02 Jan 2010
In January 2009, Member of Parliament for Yio Chu Kang, Mr Seng Han Thong, was set on fire while attending a community event. Six months after the incident, Mr Seng was still suffering.
Everything most of us take for granted – swinging our limbs, switching on the radio, or even writing – was a major struggle for him. Mr Seng suffered wounds on his upper body, cheeks, the back of his head and both his hands.
Intense therapy
Four skin grafts and numerous sessions of physiotherapy and occupational therapy later, Mr Seng can now button his shirt and hold a pen. Even though he is still not as nimble as he was before the incident, he is glad to be back in action.
Mr Seng is presently midway through his recovery, with doctors expecting the healing to take around two years.
Besides the unyielding support he received from his friends and relatives during this trying time, Mr Seng counts himself fortunate to be in the hands of the medical staff at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) Burns Centre.
“The team was very professional: the doctors, the nurses, the physiotherapists and even the cleaners,” Mr Seng said.
“For the first few days, I was semiconscious and had tubes everywhere. The nurses worked as a team and were able to do what they had to do expertly.
“Every member of the team played a crucial role and knew exactly what my conditions were. They could change the bedsheets without disturbing my wounds and tubes,” he said.
Mr Seng remembers having to depend on the nursing staff for everything during the first few days of his hospitalisation. “I was totally immobilised and could not even talk,” he said.
He drew this parallel analogy: “In the service industry, there’s this saying that you must know what your customer wants. Sometimes, even if you do know what they want, you may not be able to provide the service. In this case, though I could not tell them what I needed, the nursing staff could anticipate them.”
In appreciation
Touched by his encounters with the medical staff, Mr Seng made a donation to the Burns Centre and for the nurses’ training.
“During the course of my hospitalisation and treatment sessions at the hospital, I had the chance to interact with many nurses and physiotherapists. I learned that many of them had upgraded themselves either through courses arranged by the hospital or on their own initiative.
“So the donation is just to recognise this spirit of learning and self-improvement, and also to encourage the nurses to continue to do so.”
While the healthcare sector is considered one of the best in the region, there is still a lot to be learned from more advanced centres in US and Australia. Mr Seng believes that it is only through the constant upgrading of skills that Singapore can develop into one of the best healthcare hubs in the world.
Mr Seng said his decision to donate to the hospital is not just because he had suffered.
“Singaporeans are generous when it comes to contributing to education, to culture and to the needy. They think that contribution to the health sector is the responsibility of the government.
“But I think public contribution to the development of our healthcare workers is just as important. It is to show our appreciation for their efforts,” he said.
Mr Seng hopes there will be many more such donations. “If well-wishers can contribute to encourage more healthcare workers to upgrade themselves, it will benefit the community ultimately.”
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