| We get a lot of mail sent to our
daily Postbag section. People often use this forum to voice their
opinions on topical issues but occasionally use it to air a complaint
about a company or service. Naturally, any company on the receiving
end of such a public complaint will want to “set the record straight”
and this often happens.
In this lesson you can see copies of two letters printed recently
in Postbag. The first letter is a complaint made against two Pattaya
hospitals by someone calling himself “Daniel C”, while
the second is a response from one of the hospitals mentioned in
his letter.
So, what can we learn from reading these two letters together?
Well, firstly we can see that the complaint is a very serious one
that warrants the attention of people high up in authority –
which is why “Daniel C” probably chose to write to the
Bangkok Post instead of to the hospital directly. It’s much
easier to get a response if lots of other people know about your
complaint!
Secondly, the response had to be written carefully by the director
of Pattaya Bangkok Hospital Trauma Centre. It was probably a much
more difficult letter to write than the first one because the director
had to take into account a number of important things:
1) He had to remind readers of the original complaint so that they
could better understand the response. He had to do this in a concise
way or else he would have put off the reader who would want to get
to the response quickly.
2) He had to be seen to deal with the main points of the complaint
in a constructive way. This is quite difficult because if he had
been dismissive of the complaint he would come across as uninterested
in criticism – which is bad for business. However, bending
over backwards to apologise would also look bad because it would
suggest that the hospital was really incompetent.
3) He had to create confidence for readers who read the original
complaint and needed to use the hospital in the future.
Read both letters and then decide for yourself if the second letter
was an appropriate response. Was it clear that the director had
shown an understanding of the complaint and was taking the necessary
action? Did he manage to create confidence in those readers who
might need to use his hospital? What do you think “Daniel C”
would have made of the response? (It may be worth considering that
“Daniel C” may not have been the writer’s real name.)
Write down your thoughts on the matter but make sure you focus
on the effectiveness of the language used rather than on the actual
issue. Remember that both letters are good examples of English in
action because they are designed to provoke a response of some kind.
As a further activity, you could write a letter of complaint to
an imaginary company and then write your own response – or
respond to a classmate’s letter – in which you pretend
to be that company’s director.
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Hospitals violating Hippocratic
oath
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I recently had the unfortunate
circumstance of being injured during a snorkelling accident
on Koh Larn, near Pattaya. I accidentally stepped on several
black sea urchins, resulting in numerous, painful, open wounds
on my feet.
To
seek medical assistance, I first contacted Pattaya Bangkok
Hospital and made an appointment to see Dr Hathairat.
However,
when I arrived at the hospital on time for my appointment,
I learned that the doctor had left early for the day (“Sorry
sir, he go home already”) and no other suitable doctor was
available.
Frustrated
by this hospital's incompetence, I contacted Pattaya
International Hospital and made an appointment to see Dr Willawong.
However,
when I arrived at the hospital on time for my appointment,
I was informed that the doctor was not available at the appointed
hour (“Sorry sir, we forget to enter your name in computer”).
After
waiting more than 2-1/2 hours to see a doctor, I gave up and
limped out of the hospital.
Due
to the unavailability of medical care at these hospitals,
I have been treating myself in my hotel room, though I have
absolutely no medical knowledge or training.
Thai
hospitals and Thai doctors should acknowledge that
they violate the Hippocratic oath when they
fail to provide medical treatment to patients holding confirmed
appointments.
Moreover,
Thailand has little hope of establishing itself as a medical
tourism destination centre if its doctors and hospitals continue
to reject the Hippocratic oath.
DANIEL C, Pattaya
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incompetence
the
lack of skill or ability to do your job or a task as
it should be done
appointed
a
time or place arranged for doing something
acknowledge
to
accept that something is true
violate
to
go against or refuse to obey a law, an agreement, etc
Hippocratic
oath
the
promise that doctors make to keep to the principles
of the medical profession
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Details of complaint need
clarification
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This is in response to
the letter from Daniel C which was published in Postbag on
April 9. In his letter, Daniel C stated that he accidentally
stepped on black sea urchins, resulting in numerous, painful,
open wounds on his feet.
He
further stated he contacted the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital and
made an appointment to see Dr Hathairat. However, when he
arrived at the hospital on time for his appointment, he learned
that the doctor had left early for the day and no other suitable
doctor was available.
We
would like to contact Daniel C and see what actually happened
on that day. As far as our hospital is concerned, when a patient
in Daniel C.’s condition walks into the hospital, he is immediately
taken for emergency treatment.
Dr
Hathairat is a part-time dermatologist who works in
the evening and on Saturday afternoon. She would not treat
Daniel C for this injury.
When
a patient calls, we would have some details of his medical
situation. In this case, the staff member taking the call
would advise him to come straight to the Emergency Room. We
have checked our records and could not find any recent appointment
made for a Daniel C. All the Daniel C's who came to our hospital
came in 2003 and 2004.
When
a patient calls in to make an appointment, the staff member
taking the call will ask for his name, address and phone number
and whether he has an ID number or is a new patient. This
information is then entered into the computer for the appointed
doctor. Again, we could find no records for a Daniel C.
Our
hospital has over 60 full-time doctors in all specialised
fields. We always have at least one doctor on duty at
the Emergency Room 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our
policy is that if a patient is bleeding, we would direct him
to the Emergency Room to see the surgeon on duty at once.
If the patient has a family doctor, that doctor would be called
to attend the patient if necessary after the patient's
wounds have been treated.
We
would like very much to understand the situation that Daniel
C described so we can properly take care of the complaint.
NARINTARA BOONJONGCHAROEN,
MD Director
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dermatologist
a
doctor who studies and treats skin diseases
specialised
field
to
become an expert in a particular area of work
attend
deal
with
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