Saturday, June 14, 2008
The MOM saga continues........
I received a call 2 days ago from the maid agency telling me that the MOM ( Ministry of Manpower) wanted me to resubmit a letter I had written in support of my mum's maid application. The letter basically stated that I was the caregiver and that I was appealing on her behalf that she really needed the services of a maid etc etc. MOM apparently felt it necessary for my mum to COUNTERSIGN the letter!!! This is really getting to the point of ridiculousness. Since my mum cannot sign the letter I had to have her put her thumb print to the letter. This letter by the way is in addition to a letter by the Doctor certifying that my mum needed the services of a maid. I'm wondering what else the MOM could possibly come up with next as a reason to reject the application once more. Watch out for my letter to the press as soon as all this dust settles and I've got the maid!!
Friday, June 13, 2008
More string pulling needed??
Just another "encounter" with a person with half a brain here in Singapore.......
I wanted to put in an application for a handicapped parking sticker because of my mum condition as I thought maybe it would be more convenient if I was to be ferrying her anywhere. Part of the application needs a doctor to certify that she is indeed in a situation that requires a wheelchair etc etc. I gave the form to the doctor in TTSH and an hour later the nurse returns the form to me saying that the doctor will not sign it as my mum was not handicapped or disabled..........can you believe that?? My mum had a stroke and a heat attack and today she is laid up in a hospital bed; she can';t stand , walk or sit up straight on her own. She has to be fed, washed and cleaned by a care giver and the doctor thinks she is not handicapped or disabled??? How do dimwits like that become doctors?Do I have to "pull strings " again for something so simple like this? You;ve got to be kidding me!!!
I wanted to put in an application for a handicapped parking sticker because of my mum condition as I thought maybe it would be more convenient if I was to be ferrying her anywhere. Part of the application needs a doctor to certify that she is indeed in a situation that requires a wheelchair etc etc. I gave the form to the doctor in TTSH and an hour later the nurse returns the form to me saying that the doctor will not sign it as my mum was not handicapped or disabled..........can you believe that?? My mum had a stroke and a heat attack and today she is laid up in a hospital bed; she can';t stand , walk or sit up straight on her own. She has to be fed, washed and cleaned by a care giver and the doctor thinks she is not handicapped or disabled??? How do dimwits like that become doctors?Do I have to "pull strings " again for something so simple like this? You;ve got to be kidding me!!!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Pulling Strings in Singapore
Have you ever noticed how service suddenly improves or everything moves really smoothly if you know the boss or you;re somehow related to the boss of an establishment? I am sure all of you have sometime in your life "pulled some strings" to get something done. Since my mum was warded in TTSH after suffering a stroke and a heart attack 4 weeks ago ; I have had to pull so many strings to get things done , I'm beginning to think that without these strings to pull in Singapore , you;re really at the mercy of the system.
After a week in the hospital , they were ready to send her home......were they kidding? She was on several tubes ; including a feeding tube and catheter. Then they wanted to move her to the AMK Rehab hospital to which we objected to saying she was in no condition for even rehab. After pulling some strings......(couple of really big ones), the staff said it was a misunderstanding and that she could remain for as long as she still needed medical attention and was not in a stable condition. She's been there for 4 weeks now and will move to AMK Rehab hospital next week.
SO, in the midst of all this we were told we needed a maid to look after mum when she gets discharged. The hospital was willing to train her so the quicker she was on board the better it would be. So I put in an application and thats when I realized how biased the maid system is against singles ( but thats another piece I shall address another time) . As I found out singles under 60 cannot get a maid. I had to apply for the maid under my mum's name. Complication number one; her address and mine are different. Complication number two she needs to have a bank account with $50,000 in it. I can;t just prove that I have the money to sustain the maid's employment. I just happened to have a joint savings account with my mum so I rushed down to the bank and deposited the money and because it would take a day for the check to clear I used the deposit slip as evidence that the money is in the account and submitted that with the application. The Ministry of Manpower obviously felt it was not good enough so the application was rejected. This time I was told to go to the bank to get a letter from them stating that the joint account did indeed have at least $ 50,000 in it. So I went down to the bank and was told that I needed to fill out a form and the letter would be ready in 24 hours. I told the clerk that it was urgent and I needed the letter no but she very politely told me that it was not possible. So, I filled out the form stating why I needed the letter etc and left . She said they would call me when the letter was ready and by the way, there was an administrative charge for the letter ( tacky). Two hours later I got a call from the bank asking me what I needed the letter for and to whom should they address the letter to. At that point I was just about ready to strangle someone. I told them that the letter was for a maid application and in my most sacarstic voice told the caller that I was doing it on behalf of my mother who is lying in a hospital bed unable to come to the bank to do it. I decided at this point to "pull some strings" so I sent an e-mail to a friend who is up there on the organizational ladder of the bank. I told her my "problems" making sure that I was not out to get anyone into trouble but that I thought the bank could have been more sympathetic and flexible in my situation. At 8.30pm that night I received a phone call from the bank branch Manager telling me he was dropping off the letter personally at my home and by the way there was no administrative charge! So again string pulling had worked.
Why does this need to be done at all? Surely our systems and service levels in Singapore have not deteriorated so much that you have to now rely on the kindness of friends, family and connections to get what you want? What about the average man in the street who does not have any strings to pull and is at the mercy of the system? Heaven help them.
I am now waiting for the approval on my second application for a maid for my mum. I am ready to pull some strings if I need to................by the way , anyone out there know any big guns in the Ministry of Manpower??!!
After a week in the hospital , they were ready to send her home......were they kidding? She was on several tubes ; including a feeding tube and catheter. Then they wanted to move her to the AMK Rehab hospital to which we objected to saying she was in no condition for even rehab. After pulling some strings......(couple of really big ones), the staff said it was a misunderstanding and that she could remain for as long as she still needed medical attention and was not in a stable condition. She's been there for 4 weeks now and will move to AMK Rehab hospital next week.
SO, in the midst of all this we were told we needed a maid to look after mum when she gets discharged. The hospital was willing to train her so the quicker she was on board the better it would be. So I put in an application and thats when I realized how biased the maid system is against singles ( but thats another piece I shall address another time) . As I found out singles under 60 cannot get a maid. I had to apply for the maid under my mum's name. Complication number one; her address and mine are different. Complication number two she needs to have a bank account with $50,000 in it. I can;t just prove that I have the money to sustain the maid's employment. I just happened to have a joint savings account with my mum so I rushed down to the bank and deposited the money and because it would take a day for the check to clear I used the deposit slip as evidence that the money is in the account and submitted that with the application. The Ministry of Manpower obviously felt it was not good enough so the application was rejected. This time I was told to go to the bank to get a letter from them stating that the joint account did indeed have at least $ 50,000 in it. So I went down to the bank and was told that I needed to fill out a form and the letter would be ready in 24 hours. I told the clerk that it was urgent and I needed the letter no but she very politely told me that it was not possible. So, I filled out the form stating why I needed the letter etc and left . She said they would call me when the letter was ready and by the way, there was an administrative charge for the letter ( tacky). Two hours later I got a call from the bank asking me what I needed the letter for and to whom should they address the letter to. At that point I was just about ready to strangle someone. I told them that the letter was for a maid application and in my most sacarstic voice told the caller that I was doing it on behalf of my mother who is lying in a hospital bed unable to come to the bank to do it. I decided at this point to "pull some strings" so I sent an e-mail to a friend who is up there on the organizational ladder of the bank. I told her my "problems" making sure that I was not out to get anyone into trouble but that I thought the bank could have been more sympathetic and flexible in my situation. At 8.30pm that night I received a phone call from the bank branch Manager telling me he was dropping off the letter personally at my home and by the way there was no administrative charge! So again string pulling had worked.
Why does this need to be done at all? Surely our systems and service levels in Singapore have not deteriorated so much that you have to now rely on the kindness of friends, family and connections to get what you want? What about the average man in the street who does not have any strings to pull and is at the mercy of the system? Heaven help them.
I am now waiting for the approval on my second application for a maid for my mum. I am ready to pull some strings if I need to................by the way , anyone out there know any big guns in the Ministry of Manpower??!!
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