Today marks another breakthrough for me as a mom. I brought Izzie to the Polyclinic by myself. Usually Soo Chee would be around as we try to fix her vaccination appointments at Polyclinic on Mondays. She has some rashes on her body for more than 2 days. Why Polyclinic and not her usual PD? Her usual PD’s (15 mins walk from my house) usual charges are about $50-$70 and usual waiting time is close to 2 hours. I was thinking if I have to wait so long, what’s the difference with waiting at the Polyclinic? So I decided to try the service at Tampines Polyclinic.

I took a cab there (5 mins, cost $4.70) and reached at 2:55pm. I did the registration, brought her to the treatment room (where a nurse assessed if the “rashes” were chicken pox. Answer: No. Then I proceeded to level 2 to see the doc. Izzie was super restless while waiting. There was no play area at the Polyclinic. I waited for about half an hour before I saw the doc. The doc was a nice Indian lady who likes Izzie’s cheeks. Ha! She assessed and said the rashes were probably heat rash or due to some allergy. No fever and lungs are cleared, she said. She prescribed calamine lotion and said to go back to the Polyclinic if her rash which concentrates at the tummy area spreads. Then I went to the Pharmacy to collect the medication and made payment. I was done by 4pm. Total time spent: about 1 hour! Faster than the usual PD! Cost of consultation and medication: $6.50!!!

I used to avoid the Polyclinic because my experience there while I was studying was bad. The waiting time killed! Over the years, the service improves. The system improves. It is really quite comparable to private practice and what’s the perk? Singaporeans get subsidised medical fees which really help us especially when Izzie has lots of follow ups and stuffs. I am grateful to be a Singaporean. I am thankful that God really takes good care of us and meets our littlest untold needs.

That’s Izzie having a still moment staring at herself when I turned on the front camera on my phone at Tampines Polyclinic today