
 
Top